Spanish Next Gen player Carlos Alcaraz beat Jaume Munar 6-3 6-3 with a break in each set to set up a quarter final match against Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.
Alcaraz now leads 2-1 against Munar in their head-to-head matches. All their three matches were played on clay. The Spanish teenager is chasing his third title this season after Rio de Janeiro and Miami.
Tsitsipas beat last week’s Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov 6-1 6-4. Tsitsipas broke three times in the first, third and seventh games to seal the first set 6-1. After two trades of break in the first six games of the second set, both players held on serve in the next service games. Tsitsipas sealed the second set with a break in the 10th game.
Second seed Casper Ruud cruised past Emil Ruusuvuori 6-2 6-2 to move into the quarter final. Ruud now leads 2-0 in his head-to-head matches against Ruusuvuori.
Ruud had reached the second round in his only Barcelona in 2017. The Norwegian player is chasing the eighth title of his career and the seventh on clay.
Ruud won his only title on clay in Buenos Aires this season beating Diego Schwartzman in three sets and has a record of seven wins to one defeat on this surface in 2022. On hard-court the Scandinavian player finished runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz in his first Masters 1000 final at the Miami Open last March.
Ruud will return to the court later today to play his quarter final match against Pablo Carreno Busta, who beat Lorenzo Sonego 6-2 5-7 6-2. Rain delayed matches earlier this week forcing players to play two matches in a packed schedule including third round and quarter final matches.
Carreno Busta went up a 4-0 lead with a double break and held on his next service games to close out the first set 6-2. Sonego saved a break point in the fifth game of the second set. Both players went on serve until the 12th game when Sonego converted his fourth break point to close out the second set 7-5.
Carreno Busta converted his second break point in the third game of the decider and held on his serve to open up a 3-1 lead. Sonego saved a break point in the fifth game, but Carreno Busta earned his break point for 4-1 and won his next service games to seal the second set 6-2.
Felix Auger Aliassime moved past Frances Tiafoe 7-5 6-4 in 1 hour and 53 minutes. Tiafoe saved three break points to hold serve at deuce in the sixth game. Auger Aliassime earned his first break in the 12th game at deuce to take the opening set 7-5.
Tiafoe went up a 3-0 lead with a double break in the second set. Auger Aliassime pulled both break points in the sixth game to draw level to 3-3. Tiafoe saved two break points in the eighth game after three deuces, but Auger Aliassime sealed the win with his third break in the 12th game. The Canadian player reached his fourth quarter final this year. He won his first title in Rotterdam beating Tsitsipas in the final and finished runner-up to Andrey Rublev in Marseille one week later.
“It was a great first set. I was serving amazing and was very comfortable on my serve. I was a little bit surprised with how the second set started but that is the ups and downs of the sport. He played much better, way more aggressive and precise. I stayed very calm, knowing if I put a lot of returns into play I would give myself chances. I am glad to get through”, said Auger Aliassime.
Auger Aliassime set up a quarter final match against Diego Schwartzman beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-4 7-5. Schwartzman earned an early break in the second game in the second game, but Musetti broke straight back in the third game. Both players traded breaks for the second time in the sixth and seventh games. Schwartzman sealed the first set with a break in the 10th game.
Musetti went up a break three times in the second set, but Schwartzman broke back each time to draw level to 5-5. Schwartzman broke for the fourth game in the 12th game to close out the second set 7-5.
