Another Day, Another Comeback For Evans/Skupski
Daniel Evans and Neal Skupski stayed on track to reach their second straight ATP Masters 1000 final on Friday at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.
The Brits, who reached the Miami Open presented by Itau final earlier this month, were two points from defeat at 5/5 in the second-set tie-break, but they kept their composure to complete a 1-6, 7-6(5), 10-4 victory against Raven Klaasen and Ben McLachlan.
It is not the first time this week that Evans and Skupski have escaped danger. The pair has come through Match Tie-breaks in all three of their matches this week, saved three match points in their second-round win against Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek on Thursday.
Evans and Skupski will meet top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah for a spot in the final. The Colombians closed Friday play with a 7-6(5), 7-5 win against Fabio Fognini and Diego Schwartzman on Court des Princes.
Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic advanced to their seventh semi-final of the year with a 6-3, 6-1 win against Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut. Mektic and Pavic saved all four break points they faced against the 2016 champions to move two wins away from their fifth title of the season.
The Croatian pair owns a 27-3 record in 2021, highlighted by its run to the Miami crown earlier this month. Mektic and Pavic will attempt to reach their sixth final of the year (4-1) when they face Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in the semi-finals.
[WATCH LIVE 1]Granollers and Zeballos charged past Cristian Garin and Guido Pella 6-3, 6-1 to reach the final four in the Principality. The fourth seeds did not face break point en route to their 54-minute win, which has kept alive their bid for a third ATP Masters 1000 team title. Granollers and Zeballos won the 2019 National Bank Open Presented by Rogers and last year’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia.