Top seed wins four consecutive games in second set to finish straight-sets victory

Carlos Alcaraz moved one step closer to capturing his third Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell title on Thursday when he raced into the quarter-finals at the ATP 500.

The Spaniard fought off heavy-hitting Laslo Djere 6-2, 6-4 in blustery conditions, extending his winning streak to seven following his Monte-Carlo title run last week.

Alcaraz trailed 2-4 in the second set, but quickly bounced back, breaking Djere to love that game behind increased aggression from the baseline. Djere double faulted at 0/40, gifting Alcaraz the break back. The home favourite rode that momentum to tally four straight games and close out the 71-minute victory.

“I think as much as I can win in straight sets, it’s much better to save energy for the matches that I have coming forward,” Alcaraz said. “I think I played great tennis, even better than the first round, even though I had to come back from 4-2 in the second set. I think he played much better in that second set, but really happy to find a great level again and hopefully keep going.”

The No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, Alcaraz made a flying start and treated the fans to a blistering forehand pass to earn a double break in the opening set. He moved around the court with ease, mixing deep return positions with explosive sprints to track down the Serbian’s drop shots. Alcaraz converted all six of his points at net.

Alcaraz, the top seed, held the edge on second-serve performance, winning 57 per cent of those points to Djere’s 37 per cent, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

The 18-time tour-level titlist improved to 27-1 on Spanish clay courts since the start of 2022 season, including 12-0 in Barcelona, where he was crowned champion in 2022 and 2023. He next faces fifth seed Alex de Minaur, who Alcaraz leads 3-0 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, including a victory in the Rotterdam final this year.

De Minaur raced past lucky loser Jacob Fearnley 6-1, 6-2 in just 62 minutes after dropping just three points behind his first serve (20/23).

Into his 50th tour-level quarter-final, De Minaur is third man born in 1999 or later to achieve that feat, alongside Felix Auger-Aliassime (2000; 54) and Jannik Sinner (2001; 52). Since the start of the 2023 season, the 26-year-old De Minaur boasts the most match wins at ATP 500 level (37).

In other Barcelona action, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina advanced to the last eight by earning his first win over World No. 8 Andrey Rublev. After five straight defeats in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, the Spaniard ousted the fourth seed 7-5, 6-4 to claim his third Top 10 victory of the season.

Davidovich Fokina is the third player to earn 20 tour-level match wins this year, alongside Alcaraz and De Minaur. The 25-year-old recorded just 18 tour-level wins for the entire 2024 season. Eighth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, Davidovich Fokina will next face Karen Khachanov.

The 28-year-old Khachanov advanced to his 60th tour-level quarter-final — and first of this season — with a 7-5, 6-4 victory against Jaume Munar. Khachanov, who advanced to his first Barcelona quarter-final in 2017, now holds the record for longest gap between quarter-final appearances at the Spanish tournament.