No rest for world No. 2
Rafael Nadal this week as the Spaniard comes off the title at the Masters Series-
Monte Carlo to defend his homecountry title from last year at the Open Seat 2007 in
Barcelona.
Nadal will likely first be tested in the third round against either former French Open champ
Gaston Gaudio or No. 13 seed
Robin Soderling.
Other Top 8 seeds are Russian
Nikolay Davydenko, Spaniard
Tommy Robredo, Argentine
David Nalbandian, Spaniard
David Ferrer, Finn
Jarkko Nieminen, Spanish former No. 1
Juan Carlos Ferrero, and Argentine
Juan Ignacio Chela.
Also among the Top 16 seeds are former No. 1s
Marat Safin and
Carlos Moya, and the hot-handed
Guillermo Canas.
While the American contingent as a whole skipped the Masters Series-Monte Carlo last week, this week Barcelona sees U.S. representation from second-tier players Sam Querrey, Vince Spadea and
Paul Goldstein.
Wildcards went to Spaniards Felix Mantilla,
Marcel Granollers-Pujol,
Fernando Vicente,
Marc Lopez and
Bartolome Salva-Vidal.
Last year Nadal defeated Robredo in the final.
