Carlos Alcaraz starts putting pressure on Jannik Sinner again.

Just two days after losing in the Monte-Carlo Masters 1000 final to Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz is already back competing in front of his home crowd in Barcelona. On Tuesday, he made it through the first round of the ATP 500 by beating Otto Virtanen (6-4, 6-2), who came from the qualifiers.

Abituated to Finland’s fast indoor surfaces, Virtanen (No. 130 in the rankings) built his game on power and anticipation. In the first set, he especially challenged Alcaraz with his forehand, often trying to impose his rhythm. At 2-2 he had a good chance, getting break points partly thanks to two remarkable winning replies, but Alcaraz managed to save himself despite a not high percentage of first serves.

Before serving at 5-4, the Spaniard required the intervention of the physiotherapist for a discomfort in his right wrist. After a brief treatment and with his wrist bandaged, he returned to the court and took advantage of his opponent’s forehand errors to get the decisive break and close out the set. An unspectacular first set, however, with many errors (14 winners and 44 freebies).

In the second set Alcaraz’s superiority became more evident. Despite a counter-break suffered at 2-1, he then took control of the match, taking advantage of Virtanen’s difficulties, especially in the longer exchanges and in response. The world number 2 will face Czech Tomas Machac, who eliminated Sebastian Baez, for a place in the quarterfinals.