Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz cruised past Nurio Borges 6-3 6-1 to reach the third round at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.
Alcaraz converted five of his seven break points to improve his record to 19 wins to 2 defeats this season.
Alcaraz raced out to a 5-1 lead with two breaks of serve. Borges pulled one of the breaks in the eighth game for 3-5 after Alcaraz made some unforced errors. Alcaraz earned his third break in the ninth game to close out the first set 6-3.
The Spanish player broke twice in the second and sixth games to win the second set 6-1.
Alcaraz has improved his record to six wins to just 1 defeat at the Barcelona Open.
“I feel great. Playing her in Barcelona, my first match on clay since rio de Janeiro last February. I feel great. Moving well. Hitting the ball really well, so I feel a lot of confidence playing here in Barcelona. It’s a really special place for me”, said Alcaraz.
Third seed Casper Ruud edged past Ben Shelton 6-2 7-6 (7-1). Ruud saved four of the five break points he faced and converted three of his eighth break points.
Ruud was not able to serve out for the win in the second set before winning the tie-break.
Both players served well in their opening service games. Ruud converted his third break point to take a 2-1 lead after a forehand error from Shelton. Ruud consolidated the break with a hold of serve in the fourth game. Ruud earned his second break in the fifth game, when Shelton sent a forehand long. Ruud won a long rally in the sixth game after a loose drop shot from Shelton to race out to a 5-1 lead.
Shelton hit a service winner to hold serve before Ruud sealed the first set 6-2 after 29 minutes.
Ruud saved a total of four break points in the second and fourth games of the second set.
Ruud saved four of five break points he faced against Shelton, who was playing on red clay for the fifth time in his career. Ruud hit a backhand crosscourt return winner in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead. The Norwegian player held his next two service games to open up a 5-3 lead, forcing Shelton to serve to stay in the match.
Shelton held serve at 15 in the ninth game with his serve. Ruud made a forehand error at 30-30 in the 10th game. Shelton pulled one break back with a crosscourt forehand winner to draw level to 5-5, as Ruud was serving out for the match.
Shelton saved a break point in the 11th game setting up a tie-break. Ruud earned two mini-breaks to open up a 4-1 lead after a double fault from Shelton on the fifth point. Ruud earned five match points and sealed the win on his first chance after a backhand error from Shelton to reach the third round.
“He was playing great, and I think I was playing great. I played a perfect first set and he was playing maybe a few too many mistakes. I think all throughout the second set was tough games, tough rallies. It can be difficult. In the first set you feel like you get a a lot of free points, and so on, but then suddenly he starts playing almost like a wall and playing really good from on defence. It’s tough when someone changes in the middle of the match, but I am very happy that I was able to stay calm and play a very good tie-break”, said Ruud.
Ruud avenged his defeat against Shelton, who beat his Norwegian opponent 6-3 6-3 in their only previous head-to-head match in Cincinnati last August.
Ruud, who won his first title of the 2023 season in Estoril, set up a second round match against either Francisco Cerundolo or Francesco Passaro, who beat Fernando Verdasco 6-1 6-2.
Diego Schwartzman converted five of his eleven break points in his 6-2 6-2 win over Wu Yibing in 79 minutes to set up a second round against Jannik Sinner. Schwartzman reached the quarter final in 2021 and the semifinal in 2022 in his most recent appearances at the Barcelona Open.
