Stefanos Tsitsipas cruised past Reilly Opelka 6-2 6-2 in 1 hour and 10 minutes to reach the second round at the Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell. Tsitsipas improved to 7-0 in opening rounds at the Barcelona ATP 500 tournament. The Greek player has reached the final in Barcelona in four of the previous six editions in 2018, 2021, 2023 and 2024.
Tsitsipas dropped 12 points in 8 service games and saved all three break points in the second set. The Greek player earned two breaks in each set and hit seven winners to nine unforced errors.
Tsitsipas went up a break at 15 in the fifth game of the opening set as Opelka made a volley error. The Greek player held at love in the sixth game. He earned a double break at 15 to open up a 5-2 lead.
Opelka faced a break point in the fifth game and saved it with a forehand winner. Tsitsipas converted his second break point to open up a 4-1 lead as Opelka made a backhand error.
Tsitsipas made a forehand error in the sixth game and faced a break point. The Greek player saved it to hold for 5-1 with a service winner.
Opelka faced two match points after a forehand error, as he was serving to stay in the match. The US player saved them with winners before Tsitsipas earned his third match point with a smash winner. Opelka saved It with a volley winner and held with a service winner.
Tsitsipas wrapped up the match with a drop shot winner in the eighth game to set up a second round match against Sebastian Korda
“I’m happy with the way I found relief through fighting, particularly in the difficult moments when he was serving. I knew the serve was going to be the trickiest part. I got a few metres back returning and used that space effectively. I felt I was able to return way more returns than initially expected. I kept my cool when I had to, it was a good win”, said Tsitsipas.
Arthur Fils edged past Pablo Carreno Busta 7-6 (8-6) 6-3. Carreno Busta broke serve in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. Fils broke back to love in the seventh game and held serve at love to draw level to 4-4. Fils saved two set points in the 10th and 12th games. Fils rallied from 3-5 down in the tie-break by winning five of the final six games to seal the tie-break 8-6. Fils converted his second break point in the second game of the second set and held serve at love to open up a 3-0 lead. Carreno Busta saved a match point as he was serving to stay in the match in the eighth game. Fils served out the win on his second match point.
