Carlos Alcaraz recovered from his Monte Carlo final defeat to Jannik Sinner by defeating Otto Virtanen of Finland.
The Spanish tennis star claimed 6-4, 6-3, victory on Tuesday, April 14, to reach the second round of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.
According to TNT Sports, Alcaraz appeared uncomfortable in the first set, making several unforced errors and saving three break points at 2-2.
He even required some treatment from his physio for a wrist problem at 5-4, and he looked sharper immediately after, securing the first break of the match to take the first set.
There was an exchange of breaks at the start of the second set but world No. 2 Alcaraz soon pulled clear.
A double break put him in control and he saw out the set with relative ease, winning the match in an hour and 25 minutes.
The seven-time Grand Slam winner said, “It feels great to be back. To get another win here in Barcelona in front of my people, my everything. I missed playing here in Barcelona.”
"I tried to adapt my game as good as I can. It wasn’t easy. This morning was my first practice here. That with the conditions, different conditions than Monte Carlo,” he added.
Alcaraz will next play Czechia’s Tomas Machac, who beat Sebastian Baez in his round of 32 match.
