Monte Carlo Masters. Dan Evans beats David Goffin to reach semi-finals
Last updated on .From the section Tennis
British number one Dan Evans came from a set down to beat Belgium's David Goffin and reach the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters.
Evans, who claimed the biggest win of his career by beating Novak Djokovic in the previous round, won 5-7 6-3 6-4.
He fended off four break points at 4-4 in the final set to hold serve and then took match point at his first attempt to win in two hours and 46 minutes.
Evans will face Stefanos Tsitsipas in his first Masters Series semi-final.
The Greek world number five had taken the opening set 7-5 against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina when the Spaniard retired.
Analysis
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller
For a surface on which British players are supposed to struggle, some remarkable clay court seasons have been compiled in recent years.
In 2015, Andy Murray won his first clay tournaments in consecutive weeks in Munich and Madrid, and four years later - with little previous hint of what was to come - Johanna Konta put together a thrilling run which culminated in a French Open semi-final.
And now Dan Evans, with just four tour level wins on clay before this week, has doubled his tally on the surface.
He saved 15 of the 17 break points he faced against David Goffin, with some clutch serving when most required in the decider.
Confidence, a smart game plan, and some exceptional execution have contributed to a story no-one expected to be writing.
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Keep it going!👍☝️My lovely!
But this just a run of the mill tennis tourney
Just like Murray he tends to fall short in the slam events
All the same well done Evans
Is this a bit like Accrington Stanley winning the FA Cup?
To my eternal shame, I can only remember BBC Sport coverage of Dan Evans losing in the first round of tournaments.
That surly Scottish bloke always seemed to do better! Is he still playing?
The very polite English almost-a-winner talks a lot on BBC these days.
Maybe there'll be an opening for Dan soon on BBC.
Tennis as a sport should be stopped until players play and equal amount of sets in competition to earn an equal amount of prize money. Also giving an equal amount of viewing time for both men and women players.
Tennis is sexist in its current format.
I hope we don't put the lad on the same pedestal as Andy Murray
Andy for whatever his personality weaknesses has managed to carry so much weight of expectation his entire career - vicariously we've had our time in the sun
Let Dan be his own man media
We can all see why elite sportsmen mostly hate the press and ignore it as much as possible