Dan Evans's eye-catching run at the Barcelona Open came to an end in the semi-finals, as defending champion Carlos Alcaraz sealed a comprehensive two-set win to advance to the showpiece event.
The British number two could not replicate his stellar quarter-final display over Karen Khachanov, as Alcaraz eased to a 6-2 6-2 triumph in one hour and 21 minutes.
Unsurprisingly taking control of proceedings from the off, Alcaraz broke Evans to love in the fourth game but was handed quite the scare in the fifth, letting a 40-0 lead slip and having to beat away a break-back point before holding for a 4-1 lead.
The Spaniard broke again in the eighth game to wrap up the first set with minimal difficulty, and a four-game winning streak at the start of the second set made Evans's hopes of a fightback nigh-on impossible.
The Briton did well to earn one break back in the fifth game of the second set, but a double fault in the eighth brought up two match points for Alcaraz, who converted his first to end Evans's hopes of just a third-ever ATP Tour final.
"It's so special to play a final here in Barcelona, a tournament that I love playing. I came to watch this tournament when I was really young and I played for this club when I was 11 or 12," Alcaraz said on the court. "I love this club, I love this tournament, and it's so special to have the chance to lift the trophy here again."
Alcaraz, who defeated Pablo Carreno Busta to win the 2022 Barcelona Open crown, will defend his title in a heavyweight final against Stefanos Tsitsipas after the Greek saw off Italy's Lorenzo Musetti 6-4 5-7 6-3 in the other semi-final.
Ben Knapton
