The 2017 edition of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell tournament has arrived. This isn’t a Masters event, but it’s a 500-point tournament, and therefore more of a destination than the many 250-point events which litter the calendar on the road to Roland Garros. This is one of the older and more established non-Masters tournaments on the ATP Tour.
The competition in the 48-player main draw began on Monday, April 24.
Event Details
Event: Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell
Category: ATP World Tour – 500 Series
Date: April 24-30, 2017
Location: Real Club de Tenis Barcelona – Barcelona, Spain
With a prize money allotment of just over 2.3 million Euros, the 500-point tournament dwarfs the 250-point events on the ATP Tour during the week, in between the Masters events in Monte Carlo (April) and Madrid (early May). What will enhance this tournament is that Andy Murray and several other top-20 players have committed to play in the event, which will give it as much star power as it has ever had.
Points
Champion – 500
Runner-up – 300
Semifinal – 180
Quarterfinal – 90
Round of 16 – 45
Former Champions and Results (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2016 – Rafael Nadal def. Kei Nishikori – 6-4, 7-5
2015 – Kei Nishikori def. Pablo Andujar – 6-4, 6-4
2014 – Kei Nishikori def. Santiago Giraldo – 6-2, 6-2
2013 – Rafael Nadal def. Nicolas Almagro – 6-4, 6-3
2012 – Rafael Nadal def. David Ferrer – 7-6, 7-5
Player Info:
The tournament is in Spain so there will be a host of Spaniards in the draw. However, all eyes will be on the defending champion who has dominated this tournament like no one else– Rafael Nadal. David Ferrer, who is struggling and has had the misfortune of facing Nadal in the Barcelona finals a few times, makes a return to the tour. Nadal will be the center of attraction as long as he plays, and he’ll start as the favorite, but there are some players who can threaten him.
Kei Nishikori suffered some strange losses on hardcourts this season, but clay remains his best surface. Nishikori officially begins his clay season in Barcelona, where he has tasted some success. The Japanese star triumphed here two years in a row in 2014 and 2015. Nishikori will start the tournament as the top seed but will have to be very sharp if he harbors any hope of lifting the trophy for the third time.
Dominic Thiem is a quality player on all surfaces but he becomes more dangerous on clay. Thiem isn’t having a great season by any standards, but clay can provide him the momentum he badly requires and a chance to rapidly rise in the rankings. In the ongoing Masters event in Monte Carlo, the Austrian fell to his good friend David Goffin in three tight sets in the third round. Thiem is one of the contenders in Barcelona, but it would be interesting to see how he overcomes the early loss in Monte Carlo.
Rafael Nadal maintained good form throughout the hardcourt swing, making finals in Melbourne, Acapulco and Miami, but failed to raise the trophy each time. In his opener against Kyle Edmund in the ongoing Monte Carlo Masters, he looked scratchy but won in three sets. In the third round, Rafa signaled his superiority by shellacking Alexander Zverev in just 68 minutes. The way he is playing, he is going to be hard to stop. Nadal is the firm favorite in Barcelona irrespective of how deep he goes in Monte Carlo. As we start to go through more and more of the clay court events, he should be the favorite – or, at least – among the favorites to win each one. He’s been healthy and effective this year.
Real Club de Tenis Barcelona
The Barcelona Open has a proud history in men’s tennis. The Open Era began in 1968, but this tournament existed for 15 years in the Amateur Era before becoming an “Open” tournament in 1968, when amateurism in tennis gave way to the professional period and the true advent of the ATP Tour. The Real Club de Tenis Barcelona has hosted many Davis Cup ties in addition to the Barcelona Open. It has 18 courts in all, with a stadium court holding 8,400 spectators and a No. 2 show court which can accommodate 2,000 fans. The facility is located in the northwestern part of Barcelona.
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