Dan Evans’ brilliant run at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters came to an end with a comprehensive defeat by the world No 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Evans was facing a former Masters finalist for the fifth successive match having beaten Dusan Lajovic, Hubert Hurkacz, Novak Djokovic and David Goffin to reach a semi-final at this level for the first time.
But, unlike his previous opponents, Tsitsipas had no problem coping with the variety in the Evans game and he eased to a 6-2, 6-1 victory.
It was a third heavy defeat for the British No 1 against his Greek opponent, who piled constant pressure on the Evans serve.
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It has nevertheless been a superb week for the 30-year-old, who will equal his career-high ranking of 26 on Monday having proved to himself and the rest of the tennis world that he can be a threat to the best on clay.
Evans still has a chance to reach the final in the doubles, where he and Neal Skupski were due to face top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah later on Saturday.
