British number three Dan Evans has been knocked out of the Barcelona Open at the third-round stage following a straight-sets defeat to Dominic Thiem.
The 26-year-old had overcome Thiago Monteiro and Mischa Zverev to make it this far in the event, having never previously triumphed on clay at ATP Tour level.
Thiem had too much for Evans on Thursday afternoon, however, prevailing 7-6(5) 6-2 to set up a meeting with Japan's Yuichi Sugita in the last eight.
After both players held serve throughout a tight opening set, the Austrian opened up a 6-2 advantage in the tie-break and eventually got over the line with his fifth set point.
Evans could not put up as strong a fight in the second set, losing serve twice and squandering five break points to see his run in Barcelona come to an end.
Fellow Briton Andy Murray takes on Feliciano Lopez later today for a place in the quarter-finals.
Daniel Lewis
