Just 48 hours after his Monte-Carlo Masters final loss to Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz bounced back from an injury concern to beat Otto Virtanen and secure a spot in the Barcelona Open's last 16. The Spanish player, who needs to win the tournament to reclaim the world number one spot from Sinner, defeated Finland's Virtanen 6-4, 6-2, despite taking a medical timeout for a wrist issue at the end of the first set. Alcaraz showed no signs of physical discomfort during his 85-minute first-round victory on home soil.
He has now won 27 of his last 29 clay-court matches and achieved his 22nd victory of 2026. "It's amazing to be back and get another win in front of my home crowd in Barcelona; it means the world to me," Alcaraz said, who will face Czech player Tomas Machac on Thursday.
"This morning was my first practice here to adapt to the conditions, which are different from those in Monte Carlo, but overall, I'm really happy with my performance and how I solved the problems I faced in the first set. I ended up playing great tennis, so hopefully, I'll feel a bit better in the next round." Alcaraz is chasing his third title of the season this week, following his career Grand Slam win at the Australian Open and his triumph at the ATP 500 event in Doha. The opportunity to quickly regain the world number one ranking from his big rival Jannik Sinner provides additional motivation for Alcaraz, but steady improvement during the clay season remains his top priority.
With Sinner absent from the draw, Alcaraz's hopes of winning the tournament are boosted. The two-time champion in Barcelona joked about not missing Sinner this week and acknowledged that their rivalry provides extra motivation. However, Alcaraz's focus remains on improving and staying on the right path.
He hopes to play a full schedule on clay this season, with events in Madrid and Rome ahead of his French Open title defense in Paris on May 24.