Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas battled last year at the Barcelona Open with Alcaraz winning a rather spicy match that included the Greek almost hitting Alcaraz with a ball.
Alcaraz wasn't very appreciative of that ball coming straight to him and he stared down Tsitsipas as he walked to the bench.
Ultimately it was a match that he won in the end so it didn't matter much but he was asked about it after he booked a rematch with the Greek in Barcelona on Sunday. He's put it behind him calling Tsitsipas a nice guy off the court:
"Last year we had a spicy match let’s say. I know he’s a really nice guy off the court, so I’m going to
try to forget everything that has happened in the matches before, try
to focus on my game tomorrow, and try to get the win.”
On being in the final again, Alcaraz said:
“It’s so special to play a final here in Barcelona, a tournament that
I love playing. I came to watch this
tournament when I was really young and I played for this club when I was
11 or 12. I love this club, I love this tournament, and it’s so special
to have the chance to lift the trophy here again.”