Tsitsipas eyes 1st Barcelona Open title after 4th consecutive win over Musetti
Faces defending champ Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday; Swiatek, Rune also look to repeat
Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Lorenzo Musetti in three sets to reach the final of the Barcelona Open for a third time on Saturday.
The fifth-ranked Greek saw off Musetti 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 on the outdoor clay court.
On Sunday, Tsitsipas will face defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Briton Daniel Evans 6-2 6-2.
Tsitsipas will try to claim his first-ever win against Alcaraz, who in December became the youngest year-end No. 1 in the history of the ATP. Alcaraz defeated Tsitsipas in the 2021 US Open and in last year's Miami Masters and Barcelona Open.
Both players struggled with their service games. Tsitsipas converted six of his 11 break points, while Musetti made good on five of 10.
"It was very physical out there," said Tsitsipas, who improved his record against Musetti to 4-0. "We had to cover lots of metres on the court and he had some incredible defensive shots that I really didn't expect at all. It was such a mental challenge."
Tsitsipas reached the final at Barcelona in 2018 and 2021, losing both times to 12-time winner Rafael Nadal. Nadal missed this year's edition due to a hip injuring that has sidelined him since January.
WATCH | Tsitsipas ousts Shapovalov in Barcelona round of 16:
Alcaraz, who had an injury-plagued start to the season and was beaten in the semifinal of last week's Miami Open by Jannik Sinner, was unstoppable against Evans, even as he appeared to be conserving his energy for the claycourt season.
The 19-year-old Alcaraz broke early in the first set and closed it 6-2 in 38 minutes. He raced to 4-1 in the second and beat Evans in 80 minutes to reach the final in Barcelona for the second consecutive year.
Swiatek, Sabalenka set up another final in Stuttgart
Defending champion Iga Swiatek will again play Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the Porsche Grand Prix after they came through their semifinals.
Swiatek had an easier path to the final than she expected when Ons Jabeur retired with a left calf injury. Swiatek was leading 3-0.
Sabalenka eased into the final for the third straight year with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Anastasia Potapova.
The Belarusian player lost the decider to Ash Barty in 2021, then to Swiatek 6-2, 6-2 last year. The Pole has won four of their six meetings overall.
Van de Zandschulp gets another shot at Rune
Botic van de Zandschulp has another chance against defending champion Holger Rune in the final of the BMW Open after both players won their semifinals on Saturday in Munich.
The 19-year-old Rune saved all eight break points he faced to beat Australia's Christopher O'Connell 6-3, 6-2. The Danish star has never lost a set at the Munich event.
Van de Zandschulp defeated the second-seeded Taylor Fritz 6-4, 7-6 (2) in their semifinal.
Fritz was attempting to reach his first tour-level final on clay but Van de Zandschulp saved four of the five break points he faced.
The Dutch player retired during the final last year with an aching chest.
With files from Reuters
