Alcaraz marches into Barcelona final with confident win over Fils
Carlos Alcaraz won against Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-4 on Saturday. He’ll face Dane Holger Rune, the No 6 seed, for the title
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Top seed Carlos Alcaraz took his winning streak to nine matches as he moved into the final of the Barcelona Open by beating Frenchman Arthur Fils, the No 7 seed, 6-2, 6-4 on Saturday.
The winner in Barcelona in 2022 and 2023 – and the champion last weekend in Monte-Carlo – Alcaraz was too consistent for Fils as he marched through to play Dane Holger Rune, the No 6 seed, for the title. He’s now unbeaten in the Spanish city since 2021.
“It was really windy so tough to play,” Alcaraz said. “As I’ve said many times, I had to survive. It was not about playing fantastic tennis, brilliant shots. It was about just making the shots you had to do, no more than that. I think I did that pretty well and I’m really happy.”
The 21-year-old Spaniard won against American qualifier Ethan Quinn (6-2, 7-6 (6)), Serb qualifier Laslo Djere (6-2, 6-4) and Australian Alex de Minaur, the No 5 seed (7-5, 6-3) earlier in the tournament.
In the previous rounds, Fils, ranked No 14, defeated Spanish wildcard Pablo Carreno Busta (7-6 (6), 6-3), Spaniard Pedro Martinez Portero (6-3, 6-2) and Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, the No 3 seed (2-0 ret.).
Barcelona ATP 500, other semi-final result (Real Club de Tenis Barcelona, clay, EUR 2.889.200):
- Holger Rune beat Karen Khachanov: 6-3, 6-2
