19-year-old Spanish phenom Carlos Alcaraz, world number two, made short work of Daniel Evans 6-2, 6-2 on Saturday in the semi-finals of the ATP 500 tournament in Barcelona and will defend his crown on Sunday against the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas. Alcaraz was a little disturbed by the serve-volley sequences of the Briton (26th in the world) and by his positioning in return of service in the first set, but quickly adapted to dismiss him expeditiously, in an hour and twenty minutes .
In the final, the Spaniard, seeded N.1, joins the seeded N.2, the Greek Tsitsipas (5th in the world), who barely got rid of the Italian Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 5- 7, 6-3 in the first semi-final.
This is the second straight final for the Murcia prodigy, who last year beat compatriot Pablo Carreno 6-3, 6-2. Tsitsipas will play his third final in Barcelona. He lost the first two to Rafael Nadal in 2018 and 2021. After a two-week hiatus due to physical glitches out of the Miami Masters 1000, which he left in the semi-finals after a three-set loss against Jannik Sinner, Alcaraz struggled in the round of 16 and quarter-finals in Barcelona, but won arguably their easiest game on Saturday in the semis.