Scouting Report: 20 Things To Watch In Barcelona & Budapest

After an exciting start to the European clay-court season at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, the clay swing continues in Barcelona and Budapest. World No. 1 Rafael Nadal leads the field at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, with three other Top 10 players as well as Novak Djokovic looking to challenge the 10-time champion.

Frenchman Lucas Pouille, who won in Montpellier and advanced to the final in Marseille and Dubai earlier this year, is the top seed and defending champion at the Gazprom Hungarian Open. There is once again a strong field in the tournament’s second year.

View Draws: Barcelona | Budapest

10 THINGS TO WATCH IN BARCELONA

1) Best in Barcelona: Ten-time champion Rafael Nadal and former World No. 1 Novak Djokovic lead a star-studded field at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. Also competing at the ATP World Tour 500 event are Top 10 players Grigor Dimitrov, Dominic Thiem and David Goffin, as well as former Barcelona champions Kei Nishikori, Fernando Verdasco and Tommy Robredo.

2) Pista Rafa Nadal: Nadal will likely play all his matches this week on the court named after him in 2017. With a 53-3 record in Barcelona, the Spaniard is the only player in ATP World Tour history to win at least 10 titles at an event, also capturing 11 on the clay of Monte-Carlo and 10 at Roland Garros. Nadal has won eight of his 10 Barcelona titles without dropping a set, including in 2016 and 2017.

Read More & Watch: Nadal Clinches La Undécima

3) No Room for Error: Nadal needs to sweep titles in Barcelona and Madrid to remain No. 1 in the ATP Rankings. Otherwise, Roger Federer will reclaim No. 1. Nadal’s only opportunity to add ATP Rankings points through Roland Garros is in Rome, where he lost in the quarter-finals last year.

4) Wild Development: Djokovic will make his second Barcelona appearance after accepting a wild card. As an 18-year-old, he lost in the first round 12 years ago to Daniel Gimeno-Traver. Djokovic is 5-4 in 2018, and pushed World No. 7 Dominic Thiem in a three-set thriller in Monte-Carlo.

5) Feet of Clay: Thiem has won seven of his nine tour-level titles and reached 11 of his 14 finals on clay courts. The Austrian defeated then-No. 1 Andy Murray in the Barcelona semi-finals last year before falling to Nadal. Thiem and Stan Wawrinka are the only men to beat each member of the ‘Big Four’ on clay.

Read Preview: Nadal, Djokovic In Stacked Quarter In Barcelona

6) Come Together: Dimitrov and Goffin were opponents and doubles partners in the Monte-Carlo quarter-finals last week. They met in the biggest final of both men’s careers at the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals. Dimitrov emerged with the title and owns a 7-1 FedEx ATP Head2Head series advantage against Goffin. Dimitrov is the No. 2 seed in Barcelona and Goffin No. 4.

7) Feeling at Home: Nishikori returns to Barcelona after missing the tournament in 2017 due to a right wrist injury. The former World No. 4 has won 14 of his past 15 matches at the event, including back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015. His winning streak ended in the 2016 final against Nadal.

8) Asian Sensation: Hyeon Chung of South Korea passed Nishikori in the ATP Rankings on 19 March to become the top-ranked Asian, ending the Japanese player’s seven-year reign. The 21-year-old Chung is 18-7 this season after ending 2017 as champion of the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals.

9) Spanish Armada: Thirteen Spaniards are in the field, including the 2010 champion Verdasco, 2004 champion Robredo, No. 5 seed Pablo Carreno Busta, No. 8 seed Roberto Bautista Agut, No. 10 seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas and No. 12 seed Feliciano Lopez. Verdasco, the No. 15 seed, will go for his 500th tour-level win in his opening match against German Peter Gojowczyk or Argentine Guido Pella.

10) Doubles Depth: The Top 8 players in the ATP Doubles Rankings are in Barcelona, including three-time winners and Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, as well as Australian Open champions Oliver Marach  Mate Pavic. Lukasz Kubot/Marcelo Melo (8-6) and Henri Kontinen/John Peers (5-5) are also competing.

10 THINGS TO WATCH IN BUDAPEST

1) Hungary for More: The ATP World Tour returns to Budapest for the second straight year with the Gazprom Hungarian Open. Inaugural champion Lucas Pouille and runner-up Aljaz Bedene are back and joined by local favourite Marton Fucsovics and #NextGenATP star Denis Shapovalov.

2) Flair for Drama: Pouille has saved match point en route to three of his five ATP World Tour titles, including last year in Budapest. The Frenchman fought off two match points in his opener against Jiri Vesely before beating Bedene for the title. Pouille is the No. 1 seed for the second consecutive year after breaking into the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings on 19 March.

3) Feet of Clay: Bedene won 16 straight matches at all levels entering the 2017 Budapest final. He’s back to his best on clay in 2018, defeating Diego Schwartzman en route to the Buenos Aires final and Pablo Carreno Busta to reach the Rio de Janeiro quarter-finals. Bedene is seeded fifth this week.

4) Hometown Hero: When Fucsovics played 2017 Budapest, he was a 154th-ranked wild card. One year later, he is seeded sixth and ranked a career-high No. 59. Fucsovics is the first Hungarian man in the Top 100 since Attila Savolt in 2003. At the Australian Open, he became the first Hungarian to reach the Round of 16 at a Grand Slam event since Balazs Taroczy at 1984 Roland Garros.

5) Next Big Thing: Also on the rise is Shapovalov, who was in the midst of a seven-match losing streak on the ATP Challenger Tour when he arrived at last year’s Gazprom Hungarian Open. The 19-year-old is the No. 4 seed in Budapest, marking the first time that he has been seeded in an ATP World Tour event.

6) 500 Wins: Richard Gasquet earned the 500th win of his career to reach the Monte-Carlo quarter-finals last week. The 31-year-old is the first Frenchman and 47th player overall to earn 500 or more wins. Gasquet, the No. 3 seed, will make his Budapest debut on Wednesday or Thursday following a bye.

Read Tribute: Gasquet, ‘Le Monsieur’, Reaches Elite Status With 500th Win

7) Damir’s Pursuit: No. 2 seed Damir Dzumhur ended 2017 on a 24-7 run, including his first two ATP World Tour titles at St. Petersburg and Moscow. The 25-year-old, who reached the quarter-finals at both Montpellier and Marseille, seeks his first trophy of 2018 in Budapest.

8) Going for 500: Russian Mikhail Youzhny can potentially join Gasquet in the 500-win club in Budapest, as he currently sits at 496 victories (496-404). Youzhny will need to make the final to achieve the milestone. He opens against Hungarian wild card Zsombor Piros.

9) Time is Now: Piros will make his ATP World Tour main draw debut in his hometown this week. The 18-year-old wild card peaked at No. 3 on the ITF Junior Circuit last season after winning the Australian Open boys’ singles and Roland Garros boys’ doubles titles. Piros is at a career-best No. 471 in the ATP Rankings.

10) In-Form at 40: Among the teams playing doubles in Budapest are 40-year-old Belarusian Max Mirnyi and 32-year-old Austrian Philipp Oswald. Since joining forces last August, Mirnyi and Oswald are 20-7 as a pair with titles at 2017 Moscow, 2018 New York and 2018 Houston.