With Carlos Alcaraz out of the tournament, the Barcelona title is pretty much up for grabs heading into quarterfinal Friday. Among the matchups are Andrey Rublev vs. Tomas Machac and Cameron Norrie vs. Rafael Jodar.
Tomas Machac vs. (5) Andrey Rublev
For the time being, Machac is the biggest beneficiary of Carlos Alcaraz’s withdrawal from the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. They would have gone head-to-head in round two, but Alcaraz’s wrist injury gave Machac a free pass into the quarterfinals. Thus continues a decent start to the clay-court swing for the 47th-ranked Czech, who lost a three-setter against Rafael Jodar right away in Marrakech but reached the third round in Monte-Carlo (lost to Jannik Sinner in three sets) and beat Sebastian Baez 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 on Tuesday in Barcelona.
Up next for Machac on Friday is a second meeting with Rublev, who lost their only previous contest 6-4, 6-4 at the 2024 Miami Masters. The 15th-ranked Russian has been unspectacular at best in 2026, with a 13-7 record and no final appearances. So far this week he has ousted Mariano Navone and Lorenzo Sonego in straight sets. This will be more difficult matchup against Machac, who — even on clay — plays on top of the baseline and can take it to his opponents. As it did in Miami two years ago, that could force Rubblev into an error-filled performance.
Pick: Machac in 2
(7) Cameron Norrie vs. (WC) Rafael Jodar
Jodar is on an absolute heater to begin the clay-court swing — in fact, he has really been on one dating back to last season. The 19-year-old is already up to No. 55 in the world and recently captured his first ATP title on the red clay of Marrakech. Jodar dropped only one set at that tournament (to Machac) and has been perfect so far in Barcelona, erasing Jaume Munar 6-1, 6-2 and Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-3, 6-3.
A second meeting with Norrie is next on the menu for Jodar after they recently faced each other on the hard courts of Acapulco, where the Spaniard cruised 6-3, 6-2. Although clay should give Norrie a better chance, April has been a grind for him so far. The 24th-ranked Brit needed a third-set tiebreaker to beat Miomir Kecmanovic in Monte-Carlo before falling to Alex de Minaur in round two. He has battled through two three-setters this week, defeating Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4 and Ethan Quinn 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. Jodar is more rested, is playing at home, and can take additional confidence from having destroyed Norrie in their previous encounter.
Pick: Jodar in 2