Watch: Carlos Alcaraz shows his incredible talent in victory over compatriot
A windswept world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz held off a spirited fight from fellow Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut to secure his second consecutive straight-sets victory in his title defence at the Barcelona Open this week.
Alcaraz had been out of action since his defeat in the Miami Open semi-finals as he bid to complete the Sunshine Double,
He did not appear at all off the pace but would trade a number of breaks with Bautista Agut in blustery conditions.
“Today was really tough. The conditions, it wasn’t easy,” Alcaraz said of the tricky conditions that led to a combined eight breaks of serve.
“Of course I had to adapt my game from the wind. It was really tough. Roberto’s a great player, a really solid player. I had to stay focussed all the time, be there all the time and try to take my chances.”
Alcaraz improves to 9-1 versus fellow Spaniards, with his lone loss to a compatriot coming against Rafael Nadal in the Indian Wells semi-finals last year.
Alcaraz is attempting to become the first repeat champion at the ATP 500 Barcelona Open since the Spanish great for whom the centre court is named, reigned from 2016 to 2018. Although the Stadium that surrounds the Pista Rafa Nadal appears to offer very little protection from the elements, Alcaraz players a robust game suited to all sorts of situations.
In Friday’s quarter-finals, he will meet another Spaniard, 10th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
After falling behind early in the first set at 2-3, Alcaraz responded by rattling off six unanswered games to seize control of the match.
Alcraz undoubtedly hit the shot of the match to bring up his third and last set point of the first set, sliding into a desperation backhand and gliding a slice past a surprised Bautista Agut, who thought a furious overhead smash had won the point.
“It was lucky. Honestly I didn’t expect to make that shot,” Alcaraz said of the stunning instance of tennis magic in Barcelona.
“I just closed my eyes, [swung] the racquet. It was a lot of luck that I made that shot. Something like that is so special.”
Despite being broken twice in set two, Alcaraz again pushed across the finish line, earning the final 11 points of the Barcelona Open battle from 4-5, 15/15.
READ MORE: Is Carlos Alcaraz a clay-court specialist or an all-court player? Patrick Mouratoglou has his say
He won in one hour and 53 minutes after breaking service five times out of ten times, with Bautista Agut dealing damage on return with three breaks in seven chances.
Alcaraz denied Bautista Agut his first Top 10 triumph on clay, ending his third quarter-final appearance in Barcelona (2015, 2018). The Spanish journeyman had been the oldest player in the youthful last 16 at 35 years old.
