Carlos Alcaraz sets up Holger Rune showdown in Barcelona after semi-final win over Arthur Fils - 'I had to survive'

Another title is within reach for Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Arthur Fils in straight sets to reach the Barcelona Open final for the third time in his career. The Spaniard will face an in-form Holger Rune, who eased past Karen Khachanov in his last-four match. Alcaraz and Rune last met in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in 2023, with Alcaraz winning in straight sets.

Carlos Alcaraz admitted reaching the final of the Barcelona Open "means a lot" after he beat Arthur Fils to set up a showdown with Holger Rune.

Alcaraz won 6-2 6-4 in front of an adoring home crowd in difficult conditions, taking 76 minutes to secure his latest victory.

The Spaniard is now on a nine-match winning run, having won the Monte-Carlo Masters earlier this month.

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"The first thing we have to be grateful for is the sun," Alcaraz said in his post-match interview.

"The sun was out, it wasn’t raining. There was [however] a lot of wind today, so I had to survive. It wasn’t about playing fantastic tennis, brilliant shots.

"It was about making the shots you have to do, no more than that."

‘Means a lot in front of my people’ – Alcaraz on reaching the final in Barcelona

Video credit: SNTV

Alcaraz has won the Barcelona Open twice, in 2022 and 2023, and he will be the favourite to make it a third with home advantage.

"Since I was a little kid, I was here on Sundays watching the final," he added. "I played twice here, so being in a final here in Barcelona again means a lot.

"In front of my people, my friends who came from Murcia, and of course, the people here in Barcelona. It’s been a really fun and great week, and let’s see if we can end tomorrow with a trophy."

Alcaraz will face a resurgent Rune, who was forced to retire from the Monte-Carlo Masters with food poisoning, but has impressed in Barcelona and convincingly beat Karen Khachanov 6-3 6-2 in his semi-final.

The Dane has now climbed to No. 9 in the world rankings, knocking out Khachanov in just over an hour.

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"[It’s] definitely [a motivation]," Rune said of his move up the rankings. "In the beginning of the week, it’s not really something I think about.

"For me, it’s [technically] the first tournament on clay [in 2025]. I told myself: ‘Let’s use it as a training week to build’. But now it’s not really a training week, it’s become a very good week.

"I’m super happy to be in the final and back in the top 10 in the live rankings. It feels good."

Alcaraz and Rune have met three times, with the former winning twice and the latter once.

Their most recent clash was at Wimbledon in 2023, and Alcaraz emerged as the winner in straight sets.

But this will be their first clash on clay ahead of the French Open at Roland-Garros next month, which will be available to watch and stream live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

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