ATP Barcelona Open Preview
It could shape up to be quite a battle this week as the ATP World Tour stops in Barcelona for the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. Kei Nishikori is the two-time defending champion, but will be seeded second behind Rafael Nadal.
Nishikori beat unseeded Pablo Andujar last year for the title. Nadal
comes in this week with his first title of 2016 won on Sunday in Monte
Carlo. Nadal has won this event eight times, but not since 2013. David
Ferrer and Richard Gasquet round out the top four seeds. Ferrer missed
last week’s Masters event in Monte Carlo due to an undisclosed injury,
but confirmed over the weekend that he will play in Barcelona.
There has been a rash of early upsets in Barcelona in the past few
years. No fewer than four seeds have lost their first matches in this
tournament in each of the past three seasons. The high mark came in 2014
when eight seeds were erased in their first matches. Despite that,
seeds are still in business as the tournament winds down more often than
not. Over the last five years, only three semifinalists have been
unseeded. Those unseeded players have made good on crashing the final
however, with an unseeded player losing the final two years straight.
With that to chew on, here is this week’s Seed Report.
Seed Report 1. Rafael Nadal
The lefty has an amazing record in Barcelona at 43-3 with eight titles.
The last two years however, he has struggled at this tournament. He has
not made it past the quarterfinals in either year with tough losses to
Fabio Fognini last year and Nicolas Almagro in 2014. He arrives with
some of his best form in the past six months this time and confidence
with the title in Monte Carlo. This is the real chance for Nadal to get
himself rolling and feeling like a King again.
2. Kei Nishikori
Nishikori looks for the three-peat in Barcelona this week. He’s gone
15-3 here and comes off a finals appearance in Miami, although with a
poor performance against Novak Djokovic in the final. After never
reaching further than the quarters in his first three trips to
Barcelona, this tournament has turned into one of his best with a ten
match win streak. It should be noted however that Nishikori has taken
advantage of destroyed draws, not having to face higher than a 7th seed
in his two championship trips.
3. David Ferrer
Ferrer is 28-13 in Barcelona with four trips to the finals. He has not
made it that far since 2012. Since that time, he lost twice in his first
match, but did make the semifinals last year. Ferrer has had some
sketchy form in the last two months and the injury layoff will leave
plenty of questions heading into this week.
4. Richard Gasquet
Gasquet was stunned last week in Monte Carlo by Lucas Pouille and is
just 4-3 at this tournament. He hasn’t played Barcelona since 2011. His
first match will come against Malek Jaziri or Hyeon Chung. That could at
least allow Gasquet to get out of the gates with a win, but Chung could
pose a threat.
ATP Barcelona Open Preview
It could shape up to be quite a battle this week as the ATP World Tour stops in Barcelona for the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. Kei Nishikori is the two-time defending champion, but will be seeded second behind Rafael Nadal.
Nishikori beat unseeded Pablo Andujar last year for the title. Nadal
comes in this week with his first title of 2016 won on Sunday in Monte
Carlo. Nadal has won this event eight times, but not since 2013. David
Ferrer and Richard Gasquet round out the top four seeds. Ferrer missed
last week’s Masters event in Monte Carlo due to an undisclosed injury,
but confirmed over the weekend that he will play in Barcelona.
There has been a rash of early upsets in Barcelona in the past few
years. No fewer than four seeds have lost their first matches in this
tournament in each of the past three seasons. The high mark came in 2014
when eight seeds were erased in their first matches. Despite that,
seeds are still in business as the tournament winds down more often than
not. Over the last five years, only three semifinalists have been
unseeded. Those unseeded players have made good on crashing the final
however, with an unseeded player losing the final two years straight.
With that to chew on, here is this week’s Seed Report.
Seed Report 1. Rafael Nadal
The lefty has an amazing record in Barcelona at 43-3 with eight titles.
The last two years however, he has struggled at this tournament. He has
not made it past the quarterfinals in either year with tough losses to
Fabio Fognini last year and Nicolas Almagro in 2014. He arrives with
some of his best form in the past six months this time and confidence
with the title in Monte Carlo. This is the real chance for Nadal to get
himself rolling and feeling like a King again.
2. Kei Nishikori
Nishikori looks for the three-peat in Barcelona this week. He’s gone
15-3 here and comes off a finals appearance in Miami, although with a
poor performance against Novak Djokovic in the final. After never
reaching further than the quarters in his first three trips to
Barcelona, this tournament has turned into one of his best with a ten
match win streak. It should be noted however that Nishikori has taken
advantage of destroyed draws, not having to face higher than a 7th seed
in his two championship trips.
3. David Ferrer
Ferrer is 28-13 in Barcelona with four trips to the finals. He has not
made it that far since 2012. Since that time, he lost twice in his first
match, but did make the semifinals last year. Ferrer has had some
sketchy form in the last two months and the injury layoff will leave
plenty of questions heading into this week.
4. Richard Gasquet
Gasquet was stunned last week in Monte Carlo by Lucas Pouille and is
just 4-3 at this tournament. He hasn’t played Barcelona since 2011. His
first match will come against Malek Jaziri or Hyeon Chung. That could at
least allow Gasquet to get out of the gates with a win, but Chung could
pose a threat.
5. Roberto Bautista Agut
The Spaniard has played just a handful of matches at this tournament,
going 3-2. Last year was his best result with a quarterfinal run. He
comes in after making the third round in Monte Carlo. His clay form has
been middling, so there’s not a ton of expectation on him this week.
6. Benoit Paire
The Frenchman is 5-5 in Barcelona during his career. The round of 16 has
been his best finish, both in 2013 and 2015. Paire played reasonably
well in Monte Carlo last week, losing a grinding three set to Andy
Murray in the third round. He’s drawn into a tough quarter, so he’ll be
up against tough competition from the opening ball.
7. Feliciano Lopez
Lopez has played this tournament quite a bit in his career with an 18-15
mark. The quarterfinals have been his best finish, both in 2011 and
2012. The “Flodonis” has gone just 1-2 the last two years in Barcelona.
Lopez predictability got blown out by David Goffin in his first match in
Monte Carlo last week after a decent run in Houston plus some tough
travel. He could rebound this week with a decent draw.
8. Viktor Troicki
The Serb seems like a prime candidate for an early exit. Troicki is 0-2
all-time in Barcelona and hasn’t won on clay since the first round of
last year’s French Open. He is just 4-8 on the surface since the
beginning of 2015. He could meet Ernests Gulbis to open in round two.
First-up Flops
These are the seeds who look most prone to getting taken out in their openers.
5. Roberto Bautista Agut 6. Benoit Paire 8. Viktor Troicki 11. Alexandr Dolgpolov 12. Fabio Fognini 15. Thomas Bellucci
5. Roberto Bautista Agut
The Spaniard has played just a handful of matches at this tournament,
going 3-2. Last year was his best result with a quarterfinal run. He
comes in after making the third round in Monte Carlo. His clay form has
been middling, so there’s not a ton of expectation on him this week.
6. Benoit Paire
The Frenchman is 5-5 in Barcelona during his career. The round of 16 has
been his best finish, both in 2013 and 2015. Paire played reasonably
well in Monte Carlo last week, losing a grinding three set to Andy
Murray in the third round. He’s drawn into a tough quarter, so he’ll be
up against tough competition from the opening ball.
7. Feliciano Lopez
Lopez has played this tournament quite a bit in his career with an 18-15
mark. The quarterfinals have been his best finish, both in 2011 and
2012. The “Flodonis” has gone just 1-2 the last two years in Barcelona.
Lopez predictability got blown out by David Goffin in his first match in
Monte Carlo last week after a decent run in Houston plus some tough
travel. He could rebound this week with a decent draw.
8. Viktor Troicki
The Serb seems like a prime candidate for an early exit. Troicki is 0-2
all-time in Barcelona and hasn’t won on clay since the first round of
last year’s French Open. He is just 4-8 on the surface since the
beginning of 2015. He could meet Ernests Gulbis to open in round two.
First-up Flops
These are the seeds who look most prone to getting taken out in their openers.
5. Roberto Bautista Agut 6. Benoit Paire 8. Viktor Troicki 11. Alexandr Dolgpolov 12. Fabio Fognini 15. Thomas Bellucci
Quarters Previews First Quarter: Rafael Nadal (1)
Nadal will be happy with this draw. On paper, this looks like a good one
for him with Troicki as the seed opposite of him in this quarter. Fabio
Fognini (12) and Joao Sousa (14) are the other seeds in this quarter.
Nadal should be in good shape until the quarterfinals, barring any
fatigue from Monte Carlo. In the quarters, it’s a toss-up who might be
there. Both Fognini and Troicki are in poor form, so there could be a
surprise waiting for Nadal. Ernests Gulbis anyone? Both Fogini and
Troicki could lose their first matches. Fognini gets Rajeev Ram or
Mikhail Youzhny and just simply has been out of sorts due to
inconsistency and an injury layoff. Sousa will get a Spaniard, either
Albert Montanes or Roberto Carbelles Baena.
In the end. this is Nadal’s quarter to lose and it should allow him to continue his roll from Monte Carlo.
Second Quarter: David Ferrer (3)
Question marks are scattered through this quarter. Ferrer leads the top
half with Feliciano Lopez as the seed in the bottom. A healthy Ferrer
should get to the quarters at-minimum. He would have Santiago Giraldo or
Stepanek to open and then Andrey Kuznetsov as the only seed in his way.
Skugo battles Inigo Cervantes in what could be a good opening round
match, with the winner to get a shot at Kuznetsov. Kuznetsov has some
chops on clay, but has had trouble producing consistently above the
Challenger level on dirt. This could be a shot to reverse that.
Lopez and Kohlschreiber (10) are seeded in the bottom half. Pablo
Carreno-Busta might be the X-factor in this half, although his 1-5
record in Barcelona says otherwise. He opens against Denis Istomin and
would then get a crack at Kohlschreiber. Kohlschreiber enjoys this
tournament with three straight trips to the quarters, with one of those
working into a semifinal run in 2013. The German might have a good shot
to make it four straight years with this draw.
If Ferrer is still ailing or unable to discover form, think
Kohlschreiber first and perhaps Kuznetsov second as alternates to sneak
into the semifinals.
Quarters Previews First Quarter: Rafael Nadal (1)
Nadal will be happy with this draw. On paper, this looks like a good one
for him with Troicki as the seed opposite of him in this quarter. Fabio
Fognini (12) and Joao Sousa (14) are the other seeds in this quarter.
Nadal should be in good shape until the quarterfinals, barring any
fatigue from Monte Carlo. In the quarters, it’s a toss-up who might be
there. Both Fognini and Troicki are in poor form, so there could be a
surprise waiting for Nadal. Ernests Gulbis anyone? Both Fogini and
Troicki could lose their first matches. Fognini gets Rajeev Ram or
Mikhail Youzhny and just simply has been out of sorts due to
inconsistency and an injury layoff. Sousa will get a Spaniard, either
Albert Montanes or Roberto Carbelles Baena.
In the end. this is Nadal’s quarter to lose and it should allow him to continue his roll from Monte Carlo.
Second Quarter: David Ferrer (3)
Question marks are scattered through this quarter. Ferrer leads the top
half with Feliciano Lopez as the seed in the bottom. A healthy Ferrer
should get to the quarters at-minimum. He would have Santiago Giraldo or
Stepanek to open and then Andrey Kuznetsov as the only seed in his way.
Skugo battles Inigo Cervantes in what could be a good opening round
match, with the winner to get a shot at Kuznetsov. Kuznetsov has some
chops on clay, but has had trouble producing consistently above the
Challenger level on dirt. This could be a shot to reverse that.
Lopez and Kohlschreiber (10) are seeded in the bottom half. Pablo
Carreno-Busta might be the X-factor in this half, although his 1-5
record in Barcelona says otherwise. He opens against Denis Istomin and
would then get a crack at Kohlschreiber. Kohlschreiber enjoys this
tournament with three straight trips to the quarters, with one of those
working into a semifinal run in 2013. The German might have a good shot
to make it four straight years with this draw.
If Ferrer is still ailing or unable to discover form, think
Kohlschreiber first and perhaps Kuznetsov second as alternates to sneak
into the semifinals.
Third Quarter: Richard Gasquet (4)
Two Frenchman anchor this quarter with Gasquet in one half and Paire in
the other. Gasquet has 15th seeded Thomaz Bellucci to contend with en
route to a quarterfinal. He also could see one of two Germans, Struff or
Zverev, with Bellucci playing poorly this season. Up top, Paire and 9th
seed Pablo Cuevas will be favorites to contend with Gasquet to get into
the semifinals. Unfortunately, the unseeded players in their portion of
the draw could have something else to say about that. Paire will get
Temuraz Gabashvili or Nicolas Almagro to open. While neither have been
in the winning mood lately, they are both still dangerous. Almagro has
played well here in the past.
Cuevas’ opener could come against Albert Ramos-Vinolas. He faces wild
card Jaume Munar. The big 18-year old will get a chance to show what he
learned from his beatdown at the hands of Ramos-Vinolas last year at
the Cordenons Challenger. Cuevas has been a consistent performer on clay
and is always somewhat overlooked in bigger tournaments, but he could
make some noise here. A Paire-Cuevas clash could be a good one if it
happens. Paire beat him in their lone meeting last year on clay.
Gasquet has the easier draw, but has been very inconsistent on clay
outside of the French Open. If a quarter goes rogue and falls to an
unseeded player, this could be it. There is some very good talent with
the likes of Struff, Zverev, Ramos-Vinolas and Almagro scattered in
here. While none have been deep on clay in a while, this tournament does
spring a surprise now and then.
Fourth Quarter: Kei Nishikori (2)
Nishikori will contend with seeds Bautista Agut, Alexandr Dolgopolov
(11) and Jeremy Chardy (13). Nishikori should be able to get away to a
good start with either Elias Ymer or Thiemo de Bakker due to face him
first. With Chardy as the highest seed he could see before the quarters,
Nishikori will be expecting to be in that position. Up top, RBA will
get qualifier Karen Khachanov or Aljaz Bedene to open in the second
round. Bedene could provide a bit of a test to Bautista Agut if that is
the match-up. Bedene owns two wins against RBA with one coming last year
on clay in Hamburg.
Dolgopolov may not be a factor at all however with an 0-4 mark in
Barcelona. That’s disappointing for a player who does have some game on
clay. If Bedene can spring an upset early, he could make a run at a
quarterfinal spot. That could also once again give Nishikori an easier
road to a deep run in Barcelona. Given his recent track record here and
the competition, Nishikori should be disappointed if he isn’t at least
in the semifinals.
Third Quarter: Richard Gasquet (4)
Two Frenchman anchor this quarter with Gasquet in one half and Paire in
the other. Gasquet has 15th seeded Thomaz Bellucci to contend with en
route to a quarterfinal. He also could see one of two Germans, Struff or
Zverev, with Bellucci playing poorly this season. Up top, Paire and 9th
seed Pablo Cuevas will be favorites to contend with Gasquet to get into
the semifinals. Unfortunately, the unseeded players in their portion of
the draw could have something else to say about that. Paire will get
Temuraz Gabashvili or Nicolas Almagro to open. While neither have been
in the winning mood lately, they are both still dangerous. Almagro has
played well here in the past.
Cuevas’ opener could come against Albert Ramos-Vinolas. He faces wild
card Jaume Munar. The big 18-year old will get a chance to show what he
learned from his beatdown at the hands of Ramos-Vinolas last year at
the Cordenons Challenger. Cuevas has been a consistent performer on clay
and is always somewhat overlooked in bigger tournaments, but he could
make some noise here. A Paire-Cuevas clash could be a good one if it
happens. Paire beat him in their lone meeting last year on clay.
Gasquet has the easier draw, but has been very inconsistent on clay
outside of the French Open. If a quarter goes rogue and falls to an
unseeded player, this could be it. There is some very good talent with
the likes of Struff, Zverev, Ramos-Vinolas and Almagro scattered in
here. While none have been deep on clay in a while, this tournament does
spring a surprise now and then.
Fourth Quarter: Kei Nishikori (2)
Nishikori will contend with seeds Bautista Agut, Alexandr Dolgopolov
(11) and Jeremy Chardy (13). Nishikori should be able to get away to a
good start with either Elias Ymer or Thiemo de Bakker due to face him
first. With Chardy as the highest seed he could see before the quarters,
Nishikori will be expecting to be in that position. Up top, RBA will
get qualifier Karen Khachanov or Aljaz Bedene to open in the second
round. Bedene could provide a bit of a test to Bautista Agut if that is
the match-up. Bedene owns two wins against RBA with one coming last year
on clay in Hamburg.
Dolgopolov may not be a factor at all however with an 0-4 mark in
Barcelona. That’s disappointing for a player who does have some game on
clay. If Bedene can spring an upset early, he could make a run at a
quarterfinal spot. That could also once again give Nishikori an easier
road to a deep run in Barcelona. Given his recent track record here and
the competition, Nishikori should be disappointed if he isn’t at least
in the semifinals.
er that was the 6th game (covers REALLY needs an edit function)...that went marathon, skugor making cervantes work--altho very few, if any, actual bp's
...faak, thoughts of quitting the day job by tailing EP as he skillfully fades Joe evaporating, lol
er that was the 6th game (covers REALLY needs an edit function)...that went marathon, skugor making cervantes work--altho very few, if any, actual bp's
...faak, thoughts of quitting the day job by tailing EP as he skillfully fades Joe evaporating, lol
Great stuff! As always, thanks for the excellent preview for those of us who are less knowledgeable and still learning the history and matchups at these tournaments. BOL to you today and throughout the tourney.
Great stuff! As always, thanks for the excellent preview for those of us who are less knowledgeable and still learning the history and matchups at these tournaments. BOL to you today and throughout the tourney.
*If you like fading Fader Joe, he's been getting skunked on his locks lately. Tomorrow he's got Nishikori, which looks like a lock right? So perhaps Dog +1.5 Sets for the Fade Crew.
*If you like fading Fader Joe, he's been getting skunked on his locks lately. Tomorrow he's got Nishikori, which looks like a lock right? So perhaps Dog +1.5 Sets for the Fade Crew.
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