Carlos Alcaraz reignited the battle for ATP world No. 1 on Tuesday by winning his opening round at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, defeating Otto Virtanen, 6-4, 6-2.
Alcaraz lost the No. 1 ranking to Jannik Sinner following a runner-up finish to the Italian at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, but the Spaniard could regain the top spot by winning a third title in Barcelona. The top seed at his home tournament, the 22-year-old looked strong in his first hurdle towards that goal, defeating the Finnish qualifier in under 90 minutes on Pista Rafa Nadal.
Alcaraz first claimed the No. 1 ranking after winning the 2022 US Open and held the ranking for 30 of the last 31 weeks—dating back to his second US Open victory last September. Sinner, himself a former No. 1, is currently on a 17-match winning streak after winning three consecutive ATP Masters 1000 titles at the BNP Paribas Open, Miami Open, and now Monte Carlo, which he won for the first time.
