DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — English qualifier Daniel Evans upset second-seeded John Isner 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Saturday to reach the Delray Beach Open final, where he will face Radu Albot of Moldova
“I just play every match as it comes,” Evans said. “I know it sounds very cliché.”
The semifinal victory marked the 40th tour-level match victory for Evans, who was suspended from the tour for a year in April 2017 after testing positive for cocaine.
“You have to stay resilient in the sport because it’s so up-and-down,” Evans said. “Obviously, my downfall was by my own wrongdoing. Let’s say mine was a mental issue.”
The 148th-ranked Evans has beaten three seeded players this week, also topping third seed and defending champion Frances Tiafoe in the first round and sixth-seeded Andreas Seppi in the quarterfinals.
In Evans’ only other tour final, he lost to Gilles Muller in 2017 in Sydney.
In the night semifinal, American Mackenzie McDonald lost to Albot 6-0, 0-6, 0-6.
Isner also reached the Delray Beach semifinals in 2012, ’13 and ’14, but has never advanced to the final. The 6-foot-10 American also lost in the semifinal round last weekend in the New York Open.
Isner held serve in all 31 service games he played this week until Evans broke him three times.
“There’s something about the semifinals here, good Lord,” Isner said. “I’m good enough to get into the semis. It’s getting to me now. I just sort of did a walkabout. I think tactically I did some things poorly today and that’s what cost me. He just kept hitting a lot of balls.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.