Carlos Alcaraz cruises to opening victory at Barcelona Open

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz opened his title safety on the Barcelona Open with a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 win over Nuno Borges.

The top-seeded Spaniard, No. 2 on the earth, reworked 5 of his seven break alternate options to protected the win on the Rafa Nadal coronary heart courtroom on Tuesday.

“It’s always different to play here, it’s not just any other tournament for me,” the 19-year-old Alcaraz said. “I’m at home, with the fans behind me. It’s always nice and special.” A two-time winner this 12 months, Alcaraz is making his 2023 debut on the European clay-court tour. He had not competed since Miami in March, skipping Monte Carlo because of irritation in his left hand and once more ache.

“I feel great,” Alcaraz said. “Moving well, hitting the ball really well so I feel a lot of confidence playing here in Barcelona.” Alcaraz’s subsequent opponent will be fellow Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, the Thirteenth-seed who defeated Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-2, 6-2.

Fifth-seeded American Frances Tiafoe misplaced 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-4 to Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland. The Fortieth-ranked Ruusuvuori rallied from 3-0 down throughout the remaining set.

Vamooooooooos!!!! 🤜🏻🤛🏻🔥 https://t.co/HnwGroze0G

— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) April 18, 2023

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Earlier, Casper Ruud reached the quarterfinals for a second straight 12 months by beating Ben Shelton 6-2, 7-6 (1).
The third-seeded Norwegian misplaced to Shelton last 12 months in Cincinnati, the place the American was a relatively unknown school participant ranked 229th on the earth.

“I wanted my revenge,” Ruud said. “Different surface, different continent, different tournament … I felt like I had a little bit more time here to build the points on clay, which is normal.” The 20-year-old Shelton, who had his breakout occasion in Cincinnati, made his first appearances in clay-court tournaments this season and has reached No. 37 on the earth. He was eradicated throughout the first spherical in Monte Carlo and throughout the second spherical in Estoril.

Ruud acquired his first title of the 12 months in Estoril this month. He will subsequent face Fifteenth-seeded Francisco Cerúndolo or Francesco Passaro, who defeated Fernando Verdasco 6-1, 6-1 on Tuesday.

Also, Diego Schwartzman defeated Wu Yibing 6-2, 6-2 to rearrange second-round matchup in opposition to fourth-seeded Jannik Sinner.

David Goffin beat Feliciano Lopez 7-6 (3), 6-7 (4), 6-0, whereas Alejandro Davidovich Fokina defeated Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 6-3. Qualifier Matteo Arnaldi defeated Jaume Munar 6-3, 6-4.