The 2016 edition of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell tournament is about to get underway. This isn’t a Masters event, but it’s a 500 event, 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. It’s an event Rafael Nadal has won eight times, but Rafa has not won either of the past two tournaments. Kei Nishikori seized those opportunities.
The surface at this event is a clay court surface, which means you’re going to want to bet on players who do well on the clay. Players who thrive on clay on the ones who rely on speed and defense more so than power. The power players do well on the hard courts as their as the ball moves much faster there. That includes players who rely on big serves and big groundstrokes from the baseline. Their strengths are minimized on the clay.
The competition in the 48-player main draw began on Monday, April 18.
Event Details
Event: Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell
Category: ATP World Tour – 500 Series
Date: April 24, 2016
Location: Real Club de Tenis Barcelona – Barcelona, Spain
With a prize money allotment of 2,152,960 Euros, the 500-point tournament dwarfs the 250-point Romanian Open, which is held during the same week. Whereas the Romanian Open is a 28-player singles event, this is a 48-player tournament with more rankings points on offer. It’s a big chance for players to move up the ladder and improve their places on the ATP Tour heading toward the Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Rome, followed by the French Open.
The points structure under the ATP system is that the championship means 500 points. A runner-up finish is worth 300. A semifinal result is 180 points, and a quarterfinal appearance offers 90 points. A round-of-16 results provides 45 points.
Former Champions and Results (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
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
2011 – Rafael Nadal def. David Ferrer – 6-2, 6-4
Player Info:
It’s a good time to be Rafael Nadal. He’s made the semifinals in Monte Carlo with a chance to go all the way. Nadal will be in this tournament as the top seed, trying to retain his improving form before heading to Paris in a month. Remember how so many people say Nadal was done? Apparently that’s not the case. He’s been struggling with injuries over the last six months and it was tough for him to regain his rhythm. However, he’s back in business and with him looking strong again during clay court season, that can only mean one thing: he’s going to be pretty hard to beat at Roland Garros. A win in Barcelona would be the next step, but he’ll face some stiff competition.
Nishikori, the two-time defending champion, is the No. 2 seed. David Ferrer, who has made the final here multiple times, is seeded third, though he’s been ravaged by injuries this season. Seeds 4 through 16 – all of whom get byes in the first round – are Richard Gasquet, Roberto Bautista Agut, Benoit Paire, Feliciano Lopez, Viktor Troicki, Pablo Cuevas, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Alexandr Dolgopolov, Fabio Fognini, Jeremy Chardy, Joao Sousa, Thomaz Bellucci, and Andrey Kuznetsov.
Notable pullouts include Kevin Anderson, Pablo Andujar, Martin Klizan, Leonardo Mayer, and Tommy Robredo.
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 the city of Barcelona.
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