In the wake of the marquee event at Monte Carlo, an ATP 500 event unfolds in Barcelona. This is Rafael Nadal’s home tournament, but a strong draw should give Rafa plenty of competition as he looks to bounce back from a loss last week to Novak Djokovic.

Kei Nishikori’s quarter:

2014 Barcelona champion and 2015 top seed Kei Nishikori is in a very interesting quarter of the draw. Nishikori could open up against 2014 Barcelona quarterfinalist Teymuraz Gabashvili in the first round before having to face Colombian Santiago Giraldo, the man he beat in the 2014 final. Also in Nishikori’s quarter are Pablo Cuevas and Roberto Bautista Agut, two very talented players who could cause the Japanese star trouble down the road.

One player to watch for in this section is Alexandr Dolgopolov. Dolgopolov is one of the more eccentric players on tour but has proven that he can go pound for pound with the top players in the world.

Nishikori should get through this section of the draw, but it probably won’t come without resistance.

Prediction: Nishikori d. Cuevas

Marin Cilic’s Quarter:

In his first sign of strength during an injury-plagued season, Marin Cilic was able to make a very solid run to the quarterfinals in Monte Carlo before he was outgunned by the seemingly unconquerable Novak Djokovic in straight sets. Interestingly enough, Cilic actually played and lost to Nishikori at this tournament in 2015. Of course, the Croatian would go on to beat Nishikori in the U. S. Open final to claim his maiden Grand Slam title.

The road for Cilic isn’t going to be easy. His first match of the week will come against young gun Dominic Thiem or the veteran Victor Estrella Burgos. Thiem and Burgos have games that work very well on clay. Burgos is also one of the few holders of a clay-court ATP title in 2015, having won in Quito back in February.

Juan Monaco, Alejandro Gonzalez, Joao Sousa, Mikhail Kukushkin Martin Klizan, and Tommy Robredo round out this very competitive section, making it clear that firepower will not be lacking here.

Prediction: Robredo d. Cilic

David Ferrer’s Quarter:

The seeded players in Ferrer’s section are Nick Kyrgios, Philipp Kohlschreiber, and Ernests Gulbis. Kyrgios is coming off an ankle injury suffered at Indian Wells, Kohlschreiber has been off the mark in 2015, and Ernests Gulbis has been nothing short of a walking bye in his matches.

I’d suspect the winner of a potential Kyrgios-Ferrer third-round match to get through this quarter. This seems like a pretty straightforward section especially considering Ferrer’s strain of good form in 2015.

Prediction: Ferrer d. Kohlschreiber

Rafael Nadal’s Quarter:

Last week saw Rafael Nadal reach the semifinals of the Monte Carlo Masters before losing to longtime rival Novak Djokovic. The Spaniard has a nice chance to rebound in Barcelona. The field is strong, but clearly this is a tournament where many will expect Nadal to either reach the final or win.  

Three of the very few players to have ever beaten Nadal on a clay court (Fernando Verdasco, Fabio Fognini, Nicolas Almagro) are in his 1/16th of the draw. Talk about improbable!

Also in Nadal’s quarter are six Spaniards in total, including the fifth seed Feliciano Lopez. Nadal’s most likely quarterfinal opponent would be Leonardo Mayer, the 2014 Hamburg champion. Mayer has a huge game but will be at the mercy of Nadal’s forehand if he can’t be proactive and take the ball early.

Prediction: Nadal d. Mayer

SF Predictions:

Nadal d. Ferrer

Nishikori d. Robredo

Final:

Nishikori d. Nadal