Evans advances past Dimitrov, will face Griekspoor in surprising Washington DC final

Dan Evans could barely win a tennis match heading into this week’s Citi Open in Washington, DC.

But it has all turned around for him in the United States capital, and Evans suddenly finds himself one win away from the biggest title of his career. The No 9 seed booked his spot in Sunday’s championship match with a 6-3, 7-6(4) semi-final victory over Grigor Dimitrov on Saturday night. Evans set up a showdown with Tallon Griekspoor by prevailing in one hour and 56 minutes.

The 33-year-old saved all four of the break points he faced to earn a place in his fourth ATP final. He will bid for his second title on the heels of a 2021 success in Melbourne.

Surprising final pits Evans against Griekspoor

It has been a tale of two different seasons of this pair of finalists. Griekspoor is 27-12 at the ATP level in 2023 and has already captured titles in Pune and ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Evans, on the other hand, was 8-18 for the year prior to arriving in Washington, DC. The Brit was 1-8 in his last nine matches and during this stretch had posted a victory only against world No 280 James McCabe.

From completely out of nowhere, Evans has been on fire this week. Prior to beating Dimitrov he defeated Frenchman Gregoire Barrere (2-6, 6-0, 6-3), Russian Alexander Shevchenko (6-4, 6-3) and second-seeded American Frances Tiafoe (6-4, 7-5).

It was still a strong week for Dimitrov, who posted wins over Mackenzie McDonald of the USA (7-6(6), 6-2) and Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori (6-4, 6-3). The Bulgarian also got a first-round bye and a quarter-final walkover from France’s Ugo Humbert.

Washington ATP500, other semi-final result (Rock Creek Park Tennis Center, hard, USD 2,013,940):

• Tallon Griekspoor beat Taylor Fritz (1): 3-6, 6-3, 6-2

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