Roberto Carballes Baena stuns Brit Dan Evans in Grand Prix Hassan II to reach second tour-level final in Marrakech

Dan Evans’ hopes of a second career ATP title were dashed when he was knocked out of the Grand Prix Hassan II at the semi-final stage. Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena advanced to his second tour-level final after he beat the Briton 2-6 6-4 6-2, and will face Alexandre Muller in the tournament decider on Sunday. Ad Evans — who was seeded second only behind Lorenzo Musetti, who was eliminated in Friday’s quarter-finals — looked to be on his way to a fourth ATP final when he won the first set.

Roland-GarrosExclusive: Ruud backs Medvedev for clay success12 HOURS AGO Carballes Baena, 30, broke Evans in the second set — for the first time since the opening game — to make it 5-4 after the set had gone with serve until that point, and then levelled the score. Back-to-back breaks for Carballes Baena helped him take a convincing 2-0 lead in the decider. His relentless baseline game continued and he was able to break for a third time in the match to go 4-1 up, before saving a break point in the following service game and confirming the win.

«I don't know why, but all the time that I come here I think I play my best tennis,» said Carballes Baen after the match. «I won my first Challenger also here [in Morocco]. “I feel very good and I will try to do a good match tomorrow.» The result was Carballes Baena’s only win against a top 35-ranked opponent this year, in what was his first tour-level semi-final since 2021.

Elsewhere, Casper Ruud was in action and qualified for the Estoril Open final. He beat Quentin Halys 6-4 3-6 7-6(2) at Estadio Millennium in Portugal on Saturday afternoon to reach his first semi-final of the year. The Norwegian will face Miomir Kecmanovic in the final, after he eliminated Italian player Marco Cecchinato in