Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz swept past Dan Evans 6-2, 6-2 on Saturday to set up a Barcelona Open final clash with Stefanos Tsitsipas. 

The Greek second seed earlier defeated Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 to reach the final for the third time. 

World No.2 Alcaraz, 19, beat Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals at Barcelona last year in three sets in what was the Spaniard's third win in three meetings against the Greek.

World No. 5 Tsitsipas lost on both occasions he previously reached the Barcelona final, against Rafael Nadal in 2018 and 2021.

Elsewhere, in the Stuttgart Open, women's world No. 1 Iga Swiatek moved into the final on Saturday after her opponent Ons Jabeur retired injured three games into the first set. 

The Polish three-time Grand Slam champion will face Aryna Sabalenka on Sunday in a repeat of the 2022 final, following the Belarusian's comfortable straight-sets victory over Anastasia Potapova. 

Tunisian Jabeur, on a seven-match winning run after recovering from injury and surgery earlier in 2023, looked to have hurt herself during the last point of the first game.

Meanwhile, world No.1 Novak Djokovic has pulled out of next week's Madrid Open, joining Nadal on the sidelines. The men share the record for most Grand Slam titles, with 22 each.

The Serb was preparing for the clay season but got knocked out early at the Monte Carlo Masters and Banja Luka Open.

"I didn't feel well on the court, my legs were slow and my footwork was torpid, many missed shots, totally without direction," said the 35-year-old Serb after his quarter-final defeat by Dusan Lajovic at the Banja Luka event. 

Djokovic said, however, that he was still hopeful of finding his groove on clay before next month's French Open, which begins on May 28.

(With input from agencies)