Top seed Carlos Alcaraz feels at home while playing in the Barcelona Open. The Spaniard bested Britain’s Daniel Evans by 6-2, 6-2 to set up a final date against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The youngster broke Brit’s serve in the fourth game of the opening set as he came up with his best. Alcaraz also broke Evans’ serve in the eighth game of the set to take a 1-0 lead.
The Spaniard once again broke Evans’ serve in the second game of the second set to put himself in a dominating position.
Meanwhile, Alcaraz will face Tsitsipas in the final and he has a 3-0 advantage against the Greek in the H2H battle. In fact, Alcaraz had beaten Tsitsipas in the quarterfinal of the Barcelona Open in 2022.
“I feel really comfortable playing here in Barcelona and [I am] playing well,” said Alcaraz, who will try to successfully defend a title for the first time in his career against Tsitsipas. “Stefanos as well is playing great matches. Last year we had a spicy match, let’s say. I know he’s a really nice guy off the court, so I’m going to try to forget everything that has happened in the matches before, try to focus on my game tomorrow, and try to get the win.”
Alcaraz revealed he loves playing at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899 and will want to go all the way..
“It’s so special to play a final here in Barcelona, a tournament that I love playing,” said Alcaraz. “I came to watch this tournament when I was really young and I played for this club when I was 11 or 12. I love this club, I love this tournament, and it’s so special to have the chance to lift the trophy here again.”
On the other hand, Tsitsipas got the better of Lorenzo Musetti by 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 in the other semifinal.
“It was very physical out there,” said Tsitsipas, who now holds a 16-4 record in Barcelona. “We had to cover lots of meters on the court and he had some incredible defensive shots that I really didn’t expect at all. It was such a mental challenge, I had to go out there and fight it all through [with] the determination of a lion, and just [went] out there to do the best I can.
“He’s a very difficult challenge, especially on this court, so it required a little bit more today.”
