Barcelona QF previews and predictions: Ruud vs. Arnaldi, Norrie vs. Etcheverry

Only one of the top four seeds is through to the quarterfinals in Barcelona, as No. 3 Casper Ruud continues to take care of business following his runner-up performance in Monte-Carlo. Ruud will face Matteo Arnaldi on Friday.

Matteo Arnaldi vs. (3) Casper Ruud

The 2023 campaign was a disappointing one by Ruud’s recent standards, but he has come back like gangbusters in 2024. Ruud is currently No. 4 in the racing to Turin thanks to a 26-7 match record that includes a runner-up showing at last week’s Monte-Carlo Masters followed by Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell victories over Alexandre Muller and Jordan Thompson.

Up next for the sixth-ranked Norwegian is a quarterfinal showdown against Arnaldi on Friday. The 23-year-old is also in outstanding form, having won 13 main-draw matches this season while climbing to 40th in the rankings. Arnaldi got a first-set retirement from Arthur Cazaux in round one before beating Sebastian Baez and Marco Trungelliti. The Italian leads his head-to-head series with Ruud 1-0 (6-3, 6-4 last spring in Madrid), but that was an entirely different version of Ruud. This time around the No. 3 seed is playing great and slower conditions in Barcelona compared to Madrid are more favorable for him in this particular matchup.

Pick: Ruud in 2

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(12) Cameron Norrie vs. (13) Tomas Martin Etcheverry

Norrie and Etcheverry will also be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers on Friday. Their only previous encounter came last February in Buenos Aires, where Norrie prevailed 5-7, 6-0, 6-3–also in the quarterfinals. Friday’s rematch figures to be different given Etcheverry’s improvements over the past 14 months. The 24-year-old Argentine is up to No. 30 in the world and he made a run to the French Open quarters last spring. So far in Barcelona he has ousted Nick Hardt and Brandon Nakashima.

Since being on fire during the Golden Swing when he defeated Etcheverry last year, Norrie has slumped a bit. The British left-hander is down at 31st in the rankings, struggling to maintain a seeded spot for Roland Garros. Advancing to the Barcelona quarterfinals helps, which he did by getting a third-set retirement from Harold Mayot and beating Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-3. As good as Norrie is on clay, Etcheverry is a borderline specialist on this surface and is currently playing stellar all-around tennis.

Pick: Etcheverry in 3

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