Alex de Minaur continues hot clay court form with opening win over Tomas Martin Etcheverry in Barcelona
Alex de Minaur continued his impressive clay-court form with a straight-sets victory over Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the opening round of the Barcelona Open, winning 6-4, 6-4.
Just four days after an epic semi-final run in Monte Carlo, the Australian looked sharp, breaking early in both sets and never allowing Etcheverry a single break point. The match wrapped up in just 82 minutes.
“I’m starting to become dangerous on this surface,” De Minaur had said pre-match — and his performance backed it up.
This win builds on his stellar showing last week in Monte Carlo, where he breezed past Daniil Medvedev and delivered a rare double-bagel (6-0, 6-0) against Grigor Dimitrov. He eventually lost in the semi-final to Lorenzo Musetti in a nearly three-hour battle.
Next up in Barcelona: De Minaur will face Britain’s Jacob Fearnley, who is enjoying a breakthrough year. Ranked outside the top 600 just a year ago, Fearnley has surged into the top 100 after winning four ATP Challenger titles in 2024. He reached the second round as a lucky loser, defeating Roberto Carballes Baena 6-1, 7-5.
Meanwhile, fellow Aussie Christopher O’Connell was edged out in Munich, losing 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-3) to Marrakesh champion Luciano Darderi at the BMW Open.
