WATCH: Electrifying Carlos Alcaraz delivers some magic at the Barcelona Open
Unsurprisingly, Carlos Alcaraz “felt great” after making a spectacular return to competitive tennis at the Barcelona Open, brushing aside Nuno Borges in the second round of the Barcelona Open.
Alcaraz hasn’t played since losing in the semi-final of the Miami Open while his last match on clay was back in February when he finished runner-up at the Rio Open.
But clay has always been his forte and he put his athleticism to great use to defeat the Portuguese player 6-3, 6-1 in just one hour and four minutes in the second round at Real Club de Tenis Barcelona.
It wasn’t just athleticism and power that was on display from the Spaniard as he used some deft touches to execute perfect drop shots, not showing much rust after spending the past few weeks on the sidelines due to injury.
As he admitted in his post-match press conference that he sometimes has to come up with some “magic to achieve a winner, going up to the net if necessary”.
There was certainly a lot of “magic” from the youngster during the match and it was no surprise that he was pleased with his solid start.
“I feel great. Playing here in Barcelona, [my] first match on clay since Rio [in February],” the defending champion said after his win.
“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.”
It was a clinical display from the 19-year-old and he gave Borges no breathing space early on as the Spaniard raced into a 5-1 lead on the back of two breaks. The Portuguese got some joy with a break in game eight, but Alcaraz broke again to take the opening set in 35 minutes.
The second set lasted only 29 minutes as Alcaraz broke in games two and six to wrap up the match.
“Every time I enter the court I have no brakes, it’s my style,” Alcaraz said of his aggressive game plan. “I know my capacity and I know how to recover.
“You have to be careful with the schedule because it’s a very long season, but also play every game to the fullest.”
Next up for the world No 2 is fellow Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, who defeated Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-2, 6-2 while the winner will take on either 10th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Emil Ruusuvuori in the quarter-final.
Ruusuvuori was responsible for the upset of the day on Tuesday as the Finn defeated fifth seed Frances Tiafoe 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4.
