Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas are one round away from a potential rematch of their Monte-Carlo title tilt from last week. Ruud awaits Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the Barcelona semifinals on Saturday, while Tsitsipas faces Dusan Lajovic. (3) Casper Ruud vs. (13) Tomas Martin Etcheverry Ruud and Etcheverry will be squaring off for the second time in their careers when they battle for a semifinal spot at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on Saturday. Their only previous meeting came last fall on the hard courts of Beijing, where Ruud prevailed 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(7). The rematch should be just as c ..read more

Following his early exit from the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, Rafael Nadal is already practicing in Madrid for the upcoming Mutua Madrid Open. The second of three clay-court Masters 1000 tournaments begins next Wednesday. Nadal’s appearance in Barcelona marked his first official ATP tournament since Brisbane in January. The 37-year-old Spaniard defeated Flavio Cobolli in his comeback match before falling to Alex de Minaur in the second round. RAFA has arrived in Madrid! How far will he go at home's tournament? (@MutuaMadridOpen) pic.twitter.com/mMDt1zwX6Y — We Are Tennis (@WeAreTennis ..read more

Only one of the top four seeds is through to the quarterfinals in Barcelona, as No. 3 Casper Ruud continues to take care of business following his runner-up performance in Monte-Carlo. Ruud will face Matteo Arnaldi on Friday. Matteo Arnaldi vs. (3) Casper Ruud The 2023 campaign was a disappointing one by Ruud’s recent standards, but he has come back like gangbusters in 2024. Ruud is currently No. 4 in the racing to Turin thanks to a 26-7 match record that includes a runner-up showing at last week’s Monte-Carlo Masters followed by Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell victories over Alexandre Muller and ..read more

Rafael Nadal lost to Alex de Minaur 7-5, 6-1 in the second round of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on Wednesday, but the 37-year-old Spaniard sounded optimistic about playing later during the clay-court swing in Madrid, Rome, and Paris. Nadal was competitive in the first set, coming back from a 3-1 deficit to earn a break point that would have given him a 5-3 advantage. After the former world No. 1 dropped the opener, however, he seemed to play more cautious tennis in the second and things went downhill. “On a personal level, for what is to come, the 6-1 in the second set is what had to ha ..read more

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has home-court advantage in Barcelona but faces a tough opening test in the form of Tomas Machac on Wednesday. Lorenzo Musetti and Roberto Carballes Baena are also hoping for a place in the round of 16. (11) Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs. Tomas Machac Davidovich Fokina and Machac will be squaring off for the first time in their careers when they meet in round two the Barcelona Open Banc Sabaell on Wednesday. Despite being ranked No. 50 in the world, it feels like only a matter of time before Machac starts getting seeded at Grand Slams. The 23-year-old Czech is 11-6 ..read more

Rafael Nadal was not seriously tested in his comeback match at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, but that figures to change in the second round. After cruising past Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 6-3 on Tuesday afternoon, Nadal will face fourth-seeded Alex de Minaur on Wednesday. The 37-year-old Spaniard leads the head-to-head series 3-1, but they have squared off only once since 2020 and De Minaur won their most recent encounter 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 at last season’s United Cup. In 15 months since then, Nadal has been almost entirely idle whereas De Minaur has soared to the highest points of his career. The 2 ..read more

Rafael Nadal is back. And back in the winner’s circle. Playing an official ATP event for the first time since the Brisbane International in January, Nadal defeated Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 6-3 in round one of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on Tuesday evening. The 37-year-old Spaniard lost serve only once and broke Cobolli four times while advancing in one hour and 25 minutes. As if he never left…@RafaelNadal returns to winning ways as he defeats Cobolli 6-2 6-3 in Barcelona@bcnopenbs #BCNOpenBS pic.twitter.com/xVmeXEYXm8 — Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 16, 2024 Nadal served at well less than 1 ..read more

Twelve months ago, Andrey Rublev was on top of the world. The Russian had just lifted his first-ever Masters 1000 trophy, storming back from 4-1 down in the third set against Holger Rune to claim the title in Monte-Carlo. He went on to make the final in Banja Luka the next week before winning an ATP 250 in Bastad and adding two more Grand Slam quarterfinals and a Masters 1000 final to his resume. By the end of the year, Rublev had returned to his career-high ranking of No.5 in the world and it looked as though the 26-year-old had well and truly raised the ceiling in his career. There were crac ..read more

In terms of quantity, this is the busiest week on the clay-court calendar: one 500 event (Barcelona) and a pair of 250s (Munich and Bucharest). We are in between Masters 1000 events–Stefanos Tsitsipas triumphed in Monte-Carlo on Sunday and both Madrid and Rome are on the immediate horizon–but the fun doesn’t stop.     Barring a late withdrawal, this week’s festivities will be headlined by Rafael Nadal’s return in Barcelona. Other notable players in action are Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud, Alex de Minaur, Alexander Zverev, Holger Rune, Taylor Fritz, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Den ..read more

It’s fair to say that nothing is confirmed until Rafael Nadal actually takes the court, but all systems are reportedly go for him at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. Nadal is in the draw, and if he plays it would mark his first appearance on the ATP Tour since the Brisbane International in January (lost to Jordan Thompson in the quarterfinals). The 37-year-old Spaniard faced Carlos Alcaraz in the Netflix Slam last month in Las Vegas but withdrew from Indian Wells a couple of days later. Nadal also announced that he wasn’t yet ready to play in Monte-Carlo. Speaking of Alcaraz, he will not be ..read more