Nadal in Barcelona, Sharapova in Stuttgart: Previews
Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell
Barcelona, Spain; Surface: clay
Seeds: Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer, Fabio Fognini, Kei Nishikori, Tommy Robredo, Nicolas Almagro, Jerzy Janowicz, Alexandr Dolgopolov, Ernests Gulbis, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Fernando Verdasco, Marin Cilic, Feliciano Lopez, Marcel Granollers, Dmitry Tursunov, Benoit Paire
ADHEREL
Floaters: Nikolay Davydenko, Radek “The Worm” Stepanek
Notes: Eight-time winner Rafael Nadal heads the field, and after a bye likely starts against Davydenko…(14) Marcel Granollers after a bye likely starts against The Worm…Wildcards went to Argentine Facundo Arguelleo, and Spaniards Roberto Carballes Baena, Inigo Cervantes, Daniel Gimeno-Traver…Withdrawing from the event were Pablo Andujar, Federico Delbonis, Richard Gasquet, Ivo Karlovic and Juan Monaco…David Ferrer is 0-4 in Barcelona finals…Fabio Fognini has never won a match in Barcelona (0-4)…Nadal beat Almagro in last year’s all-Spanish final…The two-time champ Bryan brothers are the top seeds in the doubles…Former singles champs in the field are Nadal (2013-11,’09-05), Robredo (2004), and Verdasco (2010).
BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy
Bucharest, Romania; Surface: clay
Seeds: Grigor Dimitrov, Mikail Youzhny, Gael Monfils, Gilles Simon, Vasek Pospisil, Andreas Seppi, Nicolas Mahut, Jarkko Nieminen
Floaters: Lukas Rosol, Victor Hanescu
Notes: Tough start for (8) Nieminen against Leo Mayer then likely the defending champ Rosol…(4) Simon after a bye will likely face the wily Hanescu…Wildcards went to Romanians Patrick Ciorcila and Marius Copil, and the top seed Dimitrov…Pulling from the event were Julien Benneteau, Guillermo Garc�a-Lopez, Florian Mayer, and Janko Tipsarevic (knee)…Former champs in the field are Rosol (2013) and Simon (2012,’08-07).
Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
Stuttgart, Germany; Surface: clay
Seeds: Agnieszka Radwanska, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova, Angelique Kerber, Jelena Jankovic, Maria Sharapova, Dominika Cibulkova, Sara Errani
Floaters: Roberta Vinci, Lucie Safarova, Caroline Wozniacki, Kaia Kanepi, Ana Ivanovic, (WC) Andrea Petkovic, Flavia Pennetta, Sabine Lisicki, Svetlana Kuznetsova
Notes: It’s floaters and early match-ups galore in Stuttgart, including (1) Radwanska after a bye likely vs. Vinci, (6) Sharapova vs. Safarova, (5) Jankovic vs. Ivanovic in an all-Serb former No. 1 battle, (7) Cibulkova vs. Lisicki, and (2) Halep vs. Kuznetsova…Wildcards went to Germany’s Julia Goerges and Andrea Petkovic…Pulling from the event were Li Na (knee) and Kirsten Flipkens…Sharapova beat Na in last year’s final…Former champs in the field are Sharapova (2013-12), Goerges (2011), Kuznetsova (2009), and Jankovic (2008).
GP SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem
Marrakech, Morocco; Surface: clay
Seeds: Daniela Hantuchova, Elina Svitolina, Yvonne Meusburger, Bojana Jovanovski, Garbine Muguruza, Peng Shuai, Zhang Shuai, Francesca Schiavone
Floaters: none
Notes: No Top 25 players…Wildcards went to Morocco’s Rita Atik, the Slovak Hantuchova and Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur…Pulling from the event were Alison Riske, Laura Robson, Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova and Vera Zvonareva…Schiavone defeated Lourdes Dominguez Lino in last year’s final…Schiavone (2013) is the lone returning champ in the field.
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