On his beloved clay in his home country Rafael Nadal is a daunting player to take on, but some of the world’s elite is hoping to end the run of the world No.1 at the Barcelona Open.
Following his recent triumph at the Monte Carlo Masters, Nadal has won 36 consecutive sets on the clay. He will be aiming to continue that record at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona. Since making his debut at the tournament at the age of 17 in 2003, the Spaniard has achieved a win-loss record of 53-6. Winning a record ten titles, including the past two years. In 2017 the name of the premier court was changed in Nadal’s honor.
In this year’s draw, Nadal could face a repeat of Sunday’s Monte Carlo final in the third round. Kei Nishikori, who is also a two-time champion in Barcelona, is unseeded in his section. Then in the quarter-finals, he could take on Novak Djokovic in what would be their first meeting this year. On Saturday it was announced that Djokovic has decided to take a wild card to play in the tournament. He has previously said that he wanted to get more match play under his belt. He will start his campaign against either Federico Delbonis or a qualifier.
Nadal’s potential path
R1 : Bye
R2 : Haider Maurer / Carballes
R3 : Nishikori / Lopez
QF : Djokovic / Lajovic
SF : Goffin / Chung
F : Dimitrov / Thiem
Second seed Grigor Dimitrov will play in the tournament for the first time since 2014. The Bulgarian will be hoping to compensate for his previous poor record in Barcelona. Losing his opening match on the two previous occasions. Dimitrov reached the semifinals in Monte Carlo. It was at the same tournament he admitted that he was suffering with a ‘sore shoulder,’ but played down its significance. Dimitrov will open up against either Gilles Simon or Alexey Vatutin.
Dominic Thiem is also hoping for success in Barcelona. Last year he settled for runner-up to Nadal. Since then he reached his first Masters 1000 final in Madrid last year and won his 9th ATP title in February at the Argentina Open.
Thiem, who is seeded third in the tournament, starts his campaign against either wildcard entrant Jaume Munar or Joao Sousa.
The action in Barcelona will start on Monday. There will be no seeded player taking part, but some familiar faces will be present. Tommy Robredo will take on Ivo Karlovic in the a battle of the tour veterans. Meanwhile, rising stars Stefanos Tsitsipas and Corentin Moutet will lock horns. In total, ten first round matches will be played.
Order of play, April 23 of the @bcnopenbs 👇 pic.twitter.com/3J6QTq61Lm
— BcnOpen BancSabadell (@bcnopenbs) 22 April 2018
2018 Barcelona Open facts
The seeds
1. Rafael Nadal
2. Grigor Dimitrov
3. Dominic Thiem
4. David Goffin
5. Pablo Carreño Busta
6. Novak Djokovic
7. Diego Schwartzman
8. Roberto Bautista Agut
9. Chung Hyeon
10. Albert Ramos Viñolas
11. Adrian Mannarino
12. Feliciano López
13. Andrey Rublev
14. Kei Nishikori
15. Fernando Verdasco
16. Karen Khachanov
Projected matches (according to seeding)
Barcelona projected R16
Nadal-Nishikori
Djokovic-López
Goffin-Khachanov
RBA-Chung
Thiem-Verdasco
Schwartzman-Ramos
Carreno-Mannarino
Dimitrov-Rublev— José Morgado (@josemorgado) 21 April 2018
Barcelona projected QFs
Nadal-Djokovic
Goffin-Bautista Agut
Thiem-Schwartzman
Dimitrov-Carreño Busta— José Morgado (@josemorgado) 21 April 2018
The full draw
