Alcaraz moves past De Minaur with stylish Barcelona win

Carlos Alcaraz kept alive his electric run of form on Friday at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, where he extended his win streak to eight matches.

The top seed earned an impressive 7-5, 6-3 victory over Alex de Minaur to reach the semi-finals at the ATP 500. Alcaraz, who lifted his second ATP Tour title of the season in Monte-Carlo on Sunday, was twice forced to rally in the opening set, but timed his charge to perfection to seal a one-hour, 39-minute victory.

“I started quite badly with the serve, I was struggling a little bit mentally with [it],” said Alcaraz, who won 57 per cent (12/21) of first-serve points in the opening set, according to Infosys ATP Stats. “It was just the first few games with my serve, then I think I improved a lot. I calmed myself down and started to think positively again. Alex started strong, playing aggressively, and the first set was really tight.”

Hunt for the hat-trick gains pace 💪

2022-23 champion @carlosalcaraz storms into the semi-finals 7-5 6-3 past de Minaur@bcnopenbs | #BCNOpenBS pic.twitter.com/WrwT0kdYR8

— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 18, 2025

Alcaraz is now among a group of six players to record eight consecutive tour-level wins in 2025. The Spaniard, who won back-to-back titles in Barcelona in 2022-23, will face Arthur Fils in the semi-finals. The seventh-seeded Fils advanced to his first semi-final of the season after Stefanos Tsitsipas retired in the third game of their quarter-final clash.

Longest Winning Streaks on 2025 ATP Tour

In the other half of the draw, sixth seed Holger Rune delivered a statement 6-4, 6-2 victory over defending champion Casper Ruud. Although the 21-year-old Dane commanded from the baseline, he displayed the tactical nous to move forward when required, highlighted by a clever serve-and-volley play en route to holding serve for 2-0 in the second set.

By notching his third consecutive Top-10 win (also Tsitsipas, Medvedev en route to Indian Wells final), Rune extended his quarter-final winning streak to six matches, which dates back to Cincinnati last year.

“It means a lot, it was a really good match today,” said Rune, who improved to 14-9 in 2025. “I was hitting through my groundstrokes and feeling good. I played the right way and I’m very happy I was able to finish it. He made it difficult, he’s a great player. I think I played on my terms and I was really explosive, this is how I want to play.”

Former World No. 4 Rune, who is up to No. 11 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, could return to the Top 10 for the first time since last April if he reaches the final in Barcelona.

While Ruud took a 6-1 Lexus ATP Head2Head lead into Friday’s clash with Rune, he was unable to find his range, hitting 29 unforced errors during the 87-minute contest. Ruud will leave Barcelona having dropped five spots to No. 15 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.

Into his 23rd ATP Tour semi-final (10-12), Rune will face Karen Khachanov, who earlier moved past the in-form Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-4, 7-5 in one hour, 45 minutes. The 28-year-old Khachanov, who is into his third clay-court semi-final, reeled off five consecutive games from 2-5 and saved a set point in the second set.

“I’ve been playing really well. I’ve finally found a rhythm of playing consecutive matches and winning close ones, which gives me confidence,” said Khachanov. “Alejandro is playing tremendously well this year, and I had to dig deep to win this one, especially in the second set.”

Having reached two ATP Tour finals in Delray Beach and Acapulco, and the semi-finals at the Masters 1000 in Monte-Carlo last week, Davidovich Fokina is ninth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.