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Fixture: (1) Carlos Alcaraz vs (12) Daniel Evans
Tournament: Barcelona Open 2023
Date: Saturday, April 22
Round: Semifinals
Venue: Real Club de Tenis de Barcelona-1899, Spain
Category: ATP 500
Surface: Outdoor clay
Prize money: €2,722,480
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Carlos Alcaraz vs Daniel Evans preview
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz takes on 12th seed Daniel Evans on Saturday as a place in the Barcelona Open final beckons.
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The second-ranked Alcaraz continued his sublime progress at the ATP 500 claycourt event, bringing up his third consecutive straight-sets win. He overcame Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to improve to 21-2 on the season and 8-1 at the tournament, where he reigned supreme last year.
The 19-year-old made his season debut at the Argentina Open, where he romped to the title. After losing the Rio de Janeiro final to Cameron Norrie, Alcaraz won his second title of the year at Indian Wells.
However, Jannik Sinner denied him a Sunshine Double by beating the Spaniard in the Miami semifinals. After missing the Monte-Carlo Masters last week due to injury, the Spanish teenager has hit the ground running in Barcelona.
Meanwhile, World No. 32 Evans beat 15th seed Francisco Cerundolo to improve to 8-11 on the season. Five of these wins have come during the ongoing European claycourt swing, with Evans reaching the Marrakech quarterfinals earlier this month.
The 32-year-old was on a six-match losing streak since reaching the Australian Open third round, which he snapped in Marrakech. Evans also improved to 5-3 at Barcelona, having never reached the quarterfinals before.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Daniel Evans head-to-head
Alcaraz took their lone meeting in the first round at Vienna two years ago, so the Spaniard leads the head-to-head 1-0.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Daniel Evans odds
(All odds as per BETMGM)
Carlos Alcaraz vs Daniel Evans prediction
Both Alcaraz and Evans look to dominate opponents from the baseline, but the similarities in their game styles end there.
Alcaraz is widely regarded as the heir apparent to the Big 3 of men's tennis, with his big serve, powerful groundstrokes and elite movement. Evans can also serve and hit big, but is not consistent enough.
Despite his young age, Alcaraz has more pedigree on clay than Evans. The Spaniard brought up his 50th win on the surface in 62 matches by beating Fokina, having won five titles. Evans, meanwhile, is 19-28 on clay and has no titles on the surface.
Both men are coming off contrasting outings, with Evans needing three sets to see off Cerundolo, while Alcaraz emerged unscathed in straight sets, breaking his opponent four times to move to the last four.
Going by current form and pedigree, Alcaraz should take this one, having beaten Evans earlier on hardcourt.
Pick: Alcaraz in straight sets
