Carlos Alcaraz 'deals with pressure and nerves' to beat Ethan Quinn and reach second round of Barcelona Open following Monte Carlo victory

Carlos Alcaraz is through to the second round of the ATP 500 event in Barcelona, but admitted he was nervous during a 6-2 7-6(6) victory over Ethan Quinn. The Spaniard was playing his first match since landing the Monte-Carlo Masters title just a handful of days earlier. It was a reasonably straightforward affair, but he said there was "pressure" to deal with in a "really difficult match".

Alcaraz

Image credit: Getty Images

Carlos Alcaraz admitted the "nerves" set in as he beat Ethan Quinn at the Barcelona Open.

The Spaniard recorded a 6-2 7-6(6) victory over the American qualifier to reach the second round.

He is the top seed for the tournament, which he is also attempting to win for a third time, having lifted the title in 2022 and 2023.

Tennis

Djokovic apologises after retiring from Six Kings tie with Fritz, Sinner bests Alcaraz in final

18/10/2025 at 23:04

And he got off to the perfect start, breaking serve twice in the first set, which the 21-year-old won in just 45 minutes.

The second was a little tougher, as he was forced to come from 3-1 down to take it to a tie-break, during which Alcaraz even faced a set point.

But he prevailed 8-6, and was thrilled to get the job done.

"It’s a really special tournament for me, so I’m really happy to play again here, in front of my people," he told the ATP Tour.

"It was a difficult match for me, I just had to deal with the pressure and the nerves.

"But I’m really happy to have won in straight sets, and give myself a bit of energy for the next matches."

‘It is easy to talk’ – Alcaraz hits back at critics after ‘unexpected’ Monte-Carlo win

Video credit: SNTV

Victory in Barcelona sets up a meeting with another qualifier for Alcaraz, who will now take on Serbia's Laslo Djere on Thursday.

The win also came in his first match since lifting the Monte-Carlo Masters title just a handful of days earlier.

The world No. 3 has therefore made the perfect start to the clay-court season, culminating in the French Open which begins on May 25, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

Alcaraz will be the defending champion at Roland-Garros, where he is also set to go in search of a fifth Grand Slam title.

He said he was pleased with how he is playing ahead of that event, and his ability to finish off matches quickly.

"The clay season is short and really intense," he continued. "You have to be at 100% in every match, every tournament.

"Two days ago I playing a final in Monte Carlo. It’s different conditions here, so I couldn’t rest at all; that’s why saving energy is really important right now."

Norrie knocked out by Khachanov

One man who will not be joining Alcaraz in the next round is former British No. 1 Cameron Norrie, who lost (3)6-7 6-4 6-3 to Karen Khachanov.

The 29-year-old was a quarter-finalist in Barcelona last year, meaning he had 100 points to defend this week.

Having dropped to 88th in the world, this was therefore an important tournament for him.

Life was never going to be easy against the 2023 Australian Open semi-finalist Khachanov though, and the pair played out a fiery contest.

Norrie at one point questioned his opponent for taking too long between service points, while both players picked up time violations over the course of the match.

It was the Brit who landed a topsy-turvy first set, recovering from an early break to take it 7-6(3) on a tie-break.

He made a slow start to the second too, trailing 3-0 after dropping his opening service game.

But once again, Norrie roared back, levelling at 4-4, only to be broken to love in the final game of the set.

Khachanov had the momentum, and he made no error in seeing out the match, as his opponent failed to even get as far as a break point in the third set.

The Russian took it 6-3, setting up a second-round clash with Jaume Munar, who had earlier shocked ninth seed Frances Tiafoe.

Watch and stream the 2025 tennis season, including the French Open, on TNT Sports and discovery+

Tennis