Carballes Baena Downs Evans To Reach Marrakech Final

For the third time this week at the Grand Prix Hassan II, Roberto Carballes Baena has knocked off a seeded opponent in Marrakech. On Saturday, the Spaniard came from behind to upset second seed Daniel Evans 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 and advance to his second tour-level final.

The 30-year-old, who won his only previous title match in Quito in 2018, picked up his first win against a Top 35 opponent this season in what was his first tour-level semi-final since he reached the last four in Bastad in 2021.

“I don’t know why, but all the time that I come here I think I play my best tennis,” said Carballes Baena, who improved to 10-3 in Marrakech, with a previous semi-final run in 2014 as a qualifier and a quarter-final run last season. “I won my first Challenger also here [in Morocco]. I feel very good and I will try to do a good match tomorrow.”

He will face France’s Alexandre Muller in Sunday’s final. Watch from 4 p.m. CET/10 a.m. ET.

Carballes Baena used a five-game flurry to turn the match around from 3-4 in the second set. He had not broken serve since the opening game of the match, but he did so in consecutive return games to win the second set and take a 2-0 lead in the decider.

As his relentless baseline game continued to reap rewards, the Spaniard’s third break of the match gave him a 4-1 lead, and he consolidated his advantage by saving a break point in the ensuing service game.

After knocking of fifth seed Maxime Cressy in the first round and fourth seed Tallon Griekspoor in the quarters, both in three sets, Carballes Baena will meet the unseeded Muller in Sunday’s final.

France’s Muller backed up his three-set quarter-final upset of top seed Lorenzo Musetti with a 7-6(3), 7-5 win against Pavel Kotov. In an eventful matchup of first-time tour-level semi-finalists, Muller saved five of eight break points on serve while converting on four of his five break chances on return.

The 26-year-old, who entered Marrakech with three tour-level wins, has earned four victories this week. His semi-final triumph lifted him back into the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings at No. 96, a mark that would match his career high. Muller could move up to No. 78 by winning his maiden ATP Tour title on Sunday.