ATP Tour

Alcaraz bounces back with opening Barcelona win, Fils saves 2 MPs

Carlos Alcaraz bounced back from his Monte-Carlo final defeat to Jannik Sinner on Tuesday at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, where he overcame Finland’s Otto Virtanen 6-4, 6-3 to reach the second round at the ATP 500 event.

Alcaraz is competing at No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time this season after losing top spot to Sinner in the Principality. However, the 22-year-old Spaniard can return to No. 1 with a title run in Barcelona.

In his first match on home soil this year, Alcaraz received a medical timeout for an arm issue at the end of the first set but did not show any signs of physical discomfort in his 85-minute first-round win. The top seed will next meet Tomas Machac after the Czech beat Sebastian Baez 2-6, 6-4, 6-1.

"It feels great to be back and to get another win in front of my people in Barcelona, it means everything," Alcaraz said. "This morning was my first practice here to adapt to the conditions. Different conditions to Monte-Carlo but overall I am really happy with the way that I played."

Alcaraz has fond memories at the ATP 500 clay-court event, having lifted the trophy in 2022 and 2023. Last year, the Spaniard advanced to the final, losing to Denmark’s Holger Rune. Alcaraz is chasing his third title of the season this week after completing the Career Grand Slam at the Australian Open and triumphing at the ATP 500 event in Doha.

The Spaniard will be keen to return to the winners' circle this week in Barcelona after falling just short to rival Sinner at the third ATP Masters 1000 event of the year in Monte-Carlo just two days ago. Sinner improved to 7-10 in the pair's Lexus ATP Head2Head series following his second clay-court win against Alcaraz. The Italian is not in action on the ATP Tour this week, leaving Alcaraz with the chance to return to No. 1.

In other action on Day 2 in Barcelona, second seed Lorenzo Musetti defeated Spanish wild card Martin Landaluce 7-5, 6-2 to earn his first tour-level win since the Australian Open in January.

The Italian suffered an opening-round defeat in Monte-Carlo last week to Valentin Vacherot and dropped from No. 5 to No. 9 in the PIF ATP Rankings as a result, having reached the final in 2025.

After a slow start against Miami quarter-finalist Landaluce, Musetti dominated the majority of the baseline exchanges in the second set to advance after 88 minutes. Musetti, will next meet Frenchman Corentin Moutet.

Frenchman Arthur Fils saved two match points en route to a dramatic 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(7) win against Terence Atmane. Fils, who fended off both match points in the third-set tie-break, is competing on clay for the first time this year.

The 21-year-old reached the semi-finals in Miami last month and arrives at the event in Barcelona this week with fond memories, having enjoyed a run to the last four in the Spanish city 12 months ago. Fils will next play Brandon Nakashima.

Third seed Alex de Minaur also advanced, beating Austrian qualifier Sebastian Ofner 7-6(7), 6-4. De Minaur, who saved a set point in the first-set tie-break at 6/7, reached the semi-finals at the ATP 500 clay-court event in 2022. The Australian will play Hamad Medjedovic in the second round.

Andrey Rublev also advanced, defeating Bucharest champion Mariano Navone 6-4, 7-5. Rublev will next face Lorenzo Sonego.