Top man now awaits

Sebastian Ofner against Daniel Evans from 11 a.m. LIVE

Sebastian Ofner

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

A dream start in Monte-Carlo! Sebastian Ofner clearly defeated Daniel Evans from Great Britain in two sets in the first round of the Masters 1000 tournament on Monday. In the end it was 6:1 and 6:4 from the Austrian's point of view. The duel with Germany's top player Alexander Zverev, the tournament's number five, now awaits in the round of 16. 

For Ofner, a long negative streak on clay came to an end; it was his first match win on this surface since July 20, 2023 in Baastad. Back then, he had defeated the Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles 4:6, 6:4, 6:4 in the round of 16 after a tough battle. His quarter-final exit there was followed by defeats at the first hurdle in six tournaments on the red clay, including four this season, most recently a very bitter three-set defeat in the Marrakesh round of 16 last week after an opening walkover against Australian Aleksandar Vukic.

In front of his touring coach Stefan Rettl and physiotherapist Stefan Trost, Ofner only showed weaknesses in the first game after leading 40:0, but after fending off two break points he made it 1:0. He then had an easy game, Evans was only able to take the first game at 1:5. After exactly half an hour, Ofner made it 6:1 with an ace. In the second set, the world number 44 only had to tremble briefly at 5:4. Thanks to a point in the longest rally of the match, the Briton earned a break point. Ofner fended it off and ended the match with his first match point.

Just a "difficult game"
"It was a bit of a difficult game at the start, but then it was a good match for me overall. I'm relatively happy with my performance, it was definitely a lot better than in the last few weeks," the 27-year-old Styrian summed up in the Sky interview on the Court des Princes. A record of 25:6 winners underlined his dominance, so the 21:14 more unforced errors were not a decisive factor.

Daniel Evans

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

0:3 record against Zverev
Ofner's debut in the Principality can therefore be described as a success; it was only his third match win at Masters 1000 level after those in Shanghai 2023 and most recently in Miami against Kei Nishikori. After his success in his first ever duel with the 33-year-old Evans, a different caliber now awaits. The 26-year-old Zverev, who was given a walk-through in the opening round, is ranked number five in the world. Ofner has yet to win a set in three meetings, suffering defeats on three different occasions in Wimbledon (2017), Paris (2022) and last year in the first round of Vienna.

"The win means I can go in with confidence, so I'm ready. It will certainly be an interesting match, and the Austria vs. Germany duel is certainly big and interesting for tennis and the people," said Ofner.

MONTE CARLO (ATP Masters 1000, 6.643 million euros, clay) - 1st round:
Sebastian Ofner (AUT) - Daniel Evans (GBR) 6:1,6:4

2nd round: Ofner - Alexander Zverev (GER-5)