ATP Barcelona: Nadal to face Cobolli in first round, could meet De Minaur in second
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz has withdrawn from the tournament due to a right arm injury
22nd April 2021; Real Club de Tennis, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; ATP Tour, Mens Singles, Barcelona Open Tennis; Rafael Nadal from SPAIN during Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell Trofeo Conde de Godó as he beat Kei Nishikori from JAPAN
Rafael Nadal is back in the main draw of an ATP tournament. Absent from the tour since the Brisbane International in January, the Spaniard looks set to return in Barcelona, a tournament he has won 12 times since the start of his career.
In his first match on clay since winning his 14th Roland-Garros title in 2022, Nadal will face Italy’s Flavio Cobolli, ranked 63rd in the world, in the first round.
If he gets through that match, the Mallorcan could face Alex de Minaur, the world No 11, in the second round. A win there could set him for a clash against 16th seed Arthur Fils in the last 16 and then sixth seed Ugo Humbert or 11th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the quarter-finals.
The much anticipated showdown with fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, which could have taken place in the semi-finals in Barcelona, won’t happen now with the world No 3 pulling out of the tournament over the weekend due to a right arm injury.
After withdrawing from Monte-Carlo last week, and also from the Australian Open, Doha and Indian Wells earlier in the season, Nadal felt that his body was not yet ready for the rigours of competitive tennis. But the signs are positive that he will play in Barcelona this week.
His videos in training showed reassuring images, as did the fact that he played a practise set against Andrey Rublev and won it 6-1. A good omen.
Monte-Carlo champion Stefanos Tsitsipas is seeded fifth and will face Pavel Kotov or Sebastian Ofner in the second round. A potential third round clash against 10th seed Lorenzo Musetti awaits in the third round. 17th seed Fabian Marozsan, who takes Alcaraz’s place at the top of the draw, or 15th seed Borna Coric are projected to meet Tsitsipas in the quarters. If Tsitsipas and Nadal both get there, the two could meet in the semi-finals this week.
Rublev, Ruud could face off in the semi-finals
Russia’s Andrey Rublev, who lost his opening match in Monte-Carlo, will look to put his clay court campaign back on track. After a first round bye, the second seed will face Dan Evans or Brandon Nakashima in the second round. Seventh seed Karen Khachanov and 13th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry in his section.
Monte-Carlo finalist Casper Ruud, seeded third, will face Alexandre Muller or Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the second round. The Norwegian has eighth seed Sebastian Baez, ninth seed Nicolas Jarry and 14th seed Jordan Thompson in his section.
