Dan Evans seals biggest title of his career at the Citi Open
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Britain’s Dan Evans is an ATP 500 champion for the first time in his career capping off a sensational week in Washington with a victory over Tallon Griekspoor in the final.
Evans defeated the 12th seed 7-5, 6-3 in an hour and 39 minutes in the final of the Citi Open to lift the second and biggest title of his career – his first since Melbourne 2021.
The victory sees the British No.2 rise to a new career high ranking at world No.21. The 33-year-old is the first Brit to win the Citi Open since Tim Henman in 2003.
“To do the work I've done and to stick with it and come through is amazing,” Evans said. “The last game sort of summed up my week. I got out of trouble and it was an amazing week. I really appreciate all the support.”
Dan Evans road to the Citi Open title
- First round: Bye
- Second round: won vs Gregoire Barrere (FRA, world No.59) 2-6, 6-0, 6-3
- Third round: Alexander Schevchenko (world No,93) 6-4, 6-3
- Quarter-final: won vs Frances Tiafoe (USA, world No.10) 6-4, 7-5
- Semi-final: won vs Grigor Dimitrov (BUL, world No.20) 6-3, 7-6(4)
- Final: won vs Tallon Griekspoor (NED, world No.37) 7-5, 6-3
The British star was on top from the start of the match and only dropped five points on serve in a close opening set. After missing out on his first three break points, he made it fourth time lucky on the final game to take a one set lead inside 50 minutes.
Evans also had to battle with the weather in the second set, with play suspended twice due to rain. The world No.21 had to hold his nerve to continue to maintain his level after the intervals and got his reward at the back end of the set, breaking the Dutchman to love for a 5-3 lead.
Gunning for his third title of the season Griekspoor put up a strong fight in the final game of the match, but Evans managed to rescue four break points before clinching the title with a big first serve when he needed it most.
His straight sets win over Griekspoor rounded off a week of impressive results for the Brit, including victories over world No.10 Frances Tiafoe and fifth seed Grigor Dimitrov.
Evans now moves on to the National Bank Open in Toronto, where he is set to defend key ranking points having made the semi-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 event last year.
