Carlos Alcaraz Loses Barcelona Open Final & World No. 2 Ranking

Tennis fans were treated to a stunning upset on Sunday afternoon. Holger Rune defeated Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets to win the Barcelona Open: 7-6 (6), 6-2.

Playing on a clay court in front of his home country fans, Alcaraz was expected to pick up his second consecutive title (he just won the Monte-Carlo Masters last week). Instead, Rune won his first title in two years.

Alcaraz entered the final riding a nine-match clay-court winning streak. However, Rune took the first set tie-break. From there, he rattled off five straight games to win the second set and match.

"Thanks to my mom, thanks to my team, thanks to everyone for being here. It's an amazing feeling," Rune said at the trophy ceremony. "It's been a while, so thank you guys for being here."

Alcaraz congratulated his long-time friend, "We've been seeing each other since 12 years old. Time flies. I'm happy to see us in this position. How far we've come together. Congratulations, and keep going."

After today's victory, Rune will rise from ATP World No. 13 to No. 9. Meanwhile, Alcaraz will slide from No. 2 to No. 3 after today's loss in Barcelona and Alexander Zverev's win in Munich.

Both players will head west to Madrid for the ATP 1000 Masters event this upcoming week. The main draws begin on April 23.

However, Alcaraz's availability is in question as he will undergo an MRI on Monday to examine the adductor muscle in his right leg.

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