The Telegraph Two of the surprise packages of this clay-court season have been British – initially Dan Evans, who made a deep run in Monte Carlo, and more lately Cameron Norrie, who played his second final in three weeks on Sunday. Unfortunately, Norrie wasn’t able to land a maiden ATP title in Lyon. But then he was up against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been the dominant force of 2021 outside the slams, and now stands at No 1 in the table of most rankings points gained since January 1. Nevertheless, it had been a hugely creditable effort for Norrie to go this far, especially when you consider that he took out top seed Dominic Thiem on Thursday, and then trounced big-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov in Saturday’s semi-final, losing only two games in the process. Norrie has come to clay late in his career, but it feels like this is developing into his favourite surface. He has one of the heaviest left-handed forehands in the game, loaded with top-spin, and uses it like a miniature version of Rafael Nadal. The result has been a tally of 14 wins and only four losses since he began his European clay-court swing in Barcelona. So while the French Open, which starts next Sunday, has traditionally been a graveyard of British hopes, there are reasons to hope that this year’s event could deliver some more positive results. Norrie’s previous final in Estoril had been a nervewracking affair which he eventually lost on a deciding-set tie-break to the more experienced Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Sunday was more straightforward for Tsitsipas, who needed only 69 minutes to hammer home a 6-3, 6-3 victory. It was Tsitsipas’ second title of the clay-court sequence, after he won Monte Carlo in mid-April, taking out Evans in the semi-final along the way. He has become a serious contender to upset the establishment – specifically Nadal and Novak Djokovic – at Roland Garros over the next few weeks. “I felt in good shape from the beginning of the tournament,” said Tsitsipas afterwards. “I am proud of today’s match, I knew it would be a difficult one against Cameron, who has been showing great tennis this week. He has been winning against good players and showing what the left hand can do on clay. “It was not an easy match today. I had to handle the nerves and I am proud of my performance and the way I stayed focused towards my goal.” On this year’s results, meanwhile, both Evans and Norrie stand among the world’s 20 most successful men. Evans is at No 16 and Norrie No 14. The next challenge for them both is to convert that ATP Tour form into a deep run at a major.<doc-sep>The Indiana Pacers have reached agreement on a one-year, $12 million deal with Tyreke Evans, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Evans, who averaged 19.4 points, 5.2 assists, and 5.1 rebounds while shooting a career-best 39.9 percent from three on 5.5 attempts per game (2.5 more than the season prior), could realistically play beside Victor Oladipo in a Houston-style rotation or take on the mantle of sixth man from Lance Stephenson. The 2010 Rookie of the Year shot above 40 percent on threes off the dribble last season, something only Kyrie Irving and Stephen Curry accomplished on at least three attempts per game, and he scored at a comparable rate (1.043 points per possession) to Oladipo in isolation (1.052). In other words, if Oladipo has an off night, Evans would be capable not only of creating his own shot but perhaps, maybe even, crosses fingers (gasp) covering for him. “If you’re watching the playoffs right now, you have to have multiple ballhandlers to make plays,” Pritchard told reporters when Larry Bird stepped down from making player personnel decisions. “You can take one guy out all the time. It’s tough to take two guys out, and almost impossible to take out three.” The Pacers got outscored by 7.3 points per 100 possessions when Oladipo was on the bench last season, and the team’s aggregate bench net rating (minus-2.1) finished in the red for a second consecutive season. The free agent’s shooting, though it may not continue to be quite as blistering, doesn’t appear to be a contract year anomaly, either. The nine-year veteran’s accuracy — whether off the pass or dribble — has been above 35 percent each of the last three seasons despite the fact that he’s steadily increased his per game volume on those shots and dealt with injuries (FYI: He hasn’t played 60 games in a season since 2014-15). When Evans attacks the paint as a playmaker, his ability to draw and shake bodies to and from the ball with hesitations and head fakes points toward him being a match for the league’s most prolific pick-and-roll offense as well as Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis, in particular. With Marc Gasol, who was one of only two players (the other was Indiana’s starting center) to attempt over 200 field goals when popping, Evans would toss throwback passes with controlled timing. For rollers, he can generate open looks under the rim with wrap-around passes, one-handed lobs, and drop-offs. Memphis ranked in the bottom third of the league in three-point field goal percentage as well as three-point attempts per 100 possessions, so the 28-year-old scorer didn’t have the privilege, nor sometimes the inclination, to wheel-and-deal in a spacious offense, but he has the sort of live-dribble skip passes in his passing arsenal that Oladipo still needs to master with more consistency. Here, for instance, Evans sets up his defender with a behind-the-back dribble before going away from the pick, forcing the screener’s man to commit, and hitting the open spot-up shooter. Evans isn’t pass-first nor will he overwhelm in transition where Oladipo dominates, but he’s enough of a multi-talented scorer and dynamic pick-and-roll threat to believe he can tag team the offensive burden when the high-octane guard is on the bench or bear it in tandem — assuming his career-high usage rate (28.7 percent) can adjust for no longer needing to show out on a bad team without ruffling feathers — when they share the floor. The 28-year-old perimeter playmaker also reportedly received interest from the Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers, Charlotte Hornets, and Golden State Warriors. Per Jeff Siegel of Early Bird Rights, the Pacers can still generate around $5 million in space if they stretch Al Jefferson’s $4 million cap hit and waive Ike Anigbogu and Alex Poythress. The one-year deal also allows Indiana’s brass to maintain financial flexibility for next season.<doc-sep>
Joe Murphy/Getty Images Veteran guard Tyreke Evans reportedly agreed to terms on a one-year deal worth $12 million with the Indiana Pacers, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reported Tuesday. The 2017-18 season was generally a disaster for the Memphis Grizzlies, but Evans was one of the few bright spots. He averaged 19.4 points—his highest since his rookie year in 2009-10—and he shot a career-high 39.9 percent from three-point range. Memphis' 115-112 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on December 23 was one of the high-water marks of Evans' run with the team. He finished with a double-double (30 points, 11 assists) and connected on six of his 11 three-point attempts. According to NBA.com, the Grizzlies had a 0.3 net rating with Evans on the court, and their net rating fell to minus-11.2 when he went to the bench. While Evans was one of Memphis' best players, he was never likely to stay with the team for the long term. The Grizzlies aren't tearing things down entirely, but it's clear they're no longer a serious threat in the Western Conference without significant upgrades to the roster. Video Play Button Videos you might like Memphis doesn't have many scorers such as Evans who can single-handedly spark an offense, but he was unlikely going to make much of a difference for the team in 2018-19. And that's to say nothing of the risk the Pacers are assuming by signing the nine-year veteran. When he's healthy, Evans generally provides a solid baseline in terms of what he can deliver. He's averaging 16.5 points per game over his NBA career, and he connected on 38.7 percent of his three-pointers over the past three years, so his 31.8 career three-point percentage may reflect how good of a shooter he is now. The problem is, Evans has serious trouble staying healthy. He appeared in just 52 games this past year and played 65 combined games between the 2015-16 and 2016-17 campaigns. While Evans is a solid addition for Indiana's backcourt, the team should already be prepared for the possibility he misses a stretch of games next season. He may come off the bench behind starting guards Darren Collison and Victor Oladipo, but he'll likely see plenty of time along that backcourt duo at the 3 in favor of Bojan Bogdanovic, as well.