David Gurney
BRITISH No.1 Dan Evans is poised to break into the world’s top 30 for the first time after another impressive performance at the Dubai Championships, beating sixth seed Andrey Rublev to reach the semi-finals.
It will be a fourth semi-final on tour for the 29-year-old, but his first at ATP 500 level, which are bigger events with stronger fields.
Evans needed two hours and 11 minutes to get past Rublev, but eventually secured a 6-2, 7-6 (11-9) win.
He showed great fight to avenge the defeat he suffered to the Russian at the Adelaide International in January, saving two set points in the tie-break.
It was a fifth win of the year against a top-20 player for Evans, who beat Fabio Fognini in his opening match in Dubai before saving three match points in seeing off Pierre-Hugues Herbert. Evans, who faces world No.6 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semis today and has a career-high ranking of 31, said: ‘I just stayed in there and knew I’d get my chances. I’m very happy with the way I played.
‘Staying calm is the key, also getting the right balance and being aggressive with my feet. Semi-finals in any tournament on the ATP Tour is great.’
