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The 21 year-old Spaniard withstood American qualifier Ethan Quinn 6-2, 7-6 to advance to the second round at the clay-court ATP 500. Alcaraz was forced to rally from 1-3 in the second set, and saved a set point on return at 5/6 in the tie-break, but produced a timely surge in form to deny Quinn a comeback of his own.

“It’s a really special tournament for me, so I’m really happy to play again here, in front of my people,” said Alcaraz, who saved five of eight break points. “It was a difficult match for me, I just had to deal with the pressure and the nerves. But I’m really happy to have won in straight sets, and give myself a bit of energy for the next matches.”

Alcaraz, who won back-to-back titles in Barcelona in 2022 and 2023, was pushed in a high-quality second set of his maiden clash with Quinn.

With his victory over Quinn, Alcaraz picked up where he left off after lifting his sixth ATP Masters 1000 trophy in Monte-Carlo on Monday. The Spaniard, who is now 18-1 on clay since last May, will next face qualifier Laslo Djere in Barcelona.

“The clay season is short and really intense,” Alcaraz said. “You have to be at 100 per cent in every match, every tournament. Two days ago I playing a final in Monte-Carlo… It’s different conditions here, so I couldn’t rest at all, that’s why saving energy is really important right now.”