It’s fair to say that nothing is confirmed until Rafael Nadal actually takes the court, but all systems are reportedly go for him at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.
Nadal is in the draw, and if he plays it would mark his first appearance on the ATP Tour since the Brisbane International in January (lost to Jordan Thompson in the quarterfinals). The 37-year-old Spaniard faced Carlos Alcaraz in the Netflix Slam last month in Las Vegas but withdrew from Indian Wells a couple of days later. Nadal also announced that he wasn’t yet ready to play in Monte-Carlo.
Speaking of Alcaraz, he will not be joining Alcaraz in Barcelona. The 20-year-old had been the No. 1 seed in the draw when it came out earlier this weekend, but he has since withdrawn due to the right-arm injury that also forced him out of Monte-Carlo.
Fabian Marozsan becomes the No. 17 seed and takes Alcaraz’s spot in the second round at the top of the bracket. Nadal, Alex de Minaur, and Monte-Carlo champion Stefanos Tsitsipas also find themselves in the top half. Nadal’s opening match is against Flavio Cobolli, with the winner to face De Minaur.
On the other side, Andrey Rublev is the No 2 seed. Rublev has won a grand total of one match across the last three Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami, and Monte-Carlo–and he was the defending champion in Monte-Carlo. The Russian could meet compatriot Karen Khachanov in the Barcelona quarterfinals and Monte-Carlo runner-up Casper Ruud in the semis.
who ya got?