Topic: ATP - 500 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell - 21-29 April 2012

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Saturday, 21 April

Qualifying First Round
(1) David Goffin (BEL)  d Guillermo Olaso (ESP) 46 64 62 in 1h50'
(2) Stephane Robert (FRA) d Pavol Cervenak (CZE) 62 64 in 1h2'
Jerzy Janowicz (POL) d (3) Daniel Muñoz-De La Nava (ESP) 36 76(6) 76(1) in 2h45'
(4) Evgeny Donskoy (RUS) d Ivan Navarro (ESP) 46 75 60 in 2h30
(5) Federico Delbonis (ARG) d Nicolas Devilder (FRA) 62 62 in 1h5'
(6) Joao Sousa (POR) d (Alt) Steven Diez (CAN) 64 60 in 1h26'
(7) Andrey Golubev (KAZ) d Juan Sebastian Cabal (COL) 63 63 in 1h4'
(8) Alijaz Bedene (SLO) d (WC) Jordi Samper-Montana 64 61 in 1h 19
(9) Sergei Bubka (UKR) d (WC) Oscar Sabate-Bretos (ESP) 63 64 in 56'
Evgeny Korolev (KAZ) d (10) Simone Vagnozzi (ITA) 63 67(5) 76(5) in 2h26'
(11) Arnau Brugues-Davi (ESP) d (WC) Oriol Roca Batalla (ESP) 63 62 in 1h18'
Adrian Menendez-Maceiras (ESP)  d (12) Jan Mertl (CZE) 75 64 in 1 h50'
(13) Eduardo Schwank (ARG) d (WC) Roberto Carballes Baena (ESP) 46 75 60 in 2h30'
Robert Farah (COL) d (14) Peter Torekbo (GER) 75 62 in 1h43'

Primer día del Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell 2012

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Recap:

glorious weather, hot and sunny, one thunder at 3:30 aprox was an alert but  then some clouds and windy but great weather overall, right now is raining.
great attendace. the crowd, as always, very wimblondenesque.
the matches:
let me start that from the very top of Pista Central you can see the action in all the other 3 courts, like the famous crow's nest at Wimby. the spaniards were very disapponting.
Menendez had a good win over Mertl on Central,
then Dosnskoy -interesting player- was just too much to an out of shape Navarro.
Goffin easily defeatead Olaso, comingback from 1 set down.
Muñoz de La Nava had a nightmare, leading 5-1 in the 2nd, and 4-2 in the 3rd he shouted just before the end, I can not close the match, and he didn't, Janowicz defeated him, the tall pole was a very promising junior, reached the 2008 FO final, but the pole has a lot of work to do to improve his game. quite a disappointment, expected more.
all 4 spanish wil card players were defeated.
Bedene - good player- was too much for disappointing Samper
Bubka overcame Sabate, Sabate left me a good feeling, he can improve.
in an all spanish battle, Brugues-Davi was too much for a disappointing Roca.
the nice surprise was Roberto Carballes, he almost defeated Schwank in straights, great prospect, good all aorund style of play, interesting. don't know what happened in the 3rd set, he lost 6-0. he is the protege of Ferru.
Delbonis, interesting player from Argentina, age 21, solid game, too much for small Devilder.
Robert easily defeated Cervenak, Sousa defeated an injured Diez. 
Golubev is too good to play qualies, no problems against doubles specialist colombian Cabal, good feeling with Cabal.
Farah, another colombian, played very well against german Torebko, the german seems a very, very, likable man.
this for badly missed BGT, Korolev defeated in a rollercoaster Vagnozzi, two tiebreaks, Vaggnozzi is an interesting player, great win for Zhenia, too much power almost without control, getting the nerves going to himself, almost self-destructing but he won. let me add I saw his win with 2 russian women who were cheering for Zhenya and one was carrying a baby.

saw Olivier Rochus, Gimeno-Traver and Fernando Verdasco in the club, Tomic-Bellucci hitting session. sadly Ferrero pulled out

the best: hitting session between Garcia-Lopez and Ramos, Ramos seems like a player with a lot of potential, a work in progress. he also seems a very likable guy, lot of smiles, he told me "Take care" because serving GGL one ball almost landed in my face. lol. nice to see him.

save the best for last:
hitting session between Andujar and Robredo, just to see Tommy again made my day, seems he has fully recovered, great movement and hitting hard. great news. Andujar was serious, he faces Bellucci in 1st rd, Robredo is not playing in the event, but he was happy, talking about how he went to London to saw a football match last wednesday, and then talking anout going with GGL and Andujar to attend el clasico del futbol.

[conchita]

Qualifying Draw Updated

(1) David Goffin (BEL) vs (11) Arnau Brugues-Davi (ESP)
(2) Stephane Robert (FRA) vs Robert Farah (COL)
Jerzy Janowicz (POL) vs (9) Sergei Bubka (UKR)
(4) Evgeny Donskoy (RUS) vs (8) Alijaz Bedene (SLO)
(5) Federico Delbonis (ARG) vs (13) Eduardo Schwank (ARG)
(6) Joao Sousa (POR) Evgeny Korolev (KAZ)
(7) Andrey Golubev (KAZ) vs Adrian Menendez-Maceiras (ESP) 

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Draw Ceremony first highlight of 2012 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell



It is a good draw for the Spanish players and I think that we can look forward to great matches from the very first day,” said Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell tournament director Albert Costa after the today’s draw ceremony, stressing “two top first round matches between Bernard Tomic (Australia) and Ernest Gulblis (Latvia), and Pablo Andujar (Spain) against Tomasz Bellucci (Brazil).”

Spain’s swimmer Mireia Belmonte was the special guest at the inauguration act of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell stand in the VIP Village, drawing the players for the 60th tournament anniversary. The world short course champion attended the draw ceremony next to Real Club Tenis Barcelona president Albert Agustí, ATP supervisor Carlos Sanches, general Banc Sabadell director Carles Ventura and Albert Costa.

Rafael Nadal, who received a first round bye like the other seven top seeded players, will face the winner of the match between Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Belgium’s Olivier Rochus in the second round. Possible quarter-finals between the top seeds are:

Rafa Nadal - Janko Tipsarevic

Tomas Berdych - Kei Nishikori

David Ferrer - Feliciano López

Andy Murray - Nicolás Almagro

Top seed is Nadal, followed by second seed Murray, Ferrer, Berdych, Tipsarevic, Almagro, López and Nishikori.

Sorteo del cuadro Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell 2012

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Singles Draw

(1) Rafael Nadal (ESP)
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) vs Olivier Rochus (BEL)
Qualifier vs Qualifier
Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) vs (16) Pablo Andujar (ESP)
------
(12) Marcel Granollers (ESP) vs Frederico Gil (POR)
Qualifier vs Igor Kunitsyn (RUS)
Victor Hanescu (ROU) vs Rui Machado (POR)
(5) Janko Tipsarevic (SRB)
-------------
(4) Tomas Berdych (CZE)
Albert Ramos (ESP) vs Steve Darcis (BEL)
Qualifier vs Qualifier
Malek Jaziri (TUN) vs (13) Kevin Anderson (RSA)
------
(9) Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs Andreas Beck (GER)
Benoit Paire (FRA) vs Lukas Rosol (CZE)
Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP) vs Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ)
(8) Kei Nishikori (JPN)
--------------------------------------------
(7) Feliciano Lopez (ESP)
Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) vs Flavio Cipolla (ITA)
Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) vs (WC) Javier Marti (ESP)
(WC) Ruben Ramirez-Hidalgo (ESP) vs (10) Radek Stepanek (CZE)
-------
(15) Bernard Tomic (AUS) vs Ernests Gulbis (LAT)
Albert Montañes (ESP) vs (WC) Gerard Granollers-Pujol (ESP)
(WC) Filip Krajinovic (SRB) vs (WC) Iñigo Cervantes (ESP)
(3) David Ferrer (ESP)
------------
(6) Nicolas Almagro (ESP)
Denis Istomin (UZB) vs Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA)
Igor Andreev (RUS) vs Diego Junqueira (ARG)
Alejandro Falla (COL) vs (11) Milos Raonic (CAN)
-----
(14) Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG) vs Santiago Giraldo (COL)
Qualifier vs Robin Haase (NED)
Qualifier vs Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR)
(2) Andy Murray (GBR)

Seeded players - rank
1 Nadal, 2
2 Murray, 4
3 Ferrer, 6
4 Berdych, 7
5 Tipsarevic, 8
6 Almagro, 12
7 Lopez, 16
8 Nishikori, 17
9 Verdasco, 19
10 Stepanek, 23
11 Raonic, 24
12 Granollers, 25
13 Anderson, 32
14 Chela, 33
15 Tomic, 36
16 Andujar, 39
Last direct acceptance
Diego Junqueira, 112

Resumen de la primera jornada del Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell

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Almagro, Ramos and Tipsarevic become human mannequins in the window of the Mango store



Nicolás Almagro, Albert Ramos and Janko Tipsarevic, three tennis players that will compete next week in the first round of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, modeled as human mannequins during an appearance this afternoon at the Mango store on 65 Passeig de Gracia in Barcelona. The three athletes surprised shoppers by perching in the window of the store.

Almagro and Tipsarevic are both currently among the 12 best players in the ATP world rankings. This season eight-ranked Tipsarevic finished as quarterfinalist in Chennai and claimed to be “looking forward to this tournament,” in which he could face Rafa Nadal in the quarterfinals. The twelfth-ranked Almagro arrives in Barcelona after winning the tournament in Sao Paulo and making the finals in Buenos Aires, but stated, “the Barcelona Open is the tournament I would most like to win.” Should he advance to the quarterfinals, he could face Andy Murray. Last week, Albert Ramos finished as a finalist in Casablanca. He will open the first round against Belgian Steve Darcis.

Mango, the international Spanish fashion brand, has been the official uniform provider for all of the staff at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell since 2011. This year, all of the clothes worn by ball boys, linesmen, and umpire chairs feature the number 60 in honor of the 60th anniversary of the tournament.

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Doubles Draw

(1) Bob Bryan (USA) / Mike Bryan (USA)
Pablo Andujar (ESP) / Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) vs David Marrero (ESP) / Fernando Verdasco (ESP)
----
Mikhail Elgin (RUS) / Denis Istomin (UZB) vs (WC) Iñigo Cervantes (ESP) / Gerard Granollers-Pujol (ESP)
(8) Oliver Marach (AUT) / Alexander Peya (AUT)
--------
(3) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND) / Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)
Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (ESP) / Eduardo Schwank (ARG) vs Jonathan Erlich (ISR) / Andy Ram (ISR)
---
Alejandro Falla (COL) / Santiago Giraldo (COL) vs Marcel Granollers (ESP) / Marc Lopez (ESP)
(5) Frantisek Cermak (CZE) / Filip Polasek (SVK)
---------------
(7) Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) / Jean-Julien Roger (NED)
Andy Murray (GBR) / Jamie Murray (GBR) vs Kevin Anderson (RSA) / Frank Moser (GER)
---
Eric Butorac (USA) / Bruno Soares (BRA) vs Scott Lipsky (USA) / Rajeev Ram (USA)
(4) Mariusz Fyrstenberg (POL) / Marcin Matkowski (POL)
---------
(6) Santiago Gonzalez (MEX) / Christopher Kas (GER)
Juan Sebastian Cabal (COL) / Robert Farah (COL) vs Nicolas Almagro (ESP) / Albert Ramos (ESP)
---
Robin Haase (NED) / Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) vs (WC) Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP) / Albert Montañes (ESP)
(2) Max Mirnyi (BLR) / Daniel Nestor (CAN)

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Sunday, 22 April, OOP

Pista Central - start at 12:30 pm
(7) Andrey Golubev (KAZ) vs Adrian Menendez-Maceiras (ESP)
(1) David Goffin (BEL) vs (11) Arnau Brugues-Davi (ESP)

Pista 1 - start at 12:00 noon
(2) Stephane Robert (FRA) vs Robert Farah (COL)
(4) Evgeny Donskoy (RUS) vs (8) Alijaz Bedene (SLO)
(5) Federico Delbonis (ARG) vs (13) Eduardo Schwank (ARG)

Pista 2 - start at 12:00 noon
Jerzy Janowicz (POL) vs (9) Sergei Bubka (UKR)
(6) Joao Sousa (POR) Evgeny Korolev (KAZ)

[hercules]

affirmative.

[Djokovic Champion]

affirmative.

Affirmative general Clay Death.

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Verdasco and Almagro offer special tennis session for kids

Clinic Dunlop

Dunlop and the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell have organized a tennis clinic for more than 50 children today on the Center Court of the Real Club Tenis Barcelona. The children appreciated the big opportunity to hit balls with their Spanish idols Nicolas Almagro and Fernando Verdasco during the second day of the tournament qualifiers.
 
 
 
The two players were joined by 2004 Trofeo Conde de Godó champion Tommy Robredo, who took pictures with the kids and signed autographs, although he suffers from an injury that prevents him from playing the tournament in front of his home crowd.
 
“I am really sorry that I can’t play the tournament at my club. My friends and family would have liked to see me play here. I hope to return and participate in many more tournaments here,” Robredo said.
 
Not only the children enjoyed playing tennis with their stars ast the Center Court was crowded with interested spectators. 3,000 tennis fans enjoyed the tennis session at the Pista Central of the Real Club Tenis Barcelona. Three of them played some points with the stars after catching a tennis ball in the stand.

Almagro y Verdasco en presentaciones de fase prévia del Godó 2012

[Djokovic Champion]

Verdasco and Almagro offer special tennis session for kids



Dunlop and the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell have organized a tennis clinic for more than 50 children today on the Center Court of the Real Club Tenis Barcelona. The children appreciated the big opportunity to hit balls with their Spanish idols Nicolas Almagro and Fernando Verdasco during the second day of the tournament qualifiers.
 
 
 
The two players were joined by 2004 Trofeo Conde de Godó champion Tommy Robredo, who took pictures with the kids and signed autographs, although he suffers from an injury that prevents him from playing the tournament in front of his home crowd.
 
“I am really sorry that I can’t play the tournament at my club. My friends and family would have liked to see me play here. I hope to return and participate in many more tournaments here,” Robredo said.
 
Not only the children enjoyed playing tennis with their stars ast the Center Court was crowded with interested spectators. 3,000 tennis fans enjoyed the tennis session at the Pista Central of the Real Club Tenis Barcelona. Three of them played some points with the stars after catching a tennis ball in the stand.

Beautiful pictures.

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Sunday, 22 April,

Qualifying Final Round
(1) David Goffin (BEL) d. (11) Arnau Brugues-Davi (ESP) 67(5) 64 60 in 2h20'
Robert Farah (COL) d. (2) Stephane Robert (FRA) 76(3) 63 in 1h44'
(8) Alijaz Bedene (SLO) d. (4) Evgeny Donskoy (RUS) 75 76(3) in 1h41'
(5) Federico Delbonis (ARG) d. (13) Eduardo Schwank (ARG) 75 63 in 1h44'
(6) Joao Sousa (POR) d. Evgeny Korolev (KAZ) 63 57 63 in 1h57'
(7) Andrey Golubev (KAZ) d. Adrian Menendez-Maceiras (ESP) 63 61 in 1h16'
(9) Sergei Bubka (UKR) d. Jerzy Janowicz (POL) 26 63 64 in 1h43'

Making Of Segundo Dia

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Nadal Travels to Barcelona Riding Significant Momentum



Rafael Nadal, who will attempt to repeat as the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell champion, dominated Novak Djokovic (6-3, 6-1) on Sunday to earn his eighth-consecutive Monte Carlo Rolex Masters title and end his seven-match losing streak against Djokovic.
 
No other player has won eight consecutive titles in tennis history. Not at the Masters 1000 events and not at the Grand Slams. Spain’s World No. 2 Nadal is unique, having lifted eight successive Monte Carlo crowns from 2005 to 2012.
 
Nadal’s rival today was nobody less than World No. 1 Djokovic, who beat him in the last seven finals. This time, the Serb only won four games. The second-ranked Nadal defeated Gilles Simon in the semifinals and did not lose a set the entire week.
 
Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell top seed Nadal recorded his 42nd successive match win in Monte Carlo, improving his head to head statistics against Djokovic to 17-14.
 
Spain’s left-hander has competed in 30 Master 1000 finals, clinching a record 20 victories, one more than World No. 3n Roger Federer. Out of 37 career matches on his favorite surface clay, Nadal has won an unbelievable 33.
 
Nadal will debut in Barcelona on Wednesday, facing the winner of the first round match between fellow Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Belgium’s Olivier Rochus.
 
The main singles draw of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell begins on Monday, April 23.

[conchita]

Singles Draw Updated
including qualifiers and lucky losers
retirements: (4) Berdych - right shoulder, (14) Chela - achilles, Bellucci - abdominal strain

(1) Rafael Nadal (ESP)
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) vs Olivier Rochus (BEL)
(LL) Arnau Brugues-Davi (ESP) vs (Q) Robert Farah (COL)
(Q) David Goffin (BEL) vs (16) Pablo Andujar (ESP)
------
(12) Marcel Granollers (ESP) vs Frederico Gil (POR)
(Q) Joao Sousa (POR) vs Igor Kunitsyn (RUS)
Victor Hanescu (ROU) vs Rui Machado (POR)
(5) Janko Tipsarevic (SRB)
-------------
(9) Fernando Verdasco (ESP)
(Q) Andrey Golubev (KAZ) vs Steve Darcis (BEL)
(Q) Aljaz Bedene (SLO) vs (Q) Federico Delbonis (ARG)
Malek Jaziri (TUN) vs (13) Kevin Anderson (RSA)
------
(17) Albert Ramos (ESP) vs Andreas Beck (GER)
Benoit Paire (FRA) vs Lukas Rosol (CZE)
Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP) vs Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ)
(8) Kei Nishikori (JPN)
--------------------------------------------
(7) Feliciano Lopez (ESP)
Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) vs Flavio Cipolla (ITA)
Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) vs (WC) Javier Marti (ESP)
(WC) Ruben Ramirez-Hidalgo (ESP) vs (10) Radek Stepanek (CZE)
-------
(15) Bernard Tomic (AUS) vs Ernests Gulbis (LAT)
Albert Montañes (ESP) vs (WC) Gerard Granollers-Pujol (ESP)
(WC) Filip Krajinovic (SRB) vs (WC) Iñigo Cervantes (ESP)
(3) David Ferrer (ESP)
------------
(6) Nicolas Almagro (ESP)
(LL) Stephane Robert (FRA) vs Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA)
Igor Andreev (RUS) vs Diego Junqueira (ARG)
Alejandro Falla (COL) vs (11) Milos Raonic (CAN)
-----
(18) Denis Istomin (UZB) vs Santiago Giraldo (COL)
(Q) Sergei Bubka (UKR) vs Robin Haase (NED)
(LL) Evgeny Donskoy (RUS) vs Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR)
(2) Andy Murray (GBR)

Entrevista a Thomaz Bellucci

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Tournament Main Draw to Start Tomorrow

The big favorites of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell qualifiers have booked their ticket for the main draw, to kick off tomorrow, 23 April. Thousands of tennis fans have watched top matches yesterday and today at the Real Club Tenis Barcelona. In an all-Argentinean clash, Federico Delbonis saw off Eduardo Schwank in straight sets (7-5, 6-3) to qualify for the main draw.
 
Andrey Golubev, Sergey Bubka, David Goffin, Aljas Bedene, Joao Sousa and Robert Farah have also qualified for the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell main draw this weekend.
 
The main draw features 16 Spanish players, five of which have received a bye for the first round: Rafa Nadal, David Ferrer, Nicolás Almagro, Feliciano López and Fernando Verdasco.
 
The five wild cards of the tournament are the Spaniards Gerard Granollers (brother of Marcel), Iñigo Cervantes, Rubén Ramírez, Javier Martí and Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic.

http://www.tv3.cat/videos/4062250/El-Godo-escalfa-motors
 
BERDYCH WITHDRAWS DUE TO GASTROENTERITIS

Czech Tomas Berdych was again forced to drop out of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. The World No. 7, who announced his decision today at the Real Club Tenis Barcelona, suffers from gastroenteritis.

[conchita]

Monday, April 23, 2012, OOP

Pista Central, capacity 8400, Start 11:00 am
Pablo Andujar (ESP) / Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) v David Marrero (ESP) / Fernando Verdasco (ESP)
Not Before 1:30 PM
Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) v [WC] Javier Marti (ESP)
Alejandro Falla (COL) v [11] Milos Raonic (CAN)
[WC] Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (ESP) v [10] Radek Stepanek (CZE)
Albert Montañes (ESP) v [WC] Gerard Granollers-Pujol (ESP)

Pista 1, capacity 2600, Start 11:00 am
[WC] Filip Krajinovic (SRB) v [WC] Iñigo Cervantes (ESP)
[18] Denis Istomin (UZB) v Santiago Giraldo (COL)
[Q] Andrey Golubev (KAZ) v Steve Darcis (BEL)
[Q] Sergei Bubka (UKR) v Robin Haase (NED)
Juan Sebastian Cabal (COL) / Robert Farah (COL) v Nicolas Almagro (ESP) / Albert Ramos (ESP)

Pista 2, capacity 600, Start 11:00 am
Benoit Paire (FRA) v Lukas Rosol (CZE)
[LL] Stephane Robert (FRA) v Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA)
[Q] Joao Sousa (POR) v Igor Kunitsyn (RUS)
[LL] Evgeny Donskoy (RUS) v Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR)
[Q] Aljaz Bedene (SLO) v [Q] Federico Delbonis (ARG)

[Dallas]

Is Nadal going to try to 'run the clay season' as far as his schedule?

[conchita]

Rafa plays this week in Barcelona, then a week off, then 2 weeks in Madrid and Rome, another week off and finally Roland Garros.

[conchita]

Barcelona Monday Briefing


Milos Raonic, who regularly trains in Barcelona, is in action on Monday.
 
BARCELONA PREVIEW – NADAL, MURRAY, FERRER, TIPSAREVIC LEAD STRONG 500 LEVEL FIELD

• The Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, the fifth ATP World Tour 500 tournament of the season, gets underway Monday at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899, the oldest Spanish tennis club. This is the 60th anniversary of the Trofeo Conde de Godo.

• This year’s outstanding field features four of the Top 10 players in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, led by World No. 2 and six-time champion Rafael Nadal, who owns a 30-1 career mark in Barcelona. Nadal is one of two former winners in the draw along with 2010 champ Fernando Verdasco, the No. 9 seed. Other top seeds are No. 2/World No. 4 Andy Murray of Great Britain, No. 3/three-time finalist David Ferrer, No. 5 Janko Tipsarevic, No. 6 Nicolas Almagro, No. 7 Feliciano Lopez and No. 8 Kei Nishikori of Japan. No. 4 Tomas Berdych withdrew due to a shoulder injury.

• There are four first-time meetings on Monday’s Pista Central schedule, leading off with Jarkko Nieminen of Finland against Spanish wild card Javier Marti. Nieminen won his second career ATP World Tour title in Sydney in January. In the second match on, top Colombian Alejandro Falla and No. 11 seed Milos Raonic of Canada. Raonic is a two-time ATP World Tour winner this year and Falla is ranked a career-high No. 53 this week. In the third match, veterans Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, at 34 the oldest player in the draw, takes on No. 10 seed and 33-year-old Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic. The Spaniard is also the oldest player in the Top 100 at No. 99. In the final match, Albert Montanes and wild card Gerard Granollers-Pujol battle it out. Gerard is younger brother of Marcel.

TOURNAMENT QUICK FACTS
CITY:   Barcelona, Spain
VENUE:  Real Club de Tenis Barcelona 1899
DATE:   April 23-29, 2012
CATEGORY:  ATP World Tour 500
PRIZE MONEY:  € 2,072,500
DRAW:   56 singles / 24 doubles
SURFACE:  Clay
SINGLES FINAL:  Sunday, April 29, at 4:00 p.m.
DOUBLES FINAL: Sunday, April 29, TBA
FIRST HELD:  1953

2011 FINALS
Singles – (1) Rafael Nadal (ESP) d. (4) David Ferrer (ESP) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles –  S. Gonzalez-Lipsky d. (1) Bryan-Bryan 5-7, 6-2, 12-10

RECENT CHAMPIONS/FINALISTS (since 2000)
2011 Rafael Nadal/David Ferrer
2010 Fernando Verdasco/Robin Soderling
2009 Rafael Nadal/David Ferrer
2008 Rafael Nadal/David Ferrer
2007 Rafael Nadal/Guillermo Canas
2006 Rafael Nadal/Tommy Robredo
2005 Rafael Nadal/Juan Carlos Ferrero   
2004 Tommy Robredo/Gaston Gaudio   
2003 Carlos Moya/Marat Safin   
2002 Gaston Gaudio/Albert Costa
2001 Juan Carlos Ferrero/Carlos Moya
2000 Marat Safin/Juan Carlos Ferrero

A LOOK AT THE DRAW
Seeded Players (Tournament record, best finish – year) 
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP)   30-1 W-'11,09,08,07,06,05
2 Andy Murray (GBR)    1-3 R32-'08,06
3 David Ferrer (ESP)   21-9 F-'11,09,08
4 Tomas Berdych (CZE) –W/D 4-3 R16-'09 
5 Janko Tipsarevic (SRB)  1-2 R32-'09
6 Nicolas Almagro (ESP)   16-8 SF-'11,06
7 Feliciano Lopez (ESP)   15-12 QF-'11
8 Kei Nishikori (JPN)   2-1 R16-'11
9 Fernando Verdasco (ESP)  11-6 W-'10
10 Radek Stepanek (CZE)  9-5 SF-'05
11 Milos Raonic (CAN)   2-1 R16-'11
12 Marcel Granollers (ESP)  2-6 R32-'11,10
13 Kevin Anderson (RSA)  1-2 R32-'11
14 Juan Ignacio Chela – W/D  9-9 QF-'08
15 Bernard Tomic (AUS)   Debut   
16 Pablo Andujar (ESP)   3-2 R16-'07
17 Albert Ramos (ESP)  3-2 R16-‘10
18 Denis Istomin (UZB)  1-2 R32-‘10

Wildcards: Inigo Cervantes, Gerard Granollers-Pujol, Javier Marti, Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo
Qualifiers: Aljaz Bedene, Sergi Bubka, Federico Delbonis, Robert Farah, David Goffin, Andrey Golubev, Joao Sousa
Youngest: Bernard Tomic (19 years, 6 months)   
Oldest:  Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (34 years, 3 months)
Top Country Breakdown: Spain 16, Belgium 3, Colombia 3, France 3, Portugal 3, Russia 3
Former Champions in Draw (2): Rafael Nadal (2009-05, ‘11), Fernando Verdasco (2010)
Former Finalists in Draw (1): David Ferrer (2008-09, ‘11)

SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS ATP RANKINGS POINTS / PRIZE MONEY
Singles   W   F           SF        QF         R16      R32   R56       
Rankings Pts.    500    300       180       90          45         20   0 
Prize Money    €301,150 151,630 76,870 38,960  20,000  10,530   6,320
Doubles  W F         SF        QF       R16      R32
Rankings Pts.   500  300     180       90         45        0               
Prize Money   €94,400   47,550 24,090 12,210  6,260   3,300

Seeded Doubles Teams: (Team Record, best finish – year)
1 Bryan / Bryan    14-3 W-'08,03
2 Mirnyi / Nestor   2-1 SF-'11
3 Bhupathi / Zimonjic   Debut
4 Fyrstenberg / Matkowski  9-6 F-'08,06
5 Cermak / Polasek   Debut
6 S. Gonzalez / Kas   Debut   
7 Qureshi / Rojer   Debut 
8 Marach / Peya   Debut
 
RECENT CHAMPIONS (since 2000)
2011 Santiago Gonzalez/Scott Lipsky (not playing together)
2010 Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjic (not playing together)
2009 Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjic (not playing together)
2008 Bob Bryan /Mike Bryan
2007 Andrei Pavel/Alexander Waske
2006 Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor (not playing together)
2005 Leander Paes/Nenad Zimonjic
2004 Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor (not playing together)
2003 Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2002 Nicklas Kulti/Mikael Tillstrom
2001 Donald Johnson/Jared Palmer
2000 Michael Hill/Daniel Vacek   

MONDAY FIRST ROUND  FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play by Court

Pista Central –

Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) vs (WC) Javier Marti (ESP)    First Meeting

Nieminen FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
W: Sydney (d Benneteau); QF: Montpellier (l Monfils); Rotterdam (l Federer)
YTD W-L: 12-9 (1-1 on clay)
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 2
Date of Birth: July 23, 1981
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 47

Marti FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 1-2 (1-2 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: January 11, 1992
South African Airways Ranking: 170

Alejandro Falla (COL) vs (11) Milos Raonic (CAN)    First Meeting

Falla FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
QF: Auckland (l Ferrer)
YTD W-L: 5-8 (0-1 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: November 14, 1983
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 53 (career-high)

Raonic FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
W: Chennai (d Tipsarevic); San Jose (d Istomin); F: Memphis (l Melzer)
YTD W-L: 17-4 (0-1 on clay)
YTD Titles: 2
Career Titles: 3
Date of Birth: December 27, 1990
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 25

(WC) Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (ESP) vs (10) Radek Stepanek (CZE)  First Meeting

Ramirez Hidalgo FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 1-2 (1-2 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: January 6, 1978
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 99

Stepanek FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
SF: Memphis (l Melzer); QF: Brisbane (l Dolgopolov)
YTD W-L: 9-9 (0-2 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: November 27, 1978
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 24

Albert Montanes (ESP) vs (WC) Gerard Granollers-Pujol (ESP)   First Meeting

Montanes FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
QF: Vina del Mar (l Monaco)
YTD W-L: 3-8 (3-6 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: November 26, 1980
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 69

Granollers-Pujol FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 0-0
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: January 30, 1989
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 265

Pista 1 –  
(WC) Filip Krajinovic (SRB) vs (WC) Inigo Cervantes (ESP)       First Meeting

(18) Denis Istomin (UZB) vs Steve Darcis (BEL)   First ATP Meeting
Other meeting:
09 Mons CH (Belgium) Hard R16 Steve Darcis 6-4 6-2

(Q) Andrey Golubev (KAZ) vs Steve Darcis (BEL)   First Meeting

(Q) Sergei Bubka (UKR) vs Robin Haase (NED)   First Meeting

Pista 2 –  
Benoit Paire (FRA) vs Lukas Rosol (CZE)         First Meeting

(LL) Stephane Robert (FRA) vs Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) First ATP Meeting
Other meeting:
09 Cherbourg CH (France) Hard R32 Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-3 7-6(3)

(Q) Joao Sousa (POR) vs Igor Kunitsyn (RUS)   First ATP Meeting
Other meeting:
10 Istanbul CH (Turkey) Hard QF Igor Kunitsyn 4-6 6-0 6-3

(LL) Evgeny Donskoy (RUS) vs Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR)  First Meeting

(Q) Aljaz Bedene (SLO) vs (Q) Federico Delbonis (ARG)  First Meeting

OTHER FIRST ROUND HEAD-TO-HEADS – To be played on Tuesday

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) vs Olivier Rochus (BEL)  Rochus Leads 2-0
05 Roland Garros (France) Clay R128 Olivier Rochus 7-6(4) 7-5 4-6 6-3
07 ATP Masters 1000 Miami (U.S.A.) Hard R64 Olivier Rochus 6-3 6-4
Other meetings:
07 ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati Q Hard -- Olivier Rochus 7-5 6-3
08 ATP Masters 1000 Paris Q (France) Carpet -- Olivier Rochus 1-6 6-3 7-6(3)

Arnau Brugues-Davi (ESP) vs Robert Farah (COL)  First Meeting

David Goffin (BEL) vs Pablo Andujar (ESP)    First Meeting

Marcel Granollers (ESP) vs Frederico Gil (POR)   Gil Leads 2-1
09 Costa Do Sauipe (Brazil) Clay R16 Frederico Gil 7-5 3-6 6-3
10 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass R128 Marcel Granollers 6-3 6-0 6-4
12 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R64 Frederico Gil 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-3
Other meetings:
04 Spain F18 (Vigo) Clay R32 Marcel Granollers 6-4 6-4
05 Portugal F1 (Faro) Hard F Frederico Gil 6-2 6-7(3)  6-3
05 Portugal F3 (Lagos) Hard F Frederico Gil 6-1 6-3
07 Seville CH (Spain) Clay SF Frederico Gil 6-3 6-2
09 Napoli-2 CH (Italy) Clay QF Frederico Gil 6-1 6-3

Victor Hanescu (ROU) vs Rui Machado (POR)   Hanescu Leads 1-0
11 Estoril (Portugal) Clay R32 Victor Hanescu 6-3 6-3

Malek Jaziri (TUN) vs Kevin Anderson (RSA)   First Meeting

Albert Ramos (ESP) vs Andreas Beck (GER)    First Meeting

Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP) vs Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) First ATP Meeting
Other meetings:
07 Italy F15 (Italy) Clay SF Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-3 6-3
08 Barletta CH (Italy) Clay QF Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3 1-6 7-5

Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) vs Flavio Cipolla (ITA)   First ATP Meeting
Other meetings:
07 Turin CH (Italy) Clay R32 Flavio Cipolla 6-3 6-1
08 Alessandria CH (Italy) Clay R16 Paolo Lorenzi 3-6 6-4 6-3
09 Reggio Emilia CH (Italy) Clay QF Paolo Lorenzi 6-1 6-2

Bernard Tomic (AUS) vs Ernests Gulbis (LAT)    First Meeting

Igor Andreev (RUS) vs Diego Junqueira (ARG)   Tied 1-1
09 Gstaad (Switzerland) Clay R32 Igor Andreev 7-5 6-4
11 Båstad (Sweden) Clay R32 Diego Junqueira 7-6(3) 3-6 6-4