The biggest shock of the second day was the loss of fifth seed Frances Tiafoe to and unseeded Emil Ruusuvuori.
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Grand Slam winner and tennis prodigy Carlos Alcaraz made a winning start to the clay season as he swept Nuno Borges away in the round of 32 of the 2023 ATP Barcelona Open on Tuesday. Alcaraz won the match 6-3, 6-1 after converting five out of seven break points and recording win percentages of 81% and 67% on the first and second serves respectively. The Spaniard extended his 2023 record to an incredible 19-2 after the 63-minute match.
“I feel great. Playing here in Barcelona, [my] first match on clay since Rio [in February],” said Alcaraz. “I feel great. Moving well, hitting the ball really well so I feel a lot of confidence playing here in Barcelona. It’s a really special place for me.”
Third seed Casper Ruud got off on a winning note as well despite a late scare against Ben Shelton in the round of 32. The Norwegian won 6-2, 7-6 (1) as he returned three out of eight break points and recorded win percentages of 76% and 50% on the first and second serves respectively. Ruud will be looking for a good performance in Barcelona after his disappointing exit in Monte Carlo in the round of 16.
“He was playing great, and I think I was playing great,” said Ruud. “I played a perfect first set and he was making maybe a few too many mistakes… But I think all throughout the second set was tough games, tough rallies. It can be difficult. In the first set you feel like you get a lot of free points, and so on, but then suddenly he starts playing almost like a wall and playing really good from on defence. It’s tough when someone changes in the middle of the match, but I’m very happy that I was able to stay calm and play a very good tie-break.”
The biggest shock of the second day was the loss of fifth seed Frances Tiafoe to and unseeded Emil Ruusuvuori. Tiafoe started on the back foot as the Finn eased to a first set victory but fought back in the second, winning after a tie-break. Things did not go to plan in the third set for the American as he could not find a way past Ruusuvuori and the match finished 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-4.
Home favourite Albert Ramos-Vinolas was also beaten on Tuesday in the round of 64 by Ecuadorian Emilio Gomez. Playing against Vinolas is always a tricky test but Gomez navigated the waters quite perfectly as he recorded a stunning 3-6, 6-1, 4-6 victory. The Ecuadorian returned six out of 12 break points and converted two aces on course to win the match.
Diego Schwartzman, who has been struggling in recent weeks, got off to a good start in Barcelona with a comfortable 6-2, 6-2 win over Wu Yibing in the round of 63. The Argentine was playing at his best, converting five out of 11 break points and recording win percentages of 61% and 86% on the first and second serves respectively.
