Alcaraz Overcomes Injury Scare to Advance in Barcelona

Less than 48 hours after his Monte-Carlo Masters final loss to Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz bounced back from an injury scare to defeat Otto Virtanen, advancing to the Barcelona Open's last 16. The Spanish player, who needs to win the tournament to reclaim the world No 1 spot from Sinner, secured a 6-4 6-2 victory over Finland's Virtanen despite requiring a medical timeout for a wrist issue at the end of the first set. Alcaraz showed no signs of discomfort during his 85-minute win on home soil, marking his fourth Barcelona R16, 27th win in his last 29 clay matches, and 22nd victory of 2026. "It's great to be back and get another win in front of my people in Barcelona, it means everything," Alcaraz said, looking forward to facing Czech Tomas Machac on Thursday. "This morning was my first practice here to adapt to the conditions, which are different from Monte Carlo, but overall I'm really happy with how I played and solved the problems I had in the first set. I ended up playing great tennis, so hopefully, I will feel a little better in the next round." Alcaraz is chasing his third title of the season, having completed the career Grand Slam at the Australian Open and triumphed at the ATP 500 event in Doha. The opportunity to quickly reclaim the world No 1 ranking from Sinner provides additional motivation, but steady improvement during the clay season remains his top priority. With Sinner absent from the draw, Alcaraz's hopes of capturing the trophy on familiar territory are boosted. "I won't miss him this week," Alcaraz joked in his pre-tournament press conference. "I saw that I have to win the tournament here if I want to get the number one ranking back. The battle between Jannik and myself is great, it probably provides extra motivation. But we're focused, and my mind is set on trying to stay on the path we're on, trying to keep improving. We're clear about what we need to do in training and in matches. That's the main goal, results and points are extra motivation." Alcaraz plans to play a full schedule on clay this season, with events to follow in Madrid and Rome ahead of his French Open title defense beginning in Paris on May 24. Watch the ATP and WTA Tours, live on Sky Sports or stream with NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost.