Barcelona Round-Up: Alcaraz and De Minaur cruise into quarters with commanding wins

The second round of the Barcelona Open has concluded, with Carlos Alcaraz as the standout star of the day, cruising past Laslo Djere without trouble. The biggest 'surprise' of the day came from Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who defeated world No. 8 Andrey Rublev in straight sets—just one week after reaching the semi-finals at the Monte-Carlo Masters.

The Spanish player, who won the Monte Carlo Masters 1000 last week, continues his excellent clay-court form, now proving it at the ATP 500 Barcelona Open, where he opened with a 6-2, 7-6 victory over Ethan Quinn.

To reach the quarterfinals, the 3-time Grand Slam champion comfortably got past Laslo Djere—an accomplished clay-court player whose three ATP titles have all come on this surface (Rio Open 2019, Forte Village Sardegna Open 2020, and Chile Open 2025). Alcaraz landed 71% of his first serves and won 77% of points behind them, while Djere only managed 58%. The major difference came in unforced errors: the Serbian committed 27, compared to just 17 from the former World No. 1. In the quarterfinals, Alcaraz will face Alex de Miñaur.

Andrey Rublev still can’t find his rhythm and extends his slump after falling to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the ATP 500 Barcelona Open. The Russian has now won just 2 of his last 7 matches, and during this stretch, he was eliminated in the first round at three consecutive tournaments: the ATP 500 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, the Indian Wells Masters 1000, and the Miami Masters 1000. In contrast, the Spaniard continues to ride his strong form, having recently reached the semifinals at the Monte Carlo Masters 1000, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in a close match (7-6, 6-4).

Davidovich Fokina defeated Rublev in a hard-fought battle, where the Spaniard converted 5 break points and the Russian 3. The current World No. 30 also saved 8 break points throughout the match. Despite the loss, Rublev committed 26 unforced errors compared to Davidovich’s 43, but the key difference was in winners—Davidovich struck 36, while the former World No. 5 managed just 13. In the quarterfinals, Davidovich Fokina will face fellow top player Karen Khachanov.

World No. 7 Alex de Minaur once again proved his strength on clay with a phenomenal performance against British player Jacob Fearnley. The Australian quickly took control with two consecutive breaks and raced to a 5-0 lead before Fearnley finally got on the scoreboard.

De Minaur was nearly flawless on serve, landing 87% of his first serves—a crucial factor in saving both break points he faced. He also hit 13 winners compared to just 5 from Fearnley, while keeping his unforced errors to 21 against the Brit's 28.

With the victory, De Minaur moves into the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open, where he’ll face defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, who is currently on a 7-match clay-court winning streak.

World No. 27 Karen Khachanov had a tricky opponent in Jaume Munar, one of the players on a hot streak lately, including a win against Daniil Medvedev just a month ago and a notable debut in Barcelona to defeat Frances Tiafoe.

However, the Russian quickly took control of the match with an early break to lead. Munar showed great spirit to stay in the fight, but Khachanov was better in the key moments, both in the first and second sets, totaling four breaks out of 15 opportunities, while Munar had two breaks in six chances given by the Russian.

Khachanov advances to the quarterfinals and will once again face a local: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who comes off a win against fellow Russian Andrey Rublev.