Article by Maria Olteanu – Published Tuesday, April 14, 2026, 7:43 p.m. / Updated Tuesday, April 14, 2026, 7:47 p.m.
Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz (22 years old, 2nd place ATP) successfully started the ATP tournament in Barcelona, defeating Finnish Otto Virtanen (24 years old, 130th place ATP), in two sets, score 6-4, 6-2. Beyond what the scoreboard showed, the Murcian player had emotions and medical problems with his right wrist.
Carlos Alcaraz, who fell to second place in the ATP rankings after losing the Monte Carlo final to Jannik Sinner, will next meet Czech Tomas Machac, who defeated Argentina's Sebastian Beez 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the first match.
Carlos Alcaraz, debut with problems at Barcelona
Although the score suggests a routine win for the world number two, the first set was far from easy, with Virtanen even having important chances that he failed to capitalize on.
Alcaraz had problems in the first set, being put in difficulty by the Finn, who had a break chance in the third game, and then, in the fifth, the Spaniard had to save his serve three times.
The game was pretty tight until the end, and then Virtanen conceded a key point. Alcaraz managed to attack his opponent at the score of 5-4, he missed the first break chance, but in the second he took his rival to his knees and won the first set 6-4.
In the second set, it was “crazy” in the first four games. Alcaraz won two, the second without losing a point, and Virtanen managed a break.
It wasn't so easy, but until the end of the second set, the second tennis player of the world showed his class, and then, in the eighth game, he served flawlessly and without losing a point, thus easily reaching the second round of the tournament in Barcelona, although he had some complicated moments throughout the match.
In addition to the pressure placed by the opponent, Alcaraz also had medical problems with his hand, for which he requested the intervention of the medical team at the score of 5-4 in the first set, according to sportal.blic.rs.
The Barcelona tournament, from the ATP 500 series, has a prize fund of 2,950,310 euros. If he manages to win it, Alcaraz will return to the first position in the world ranking.
Video summary of the match won by Carlos Alcaraz in Barcelona
