World number two begins his belated build-up to French Open with 6-2, 6-2 victory
\n BARCELONA
\nWorld number two Carlos Alcaraz began his belated build-up to the French Open with an emphatic second-round win over Nuno Borges at the Barcelona Open on Tuesday.
\nThe Spanish teenager was back in action after hand and back problems forced him to pull out of last week\u2019s 2023 debut on European clay at the Monte Carlo Masters.
\nThe top seed swept aside the world number 79 from Portugal 6-3, 6-1 to set up an all Spanish last-16 clash with Roberto Bautista Agut after the 13th seed beat Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-2, 6-2.
\n\u201cI feel great,\u201d said Alcaraz, playing on the surface for the first time since Rio de Janeiro in February.
\nAlcaraz pulled out of Monte Carlo with the injuries that had hampered his last appearance, in the semi-finals in Miami where he succumbed to Jannik Sinner.
\nAlcaraz arrived in Miami as the world number one after success at Indian Wells, but was knocked off the top of the ATP rankings by Novak Djokovic after the loss to Sinner.
\nThe 19-year-old\u2019s bid to successfully defend a tour-level title for the first time got off to the best possible start, as he despatched Borges in 63 minutes on the court named after Rafael Nadal, another absentee from Monte Carlo.
\nAside from unforced errors that enabled Borges to reclaim a break in the eighth game, Alcaraz showed little sign of rustiness.
\nHe allowed the Portuguese only one more game in a lop-sided affair.
\nThe 2022 US Open champion converted five of seven break points to continue his quest for a third title of the season after Indian Wells and Buenos Aires.
\n\u201cMoving well, hitting the ball really well so I feel a lot of confidence playing here in Barcelona,\u201d said Alcaraz. \u201cIt\u2019s a really special place for me.\u201d
\nNorway\u2019s third seed Casper Ruud came through 6-2, 7-6 (7\/1) against American Ben Shelton to set up a meeting with either Francesco Passaro or Francisco Cerundolo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
World number two begins his belated build-up to French Open with 6-2, 6-2 victory BARCELONA World number two Carlos Alcaraz began his belated build-up to the French Open with an emphatic second-round win over Nuno Borges at the Barcelona Open on Tuesday. The Spanish teenager was back in action after hand and back problems forced […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":326913,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-326889","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n