Rafael Nadal will kick off his Barcelona campaign on Wednesday against familiar foe and fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro. Ernests Gulbis and Benoit Paire are also in second-round action.
Nicolas Almagro vs. (2) Rafael Nadal
Nadal and Almagro will be squaring off for the 13th time in their careers when they collide in round two of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on Wednesday. The head-to-head series stands at 11-1 in Nadal’s favor after the world No. 1 cruised 6-4, 6-2 last month on the hard courts of Miami. They have faced each other three times in Barcelona, where Almagro scored his only win via a 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 decision in 2014. Nadal is still 8-1 lifetime against his fellow Spaniard on clay.
Like last year, Nadal is struggling as he heads into this event. The No. 2 seed lost early in Indian Wells and Miami before falling to Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-3 in the Monte-Carlo semifinals. Almagro missed much of last season with a foot injury, but he owns nine victories in 2015–including a semifinal showing in Buenos Aires. The world No. 123 is coming off a quarterfinal appearance in Monte-Carlo and he eased through his opener on Tuesday by getting a retirement from Paolo Lorenzi at 3-0 in the first set. Almagro is a difficult opponent this early in the tournament, but Nadal at least showed some encouraging signs in Monte-Carlo and he boasts a 42-2 record in Barcelona with eight titles.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 8-10 games
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(8) Ernests Gubis vs. Benoit Paire
Gulbis has been a mercurial performer throughout his career, but never had he descended into this drastic of a funk until now. The Latvian is a horrendous 1-8 on the season and his only win has come at the expense of a lucky loser (Daniel Gimeno-Traver in Indian Wells). Things went from bad to worse for Gulbis last week in Monte-Carlo, where he got blown out by Andreas Haider-Maurer 6-1, 6-0.
Up next for Gulbis is a second career meeting with Paire. Their only previous encounter came three years ago on the clay courts of Gstaad, where Gulbis prevailed 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-4. Paire advanced to the Barcelona second round by defeating qualifier Jaume Munar 6-2, 6-2 on Monday. The 78th-ranked Frenchman is 4-3 at the ATP level in 2015 and he also owns two Challenger titles and one Futures trophy. With Paire starting to round back into form and Gulbis slumping, this should be one-way traffic.
Pick: Paire in 2 losing 3-4 games
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