Rune Downs Injured Alcaraz In Barcelona Open Final To Win First Title Since 2023

Holger Rune is a champion once again after winning the 2025 Barcelona Open, beating the top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz in the final.

Rune arrived in Barcelona in need of a big result. He had yet to return to the Top 10 since exiting it more than a year ago, but his run to the final at the ATP 500 event in Barcelona secured the young Dane a Top 10 return.

But he wanted more than that. He wanted to win the title. Of course, that was never going to be an easy task, as his final opponent was Alcaraz, who last lost at the event in 2021 and was on a 14-match winning streak in Barcelona.

On top of that, Alcaraz was on a nine-match winning streak in general after arriving in Spain following his win at the Monte-Carlo Masters. Rune knew who was standing on the opposite side of the net, but he also knew that he was capable of winning the match.

Early on, however, it was the two-time champion who was controlling the match. Alcaraz won the first eight points on his serve, and he broke his opponent's serve as well to lead 3-2.

But the Spaniard's advantage didn't last for too long. He was immediately broken back and down 4-5, Alcaraz even faced two set points. Masterfully, he was able to save both, forcing a tie-break.

Again, the Spanish player was better at the start of the tie-break, leading 3-1, but as the tie-break continued, Rune took over. He had two set points at 6-4, but played too cautiously, allowing Alcaraz to level the score at 6-6.

But during the changeover, Rune gained some self-belief and played the next two points aggressively, winning the tie-break 8-6, which was crucial for him in this match.

At the start of the second set, Alcaraz had two chances to break, but he couldn't use those. Still, he was able to hold his serve and lead 2-1. That was also the moment when he requested a medical time-out because of an issue with his psoas muscles.

The Spaniard left the court for evaluation, and once he returned, he wasn't the same player. Alcaraz tried shortening the rallies, but it didn't work for him, and Rune was very good at using the situation to his advantage.

The young Danish player handled the circumstances in the second set extremely well to win the match 7-6(6), 6-2, securing his first title since the 2023 season.

Thanks to his win, Rune will rise to the World No. 9 position on Monday. On the other hand, as a result of his loss, Alcaraz will drop to the World No. 3 position. That is also because of Alexander Zverev's title win in Munich.