The 19-year-old defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(5), 6-4 on Friday to advance to the semi-finals at home after defeating Roberto Bautista Agut on Thursday.
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At the Barcelona Open on Friday, Carlos Alcaraz prevailed in straight sets over a challenging test from a fellow Spaniard for the second straight day. The 19-year-old defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(5), 6-4 on Friday to advance to the semi-finals at home after defeating Roberto Bautista Agut on Thursday. In four Barcelona matches against his countrymen, Alcaraz has not dropped a set.
This includes a victory over Pablo Carreno Busta in the 2017 final. He is currently 8-1 overall at the ATP 500 tournament and 9-1 against Spanish opposition since the beginning of 2022. His only loss came to Frances Tiafoe in his 2021 debut.
Alcaraz would become Barcelona’s first repeat champion since Rafael Nadal won three titles in a row from 2016 to 2018 with two more victories. In the semi-finals on Saturday, he will take on either Francisco Cerundolo or Daniel Evans.
Alcaraz handled the big moments after losing the lead in both sets well, despite the fact that he did not consistently play his best tennis in the chilly and windy conditions. While his level fluctuated, he made use of his reliable drop shot at several crucial moments and forced himself to win each set.
“It was really tough for me,” Alcaraz assessed. “I started playing pretty well, serving for the first set. I was not able to win [that game]… I was going really fast, a lot of things on my mind. [After the first set] I was talking to myself, positive things, trying to play long rallies, trying to [be there] through the points, trying to feel more comfortable with myself.”
In the match, the two players each had 22 break points, with Alcaraz converting four to his opponent’s three. In order to hold for 2-1 in the second set, Alcaraz saved six of those break points. He then capitalised with a break in the following game, only to have Davidovich Fokina steal it back with the shot of the match, a drop volley that bounced back onto his side of the net.
Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-2 on Friday to advance to the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and keep his perfect record against the Australian. Tsitsipas maintained control throughout the hour-and-twenty-one minute match at the clay-court ATP 500, dominating De Minaur and moving to a perfect 9-0 record in their ATP head-to-head series. The second seed set up a semifinal matchup against Italian Lorenzo Musetti with his 19th victory of the year. Musetti, the ninth seed, was given a walkover by Jannik Sinner earlier in the day on Friday.
De Minaur wanted to make it to the semi-finals for the second year in a row in Barcelona. The 24-year-old has a 14-8 record so far this year, with his February victory in Acapulco serving as a season high point.
“I would say that my shots were heavy,” Tsitsipas said. “I was able to control most of them and navigate him around the court on both my forehand and backhand. My patience was there. I knew that was the foundation of the match. I am satisfied with my return game, especially towards the end. I found myself in a very good position to press early on and look for the forehand and use my backhand when necessary as well.”
