Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Dan Evans knocked out of Barcelona Open as Rafael Nadal cruises through

Dan Evans
Dan Evans' unlikely clay run has come to an end

Dan Evans' unlikely run at the Barcelona Open came to an end with a third-round loss to fourth seed Dominic Thiem while Rafael Nadal cruised into the quarter-finals.

The British No 3, who admits he is not a fan of clay, went into the tournament looking for his first ever ATP Tour victory on the surface.

He managed two, but Thiem proved a step too far despite another good performance from Evans.

Only a tie-break separated the pair in the first set but it was Thiem who took his chances in the second to win 7-6 (7-5) 6-2.

It was revenge for the Austrian, who became Evans' first top-10 scalp in Sydney in January.

Rafael Nadal remains on course for a 10th Barcelona crown
Rafael Nadal remains on course for a 10th Barcelona crown

Nadal moved closer to a 10th title in the Catalan capital when he cruised past South Africa's Kevin Anderson 6-3 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals.

Nadal, fresh from a 10th Monte Carlo triumph at the weekend, will face Chung Hyeon of South Korea for a semi-final spot after the world No 94 upset eighth seed Alexander Zverev 6-1 6-4.

There was also another surprise later in the day as fifth seed and Monte Carlo semi-finalist David Goffin suffered a shock 6-7 6-3 6-4 defeat to Russia's fast rising Karen Kachanov.

The 20-year-old has risen to No 56 in the world and chalked up the biggest win of his career with a two-and-a-half hour triumph over the world number 10.

For those on the move, we will have the rest of the Barcelona Open covered via our website skysports.com/tennis, our app for mobile devices and iPad, or follow our Twitter account @skysportstennis for news, reports, live blogs and expert analysis with updates on Sky Sports News HQ.

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