“He loves playing tennis, and let’s see if he’s gonna get better and better and hopefully one year I’ll play against him,” Carlos Alcaraz once said, expressing his desire to face his younger brother, Jaime, on the tennis court. Well, this dream of sibling rivalry is not new to tennis history. Iconic brother duos like the Bryan brothers and the McEnroe brothers have entertained fans with their matches, both as doubles partners and rivals. However, recently, Rick Macci, the legendary coach who mentored Serena and Venus Williams, drew a compelling parallel between the Alcaraz brothers and the Williams sisters. Hint: a brother vs brother on the cards?

Carlos Alcaraz, the top seed at the ATP 500 tournament in Barcelona, reached the SF with a 7-5, 6-3 win over 7th seed Alex de Minaur on Friday. But the excitement didn’t stop there for the Alcaraz family. Earlier that day, the 4-time GS winner watched his 14-year-old brother, Jaime, secure a debut victory in the under-14 boys’ tournament.

Alcaraz was in attendance to watch his brother play against Tim Franco. “His level honestly surprised me, though he hits more drop shots than he should – I wonder where he gets that from,” he quipped later. “It really excites me to watch him play, and I love watching him when I can. Let’s see how he does tomorrow, but it’s a privilege to watch him,” Carlos added.

Jaime is set to face third seed Pepe Garcia in his next match on Saturday (19 April), just before Carlos takes on France’s Arthur Fils in his semi-final.

Is there any similarity between the dynamics of the Alcaraz brothers and the Williams sisters, though? Well, Rick Macci thinks so. Taking to X, Macci wrote, “He has the best coach ever with the family plan. He will try to everything like his older brother and more. This was the daily ripple that cascaded onto Serena from Venus. Different age dynamics with Carlos/Jamie but look for the Alcaraz Drop to never stop.” But why is the veteran coach comparing the Spanish brothers with American icons?

The legendary Serena Williams and Venus Williams built one of the most iconic rivalries in tennis history, facing each other 31 times on tour, with Serena holding a 19-12 advantage. Between them, they’ve amassed an astonishing 30 GS singles titles, Serena with 23 and Venus with 7.

While reflecting on their rivalry, the younger sister has always shown deep respect for her sister’s role in her journey. Speaking at the New York Times DealBook Summit, Serena once opened up about their shared legacy and how much Venus’s presence pushed her to greater heights. “We had this rule that if we played against each other before the final, we had to win the title. I think Venus would have had a minimum of 15 Grand Slams if we didn’t play. I would have had 30,” she said.

Coming back to the Alcaraz brothers, while Jaime is marching through the junior tournament, Carlitos looks all set for Barcelona glory as well at the senior level, although he still has two hurdles to cross. The Spaniard’s QF battle against Alex de Minaur was, however, quite a tough one.

“Struggling a little bit mentally,” Carlos Alcaraz opens up after booking his place in the Barcelona semi-final

The Spanish top seed Carlos Alcaraz made a triumphant return to the Barcelona Open in 2025, determined to reclaim the title he missed out on last year because of injury. After easing past Ethan Quinn and dispatching Laslo Djere in straight sets, the Spanish sensation faced a stern test in the QF against Alex de Minaur. 

In a high-quality contest, Alcaraz came from behind twice in the opening set before sealing a 7-5, 6-3 win. De Minaur started strong, leading 3-1 and breaking twice in the first set, but Alcaraz rallied back to win it. The Spaniard, aiming for his third Barcelona title in four years, gained control in the second set with a 4-2 break and sealed the straight-sets win in a thrilling clash.

After the match, the Spaniard discussed the mental toughness he had to endure throughout the match. “I started quite badly with the serve, I was struggling a little bit mentally with it. It was just the first few games with my serve, then I think I improved a lot. I calmed myself down and started to think positively again. Alex started strong, playing aggressively, and the first set was really tight. I’m really glad I managed to win the first set and in the second I played some great tennis, so really happy,” Alcaraz said.

Standing between Alcaraz and a spot in the Barcelona Open final is Arthur Fils now, whom he recently defeated at the Monte-Carlo Masters. Are you backing Alcaraz to go past the Frenchman?