Google News
Daniel Evans came to Monte Carlo with four Masters 1000 triumphs under his belt, improving his tally in the Principality to reach the semi-final on his least favorite surface! The Briton stunned world no. 1 Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5 in the third round in two hours and six minutes, prevailing in the pivotal moments to advance into the quarters and deliver Novak's first loss of the season.
Evans claimed eight points more than Djokovic, fended off seven out of ten break chances and secured five breaks from seven opportunities to emerge at the top and earn a career-best victory. The Briton hit 20 winners and unforced errors, and the Serb counted over 40 unforced errors, struggling to find his strokes and losing ground in the shortest and mid-range exchanges.
Evans claimed three points more than Djokovic in the opening set and endured the more extended rallies with a good mixture of slices and deep groundstrokes. Novak had 11 winners and 23 unforced errors, while Daniel produced five winners and 13 mistakes, beating the world's leading player in the mid-range and most prolonged exchanges.
Novak was unable to find his strokes and netted an easy backhand to suffer a break at 15 in the first game.
Daniel Evans stunned Novak Djokovic in Monte Carlo.
A former champion sprayed a backhand mistake in game two, allowed Evans to confirm the break and fell further behind when the Briton landed a perfect drop shot in game three.
Daniel wasted a game point at 3-0 and suffered a break after a brave serve & volley that he could not control. Feeling the ball in those moments, Novak held at love in game five and created two break chances in the next one.
Evans fought them off and held after four deuces and almost ten minutes to remain 4-2 ahead. The Briton squandered a game point at 4-3 and got broken after sending a clear forehand long. Instead of building on that, Novak lost serve at 15 in game nine and let Daniel seize the third set point at 5-4 after grueling 56 minutes.
Djokovic held after deuce at the beginning of the second set and broke in the next one after forcing Evan's error. The Serb closed the third game with a service winner and looked good to force a decider soon after that. Instead, Daniel clinched the fourth game with an unreturned serve and pulled the break back with a forehand down the line winner to reduce the deficit.
Fighting for every point, Evans fended off a break chance in game eight and four deuces for a vital hold and 4-4, sending the pressure back to Novak's side. The Briton fended off a set point in game ten for a massive boost and stole Novak's serve in game 11 before sealing the deal with a forehand winner at 6-5 for a career-best victory.