By Ros Satar
- Dan Evans [9] def. Alexander Shevchenko 6-4 6-3
- Evans def. Frances Tiafoe [2] 6-4 7-5
- Will face Grigor Dimitrov [5] in the semi-final
- H2H: Dimitrov leads 3-2
WASHINGTON DC – Dan Evans won two matches in a day to make the semi-final where he will face Grigor Dimitrov in the semi-final.
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Dan Evans [9] def. Alexander Shevchenko 6-4 6-3; def. Frances Tiafoe [2] 6-4 7-5
Dan Evans set about ending his winning drought on the tour in some style after having to play twice after rain affected the Washington schedule.
First up was Russia’s Alexander Shevchenko. A single break was all that stood between them in the first set. The Russian would rue his three previous chances to break the Brit, who then capitalised on his own single chance.
It was a commanding start to the second set with Evans breaking Shevchenko twice, although he found himself pegged back with one break. He went on to break Shevchenko for a third time in the set to book a spot in the quarter-finals later in the day.
The run of points that Evans must defend all started here with his run to the same stage last year, and against the flamboyant and crowd-pleasing Frances Tiafoe, he had his work cut out. It was a strong start with an immediate break of the American’s serve and although Tiafoe had chances to break back, he could not get past a determined Evans.
The pattern continued with Evans breaking after a long opening game in the second set, but this time Tiafoe was able to level. The pair rattled through the next few games before Evans fought hard to get another break. He also had to fend off a break point on the way to taking his first match point and going one better than last year.
Dan Evans [9] v Grigor Dimitrov [5] | H2H: Dimitrov leads 3-2
| Dan Evans [9] v Grigor Dimitrov [5] | H2H: Dimitrov leads 3-2 |
| ATP Washington | USA |
| Hard | Prize Money: $97,785 |
| Last on Centre Court, not before 8:30pm (1:30am Sunday BST) | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
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Tale of the Tape – Key Stats (Hard 2023)
| H2H: | Dan Evans (WR 30) | Grigor Dimitrov (WR 20) |
| Tournament Previous Best | QF (2022) | QF (2013) |
| 1st Serve % | 71.1 | 61.0 |
| Service Games Won % | 76.0 | 87.1 |
| Break Points Saved % | 56.9 | 65.1 |
| 2nd Serve Return Points Won % | 52.5 | 52.0 |
| Break Points Converted % | 35.6 | 33.3 |
Evans will have to hope his serve is working today with better stats on hard courts this year but in most other areas they are relatively well matched.
Preview & Prediction
If Evans ever needed some confidence in his game, he seems to have developed it on the Washington hard courts this week. With large amounts of points to defend for the rest of the year, both he and Grigor Dimitrov are in new territory both reaching the semi-finals for the first time.
Dimitrov had a decent enough start to the year, reaching the Rotterdam semi-final before embarking on a period of no back-to-back wins starting in Indian Wells and only finishing in Geneva and the French Open, so like Evans has had to regain a little confidence in his game.
Dimitrov has been the more consistent since then, and arguably both players have a lot of variety to their games but perhaps Dimitrov has a little more power to his game, and Evans plays a little more defensively.
Prediction: Dimitrov in three sets
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