Following last week’s Monte-Carlo Masters, the high-paced clay-court swing continues in Barcelona and Belgrade. Rafael Nadal missed a chance at another title on his favorite surface when he lost to Andrey Rublev in Monte-Carlo, but he is back in action in Barcelona. The world No. 3 is joined in a strong field by Rublev, Monte-Carlo champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, Diego Schwartzman, and Roberto Bautista Agut. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic tries to kick his clay-court season into gear at a 250-point tournament that is back in Belgrade for the first time since 2012.
Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell
Where: Barcelona, Spain
Surface: Clay
Points: 500
Prize money: 1,565,480 Euros
Top seed: Rafael Nadal
2019 champion: Dominic Thiem (not playing)
Draw analysis: Nadal rarely loses in Monte-Carlo (73-6). He loses even less frequently in Barcelona (61-4). The 20-time major champion will try to make amends for last week’s surprising setback by capturing a 12th title in Barcelona, where the main court is named for him. Nadal last triumphed at this tournament in 2018, as he lost to Dominic Thiem in the 2019 semifinals before the 2020 edition was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Nadal’s nearest seed standing in his way is clay-court specialist Cristian Garin, while David Goffin and Karen Khachanov are possible quarterfinal foes. Also in the top half of the bracket are Schwartzman, Pablo Carreno Busta, Fabio Fognini, and an in-form Dan Evans.
When looking at the other half, Nadal really has to like his draw. After all, Tsitsipas’ side is absolutely loaded. It is also home to Rublev, Bautista Agut, Denis Shapovalov, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Jannik Sinner, Lorenzo Musetti, and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Shapovalov and Auger-Aliassime are on a collision course for yet another head-to-head matchup in the third round, with the winner likely to meet Tsitsipas in the quarters. Rublev should coast into the last 16, where he could run into Bautista Agut for a rematch of their grueling encounter at the same stage in Monte-Carlo. The Spaniard, however, may first have to get past Sinner.
Hot: Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, Roberto Bautista Agut, Pablo Carreno Busta, Jannik Sinner, Dan Evans, Carlos Alcaraz, Lorenzo Musetti
Cold: Alex de Minaur, Kei Nishikori, Guido Pella, Andrey Kuznetsov, Richard Gasquet, Gilles Simon, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Benoit Paire
Quarterfinal predictions: Rafael Nadal over David Goffin, Pablo Carreno Busta over Dan Evans, Roberto Bautista Agut over Andrey Rublev, and Stefanos Tsitsipas over Felix Auger-Aliassime
Semifinals: Nadal over Carreno Busta and Bautista Agut over Tsitsipas
Final: Nadal over Bautista Agut
Serbia Open
Where: Belgrade, Serbia
Surface: Clay
Points: 250
Prize money: 650,000 Euros
Top seed: Novak Djokovic
2012 champion: Andreas Seppi (not playing)
Draw analysis: Belgrade is hosting an ATP tournament for the first time in almost a decade, and Djokovic is not about to miss the occasion. A rare 250-point appearance by the top-ranked Serb is certainly bad news for the rest of the field—and especially for Aslan Karatsev, Miomir Kecmanovic, Laslo Djere, and other players in the top half of the draw. Djokovic could meet Kecmanovic in the quarterfinals and either Karatsev, Djere, Sebastian Korda, or Aljaz Bedene in the semis. Korda and Bedene are set for an intriguing first-round encounter.
The bottom half, of course, is far more up for grabs. Matteo Berrettini is a vulnerable No. 2 seed, and competitors such as Dusan Lajovic, Filip Krajinovic, John Millman, and Emil Ruusuvuori will be looking to take advantage. Other solid clay-courters to keep an eye on in this section are Federico Coria, Federico Delbonis, Marco Cecchinatio, Stefano Travaglia, and Pablo Cuevas.
Hot: Novak Djokovic, Aslan Karatsev, Sebastian Korda
Cold: Matteo Berrettini, John Millman, Juan Ignacio Londero, Pablo Cuevas
Semifinal predictions: Novak Djokovic over Lasjlo Djere and Filip Krajinovic over Federico Delbonis
Final: Djokovic over Krajinovic
who ya got?
What Cheryl said. 🙂 Rafa and the Djoker return to normal — for them.
Berrettini should sharpen his game up also.
after what we saw in Monte Carlo, all bets are off for me, at least until RG.
yep, me too. (except the safe practice predicting in the Bracket Challenge)
Impossible to pick WTA publicly.
Nadal could meet Schwartzman and Goffin before the semis so this will be a good test for him.
Sinner v Rublev could be interesting.
Suprised Fokina is in the draw. He meets De Minaur and Tsitsipas again. I was not expecting to see him again until Rome.
Titsipas should make the quarters again but does he really want to go deep again in the ATP500 after winning a masters 1000 and with Madrid next?
Tsitsi is young, healthy and ambitious. I think he’d love another 500 ranking points. Rafa used to play all four (MC, Barcelona, Madrid and Rome) clay events and then tear up RG.
This Barcelona field is one of the most competitive (not the strongest) I’ve seen.
Hard to predict either one of these tournies….just too many good, young, players in the mix these days. I’ll take Rublev in Barcelona and Karatsev in Belgrade.