Otto Virtanen faces a stern test at the ATP Barcelona Open. The Finnish 24-year-old qualified for the main draw. He now faces Carlos Alcaraz.
Alcaraz Seeks to Rebound
For the Spaniard, the loss in the Monte Carlo final will hurt. However, it is a long clay court season. He will likely know what needs to be done to be completely ready.
As a first step, Alcaraz will likely make short work of Virtanen in front of his home crowd. The crowd should come out in huge numbers to support him.
Other Barcelona Open Matches
Juan Manuel Cerundolo came through qualifying without dropping a set. The Argentine will look to continue the same form in the main draw.
He faces Brandon Nakashima, who has failed to impress after making a strong start to the year. The slower clay courts will no doubt suit Cerundolo. He has a good defensive game style from the baseline.
Given that he has already played two matches this week, expect Nakashima to struggle in this match. The prediction is Cerundolo in 3.
Baez vs. Machac Preview
Sebastian Baez is a fantastic player on clay and so is Tomas Machac. These two met once before last year at the Monte Carlo Masters which Machac won in three sets.
Expect a lot of long baseline rallies as Baez is going to defend well. Machac will look to try to gain early advantage with his aggressive gamestyle. Baez will tough it out for a set but Machac should be more consistent and attacking to get the win, with a prediction of Machac in 3.
The ATP Barcelona Open promises an action-packed day. The top seeds are in action.