De Minaur, Alcaraz to clash in Barcelona quarter-finals

Australia’s Alex de Minaur set a mouth-watering quarter-final clash against top seed Carlos Alcaraz at the Barcelona Open in Spain after each won their round-of-16 matches on Thursday.

De Minaur continued his fine form on clay in 2025 with a 6-1, 6-2 dismantling of Brit Jacob Fearnley.

The No.5 seed entered the clash as a $1.13 favourite to win at the top tennis bookmakers and wasted no time recording his fifth win on clay in six matches, striking 13 winners and claiming 62% of points.

For Alcaraz – who leads the market to win the Barcelona Open across tennis betting sites – his victory over Laslo Djere was similarly straightforward.

The Spaniard broke his opponent four times as he raced through the 6-2, 6-4 match in an hour and 11 minutes, overcoming a slow start to the second set to book his fourth career meeting with de Minaur.

“I think as much as I can win in straight sets, it’s much better to save energy for the matches that I have coming forward,” Alcaraz said afterwards.

“I think I played great tennis, even better than the first round, even though I had to come back from 4-2 in the second set.

“I think he played much better in that second set, but really happy to find a great level again and hopefully keep going.”

Top betting apps have Alcaraz as an overwhelming favourite heading into the Barcelona quarter-finals, pricing the 21-year-old at just $1.20 to win.

De Minaur – who is yet to beat Alcaraz – pays $4.50 to win and despite winning a set in two of their three meetings, is odds-on at Picklebet to lose in straight sets.

Elsewhere in the Barcelona draw, Stefanos Tsitsipas will take on Arthur Fils as a slight underdog, with the winner going through to play either Alcaraz or de Minaur in the semi-finals.

In the bottom half of the draw, Karen Khachanov squares off against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina while Scandinavians Holger Rune and Casper Ruud also play for a spot in the final four.

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