Evans Cruises Through Monte-Carlo Opener

The air in the south of France brings out the best in Briton Daniel Evans.

The World No. 27 soared to his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final at the 2021 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, upsetting World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and Pole Hubert Hurkacz en route.

One year on and Evans once again found the winning formula at the clay-court event, moving past Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi 6-0, 7-6(4) on Tuesday to reach the second round.

The 29-year-old won 100 per cent (9/9) of his first-serve points in the opening set as he dictated from the baseline, before he showed his fighting spirit in the second set, rallying from 1-4 to eventually advance after one hour and 40 minutes.

With his victory, Evans has snapped a three-match losing streak and now leads lucky loser Bonzi 1-0 in their ATP Head2Head series. He will next face either top seed Djokovic in a rematch from last season or Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

FOLLOW THIS WEEK’S ACTION

📺 TV Schedule
🎾 Watch Live On Tennis TV
📱 Follow Live Scores On ATP Tour App
📧 Sign Up For Newsletters

Evans has recorded some impressive results so far in 2022, earning ATP Cup wins against Canadian Denis Shapovalov and American John Isner and advancing to the semi-finals at the Sydney Tennis Classic.

Bonzi was making his debut at the Monte-Carlo Country Club and arrived high in confidence, having captured the seventh ATP Challenger Tour of his career in Cherbourg earlier this season.