“I had this perfect dream, This dream was me and you, I want all the world to see, A miracle sensation” – so begins the song “Barcelona” performed by Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé. Based on the lyrics, it could have been penned by Rafael Nadal talking about his place in Barcelona tennis folklore.
The King of Clay will roll into the Catalan capital campaigning for a record eleventh title at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona.
Who else is playing?
The field has been boosted by the late entry of former world number one Novak Djokovic. Djokovic decided to enter the tournament following his the third round Monte Carlo exit at the hands of Dominic Thiem. The Serb will be seeded six at a tournament he last played in 2006 at the tender age of 18 years old.
Dominic Thiem arrives in Barcelona licking his wounds after being on the wrong end of a drubbing administered by Nadal in Monte Carlo. The Austrian won only 2 games during the match and was ushered out of the facilities in less than 68 minutes. Still, Thiem is one of only a few players to have beaten Nadal on the red dirt in the past.
Grigor Dimitrov, David Goffin, and Pablo Carreno Busta will also hope to make an impression.
Flying under the radar is Kei Nishikori. Nishikori is seeded a lowly 14th this year on the back of a series of injury timeouts that ravaged his ranking but he has won twice here before in 2014 and 2015.
More Than Tennis...
The tournament is more than just a sporting event in the Barcelona calendar, it’s also an esteemed social event that plays host to various activities and events around the village complex.
Fact Flash
Barcelona nearly became home to the Eiffel Tower. If everything had gone according to Gustave Eiffel’s initial plan, Paris’ most famous landmark would now be in Barcelona. Unfortunately, Spain rejected the architect’s project, deciding that it was too “radical” and did not fit the city’s aesthetics.
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