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.

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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.

The victory improved Carballes Baena's strong Marrakech record to 10-3, with a previous semi-final run in 2014 as a qualifier and a quarter-final run last season.

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 an unseeded opponent in Sunday's final: Alexandre Muller or Pavel Kotov.