ATP Tour

Musetti wins highlight-reel outing with Moutet for Barcelona QF spot

Lorenzo Musetti kept his cool in the face of a typically crafty Corentin Moutet performance on Thursday afternoon to seal a quarter-final berth at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.

The No. 9 player in the PIF ATP Rankings prevailed 6-3, 6-4 in a richly entertaining encounter on Pista Rafa Nadal. Moutet, who was competing despite being reluctant to strike a topspin backhand due to a wrist injury, nonetheless deployed his slice to great effect to keep Musetti on his toes. However, it was not enough to deny the Italian victory in a highlight-filled one-hour, 41-minute encounter.

Musetti secured a crucial break of serve for 5-4 in the second set by winning a point that was reflective of the match as a whole. Moutet stayed alive with some breathtaking defence, including a perfectly measured lob that clipped the baseline, before Musetti regained control and finished with an arrow-like cross-court backhand.

WHAT. A. FINISH. 😱@Lorenzo1Musetti and Moutet play out another exhilarating point!@bcnopenbs | #BCNOpenBS pic.twitter.com/yIFNmGF2kJ

— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 16, 2026

“You know that Corentin is such a tremendous defender,” Musetti said, when asked about the point. “He has this ability with his hands, with his touch, and he runs so much. It was not easy to find a way to break him. At the end, with a great cross-court backhand, I finished and got the break. I’m super happy with the patience and the attitude I put on the court today.”

With his victory, Musetti improved to 3-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Moutet. The Italian is now 9-4 for the season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, after responding to three consecutive defeats by reaching his second Barcelona quarter-final.

“It was not easy because today was pretty windy,” Musetti said. “It was not always in one direction, so it was not easy to adapt and deal with the conditions. In a way, I think I managed to stay there and tried to play each point like the last one. At the end, I brought home the win and that is the most important thing.”

Awaiting the 24-year-old Musetti in the last eight in Catalonia will be ninth seed Arthur Fils who raced past Brandon Nakashima 6-2, 6-3 in the final match on Thursday’s schedule. Fils, who saved two match points to defeat Terence Atmane in the first round, converted five of nine break points he earned against Nakashima to reach the quarter-finals in Barcelona for the third year in a row.

Earlier, fifth seed Andrey Rublev bounced back promptly from a slow start to ease into a joint-record 33rd ATP 500 quarter-final (Alexander Zverev also hit that tally on Thursday with his win against Gabriel Diallo in Munich). Rublev slipped to an early 0-2 deficit but then powered to a 6-2, 6-3 triumph against Lorenzo Sonego. The 17-time ATP Tour champion Rublev will take on Tomas Machac for a semi-final spot.