Alcaraz recovers from second-set stumble to beat Djere and reach Barcelona Open quarter-finals.
Carlos Alcaraz continued his charge toward a third consecutive Barcelona Open title with a straight-sets win over Serbia’s Laslo Djere on Thursday.
The Spanish world number two, still buzzing after his Monte Carlo Masters triumph last week, looked in complete control during a dominant 6-2 6-4 victory that took just over 90 minutes.
Alcaraz, the tournament’s top seed, came out firing on home soil. He swept through the first five games of the opening set, unloading eight clean winners without reply and breaking Djere twice. It was a blistering start that had the crowd on its feet and Djere struggling to find any rhythm.
But the match wasn’t entirely smooth sailing. In the second set, Djere capitalised on a brief dip in Alcaraz’s intensity, breaking to lead 4-2. For a moment, it looked as if the Serb might make a match of it.
That spark was short-lived. Alcaraz quickly flicked the switch, rattling off the next four games in ruthless fashion, sealing the win with a drop shot that left Djere flat-footed.
“After going 4-2 down in the second, I played a bit more like what my level is,” Alcaraz said afterwards. “I am very happy that I could step up my level, and seem more like my best, and I want to continue.”
Still only 21, Alcaraz has already won four Grand Slam titles and has made Barcelona something of a fortress. Victories here in 2022 and 2023 cemented his status as Spain’s next great tennis hope following Rafael Nadal—and his form this week suggests he’s ready to lift the trophy for a third time.
Awaiting him in the quarter-finals is fifth seed Alex de Minaur, who breezed past Britain’s Jacob Fearnley 6-1 6-2. Fearnley, unseeded and relatively unknown at this level, earned praise earlier in the week for claiming his first ATP clay-court win by defeating Spain’s Roberto Carballes. But against De Minaur, he found himself outgunned from start to finish.
Alcaraz and De Minaur have met before, with the Spaniard holding the upper hand. Still, De Minaur’s recent form suggests their Friday showdown could offer the world number two his first true test of the tournament.
Elsewhere in the draw, fourth seed Andrey Rublev was the biggest casualty of the day. The Russian fell 7-5 6-4 to an inspired Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The Spaniard delighted the home crowd with his fearless play, mixing heavy groundstrokes with clever touch to frustrate the world number six.
Davidovich Fokina now faces fellow unseeded Russian Karen Khachanov, who defeated Spain’s Jaume Munar 7-5 6-4. That matchup guarantees at least one surprise semi-finalist from the bottom half of the draw.
With Rafael Nadal still working his way back to full fitness and Novak Djokovic absent, the stage feels perfectly set for Alcaraz to dominate. And based on Thursday’s display—scintillating when it mattered—he looks more than ready to meet the moment.
