Match Preview
Alcaraz eyes Barcelona bounceback, but faces tough path to title at ATP 500
Spaniard could meet Rublev in QFs; Zverev faces clay test in Munich
April 13, 2026
Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour
Carlos Alcaraz in action on Sunday during the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters title match.
By Andy West
Carlos Alcaraz will target an immediate response to his Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters disappointment when he headlines the field at this week’s Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.
The 22-year-old, who lost the No. 1 spot in the PIF ATP Rankings to his great rival Jannik Sinner as a result of his championship-match loss to the Italian in Monte-Carlo, will return to action in familiar territory at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899. Alcaraz is a two-time champion (2022, 2023) at the clay ATP 500 in his homeland and holds an overall 14-2 record at the event, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.
Barcelona and Munich 😮💨
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— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 13, 2026
Not that his path to a third Barcelona title this week would be an easy one given how Saturday’s draw panned out in Catalonia, where Alcaraz begins his trophy bid against qualifier Otto Virtanen. Should he down Virtanen, he is guaranteed to face a former Top 20 player in the second round: either Sebastian Baez or Tomas Machac.
From there, Alcaraz is seeded to meet fifth seed Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals, and third seed Alex de Minaur in the semi-finals: The Spaniard memorably saved two match points to defeat De Minaur in the last four in 2022, en route to his first Barcelona crown.
In the bottom half of the draw, second seed Lorenzo Musetti faces an intriguing opening clash against 20-year-old home hope Martin Landaluce, who enjoyed a breakout run to the quarter-finals at last month’s Miami Open presented by Itau. Landaluce is not the only #NextGenATP Spaniard in the draw: 19-year-old Rafael Jodar, who won his maiden ATP Tour title eight days ago in Marrakech, opens against countryman Jaume Munar.
Karen Khachanov, Cameron Norrie and Arthur Fils are the other seeded players in Musetti’s half, with Norrie starting against wild card and two-time Barcelona semi-finalist Stan Wawrinka, who is competing in his final season on the ATP Tour.
Defending Champ Zverev Faces Clay Test In Munich
Alexander Zverev will be wary of a number of clay-court threats as he plots his path to a record fourth title at the BMW Open by Bitpanda in Munich. The World No. 3 will compete at the Bavarian ATP 500 as the top seed and defending champion and begins his trophy bid at the Iphitos Tennis Club against Miomir Kecmanovic, who upset Zverev in Acapulco in February.
Among Zverev’s potential quarter-final opponents is fifth seed Francisco Cerundolo, who has won all three Lexus ATP Head2Head encounters he has played against the German on clay. Should Zverev reach the semi-finals, he could face one of two Italians with plenty of pedigree on the ‘red dirt’: fourth seed Flavio Cobolli or eighth seed Luciano Darderi.
The man Zverev defeated in the 2025 final, Ben Shelton, headlines the bottom half of the draw in Munich. The big-serving American will begin against his countryman Emilio Nava, and could meet #NextGenATP star Joao Fonseca in the quarter-finals. Meanwhile third seed Alexander Bublik competes in a quarter of the draw that also includes former World No. 3s Stefanos Tsitsipas and Marin Cilic.
