Alcaraz Wins Second All-Spanish Affair To Continue Barcelona Title Defence

For the second straight day at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, Carlos Alcaraz shook off a stern test from a fellow Spaniard to advance in straight sets at the clay-court ATP 500. After beating Roberto Bautista Agut on Thursday, the 19-year-old edged Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(5), 6-4 on Friday to return to the semi-finals on home soil.

“It was really tough for me,” Alcaraz assessed. “I started playing pretty well, serving for the first set. I was not able to win [that game]… I was going really fast, a lot of things on my mind. [After the first set] I was talking to myself, positive things, trying to play long rallies, trying to [be there] through the points, trying to feel more comfortable with myself.”

Alcaraz has not lost a set in four Barcelona matches against his countrymen, including a win against Pablo Carreno Busta in last year’s final. He is now 9-1 against Spanish opposition since the start of 2022 and 8-1 overall at the ATP 500 event, his lone defeat coming to Frances Tiafoe in his 2021 debut.

With two more wins, Alcaraz would become Barceiona’s first repeat champion since Rafael Nadal won three straight titles from 2016-18. He will face Daniel Evans or Francisco Cerundolo in Saturday’s semi-finals.

While he did not produce his best tennis consistently in the chilly and windy conditions, Alcaraz managed the big moments well after losing the lead in both sets. While his level ebbed and flowed, he relied on his trusty drop shot at several key points and willed his way to victory at the end of each set.

Davidovich Fokina fought power with power and troubled Alcaraz throughout the two-hour, 10-minute match. He was two points away from winning the opening set on four occasions, but he never saw a set point after letting an early lead slip in the tie-break.

The pair split 22 break points in the match, with Alcaraz converting on four to his opponent’s three. Alcaraz saved six of those break points to hold for 2-1 in the second set and capitalised with a break in the ensuing game, only to see Davidovich Fokina snatch it back with the shot of the match — a wicked drop volley that bounced back onto his side of the net, drawing a smile from Alcaraz.

“The hot shot is from him today,” said Alcaraz, who produced a shot-of-the-tournament contender of his own against Bautista Agut on Thursday. “He played really well, great shots. Probably not only the one hot shot. He made a lot of them, probably more than me. It was a really fun match.”

Alcaraz sealed victory with a break of serve in the match’s final game and will now wait for the result of Barcelona’s Friday nightcap between Evans and Cerundolo to find out his next opponent.