Photo credit: Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters Facebook
Staging a Barcelona homecoming, Carlos Alcaraz. took transition tennis to dynamic places today.
Maximizing limited turnaround time after winning his maiden Monte-Carlo crown on Sunday, Alcaraz saved a set point fighting off American Ethan Quinn 6-2, 7-6(6) in his Barcelona opener today.
It was Alcaraz’s 11th consecutive Barcelona victory coming two years after he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the 2023 final to capture his second straight Barcelona Open crown.
Playing at home ratcheted up the pressure on the Wimbledon winner.
“Very happy to be back in Barcelona, really happy to be playing here in front of my people,” Alcaraz said in his on-court interview. “It was a really difficult match for me.
“I had to deal with the nerves and pressure I had playing in Barcelona. I’m really happy to be able to win in straight sets. Physically it’s always important to save a bit of energy for the next matches. Happy to get through and give myself another time to play another match.”
Facing off with Alcaraz nose-to-nose at net is not a winning prospect for most players, but Quinn made it work to earn break points in the 12th game. When Alcaraz missed a forehand down the line, the American broke to force the tiebreaker.
At 5-all in the tiebreaker, Alcaraz blasted a serve into the body. Quinn held up his racquet face like a frying pan repelling a bullet and that improvised return helped him earn set point at 6-5.
As did in Monte-Carlo, Alcaraz elevated when necessary running off the final three points and finishing the with a feathered forehand dropper.
Alcaraz improved to 21-4 on the season and he’s now won 26 of his last 27 matches staged on Spanish clay courts since the start of 2022 season. Next up for Alcaraz is Laslo Djere for a quarterfinal spot.
Earlier, four-time finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas broke serve four times sweeping Reilly Opelka 6-2, 6-2.
Tsitsipas, who will reportedly start working with Hall of Famer Goran Ivanisevic after Roland Garros, won 18 of 24 second-serve points in a 70-minute victory.
Former French Open finalist Tsitsipas will face another American, Sebastian Korda in the round of 16.
No. 7-seeded Arthur Fils fought off Spanish wild card Pablo Carreno Busta 7-6(6), 6-3.
Fils, who nearly toppled Alcaraz in the Monte-Carlo quarterfinals last week, fought back from 1-4 down today. The Frenchman saved a set point serving at 5-6, 30-40.
The 20-year-old Fils improved to 15-7 on the season and will take on Spaniard Pedro Martinez next.