The Barcelona Open, held in Barcelona, Spain, at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona, is one of three ATP Tour events this week, alongside the BMW Open in Germany and the Romanian Open. Barcelona had the most loaded field out of the three tournaments, but two top-10 seeds, including world No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz, withdrew from the event, and only two top-10 players have made it through to the quarter-finals. 

Here’s a recap of the Barcelona Open thus far and a look ahead at what to expect this weekend.

Barcelona Open Recap

Alcaraz, the top seed in the tournament and two-time defending champion, withdrew from the event at the last minute. He also withdrew from the Monte-Carlo Masters the week prior with a forearm injury and is hopeful to compete in the French Open. His absence left Andrey Rublev as top seed, but the Russian has been in poor form as of late and was upset in his first match, losing to Brandon Nakashima in straight sets in the first round. 

Alex De Minaur (third round), Ugo Humbert (second round), Sebastian Baez (second round), Nicolas Jarry (second round), and Lorenzo Musetti (second round) were the other top-10 seeds eliminated early. Karen Khachanov, the seventh seed, also withdrew due to injury. Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, returned from injury, playing for the first time since early January in Australia. He won his first-round match against Flavio Cobolli, but lost in straight sets to De Minaur in the second round.

Quarter-Final Matches

Tomas Martin Etcheverry (-101) vs. Cameron Norrie (-119)

Etcheverry, the 13th seed, takes on 12th seed Norrie in the first of four quarter-final matches on Friday. Norrie is 1-0 against Etchevery, beating him in three sets at last year’s Argentina Open. Etcheverry is 10-8 this season, including 8-4 on clay, while Norrie is 12-7 overall and 5-3 on clay.

Casper Ruud (-305) vs. Matteo Arnaldi (+255)

Ruud has been one of the best and most consistent players on the ATP Tour this year, but he has yet to win a tournament, losing in three finals, including in last week’s Monte-Carlo Masters. Arnaldi beat Ruud in their lone matchup at the Mutua Madrid Open in 2023, but Ruud should return the favor in Barcelona.

Stefanos Tsitsipas (-800) vs. Facundo Diaz Acosta (+575)

Tsitsipas is coming off his first tournament win of the season at the Monte-Carlo Masters, where he beat Ruud, Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, and Khachanov. Expect him to ride that momentum with another victory on Friday to move into the semi-finals. 

Dusan Lajovic (+141) vs. Arthur Fils (-161)

Fils, a talented 19-year-old French player, is poised for a breakout this season and it could come in Barcelona. He’s 1-1 in two career matches against Lajovic and beat him earlier this year in straight sets at the Argentina Open. 

Finals Prediction

Ruud should win his quarter-final and move past the winner of Etcheverry and Norrie. The Norwegian is due for a title win this season, but he could be in tough if he’s up against Tsitsipas for the second consecutive week in a clay court final. I like Ruud as the winner, whether it’s against Tsitsipas or Fils.

Pick: Ruud def. Tsitsipas