Barcelona (EFE) a double 6-2, in eighty minutes.
Evans, the twelfth seed of Godó and the 26th player in the world ranking, hardly put up any opposition against Alcaraz, a gale on the central court of the RCT Barcelona-1899.
The second world racket broke his rival’s serve in the fourth and eighth games, dismasting Evans from the back of the court with his powerful forehand to take the first set in a breath.
The Briton only had one ‘break’ ball -in the fifth game- in the entire first set, where the Spaniard did almost everything on the court: the winning shots and some unusual mistake with the drop for wanting to like himself too much.
His first match against Evans on clay
The Murcian, who had already beaten Evans in the round of 32 in Vienna 2021, on an indoor track, faced the man from Birmingham on land for the first time in his career. And the party was almost history.
His recital continued in the second quarter, winning the first four games -although he had to save a breaking ball in the third- to practically sentence the semifinal.
Evans opened his locker in the second set with a ‘break’ in the fifth and winning his service in the following game (4-2). He even went 30-0 looking for another break.
The British, more aggressive, tried to break Alcaraz’s rhythm by going up to the net more frequently, but it seemed that, if he had needed it, the Spaniard could still put a couple more gears on his tennis.
Alcaraz finally maintained his service with a forehand and a serve that his rival managed to subtract inside the court. And he sped up to break Evans’s once more and seal his pass to the final on the fast track.