Tsitsipas, Ruud make lightning starts in Barcelona

Four-time finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas continued his impressive record at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on Tuesday.

The Greek eased past big-serving Reilly Opelka 6-2, 6-2 to improve to 7-0 in opening rounds at the clay-court ATP 500 event. Tsitsipas, who has reached the Barcelona final in four of the previous six editions (2018, ‘21, ‘23, ‘24), adopted a deep return position and ultimately capitalised on 35 unforced errors from Opelka.

“I’m happy with the way I found relief through fighting, particularly in the difficult moments when he was serving,” said Tsitsipas, who improved to 2-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Opelka. “I knew the serve was going to be the trickiest part.

“I got a few metres back [returning] and used that space effectively. I felt I was able to return way more returns than initially expected. I kept my cool when I had to, it was a good win.”

Flying start ✈️

[3] @steftsitsipas posts a 6-2 6-2 victory over Opelka@bcnopenbs | #BCNOpenBS pic.twitter.com/IK9HJoDmIn

— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 15, 2025

With his 21-6 record in Barcelona, Tsitsipas trails only Kei Nishikori (24-7) for the best among active players. The No. 16 in the PIF ATP Rankings has set a second-round meeting with American Sebastian Korda.

Defending champion Casper Ruud also ensured it was a winning return to Barcelona on Tuesday. The second seed delivered an assured 6-4, 6-3 performance over qualifier Daniel Elahi Galan to advance. Ruud served back-to-back double faults to fall to 4-4, 0/30 in the first set, but crucially reeled off eight of the final nine points of the opener to swing the momentum in his favour.

“I was able to win some good points from 4-4, 0/30 down, I held serve and broke him right away… That’s a little bit of a steal, I would say,” said Ruud, who will next face Hamad Medjedovic. “All in all, I’m very happy with the match, and the win.

“I had many chances in the beginning that I couldn’t take, but we got there in the end. I’m happy to be back in Barcelona and get a straight-sets win. One year ago, I had one of the best weeks of my life, so the memories come back.”

While Ruud landed just 52 per cent of his first serves in the opening set, he was able to back up his second deliveries with venom. The Norwegian won 76 per cent of points behind his second serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and hit 25 winners during the one-hour, 30-minute clash.

Last week's Monte-Carlo semi-finalist Alex de Minaur and quarter-finalist Arthur Fils also sealed their spots in the second round in Barcelona on Tuesday. De Minaur moved past Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-4, 6-4 to set a clash with lucky loser Jacob Fearnley, while Fils overcame wild card Pablo Carreno Busta 7-6(6), 6-3. The Frenchman was forced to rally from a break down and saved two set points in the opening set before motoring into the second round, where he faces Pedro Martinez.