Barcelona Open: 10-time champion Rafael Nadal leads draw; Djokovic, Nishikori, Thiem, Dimitrov look to make strides

From picturesque Monaco, the ATP World Tour action shifts to the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, Trofeo Conde de Godo at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona as the clay court swing continues.

A sizzling past few days at the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters came to a close with Rafael Nadal successfully defending his title and holding aloft the prestigious Masters 1000 trophy for a record 11th time. With this title triumph, Nadal surpassed Novak Djokovic's record of 30 Masters Titles.

The ATP 500 Barcelona Open is one of the most important events in Spanish tennis with 13 out of the 15 past editions being won by Spaniards. It goes without saying that the World No. 1 Rafael Nadal has dominated the red surface, winning 10 titles at the event. He also has a staggering 19 ATP 500 Titles, one shy of the Swiss great Roger Federer at 20.

Japan's Kei Nishikori has been triumphant twice at the tournament while Fernando Verdasco and Tommy Robredo have clinched the title once each, in 2010 and 2004 respectively.

Novak Djokovic, who is still finding his feet after the pre-quarterfinal finish in Monte Carlo, has accepted a wild card in Barcelona and will make his first appearance there since 2006. The Serb looked pretty good in Monaco as he registered some great wins after a comeback from his elbow injury.

World No. 7, Dominic Thiem, runner-up in 2017, is also looking to make it to the finals this season at the tournament. He has a daunting potential third-round challenge from the dangerous Verdasco.

Here's a breakdown of the ATP 500 Barcelona Open draw.

List of the top 16 seeds in Barcelona:

1 Rafael Nadal

2 Grigor Dimitrov

3 Dominic Thiem

4 David Goffin

5 Pablo Carreno Busta

6 Novak Djokovic

7 Diego Schwartzman

8 Roberto Bautista Agut

9 Hyeon Chung

10 A Ramos-Vinolas

11 A Mannarino

12 F Lopez

13 Andrey Rublev

14 Kei Nishikori

15 Fernando Verdasco

16 Karen Khachanov

TOP QUARTER

Predicted quarter-final Rafa Nadal vs Novak Djokovic

Top seed Nadal and 6th seed Djokovic have landed in the same quarter of the draw for the second time in two weeks. The Spaniard is in sizzling form ever since that Davis Cup weekend in Valencia. Taking Spain into the semi-finals after six long years, Nadal proved his comeback on clay in the most significant fashion ever.

Eyeing yet another title this time in Barcelona after that record 11th triumph in Monte Carlo, Nadal looks determined to continue his stupendous European clay-court swing.

Meanwhile, Novak is playing in Barcelona for the first time since 2006 when he was inflicted with a first-round loss. The Serbian put up a stellar show in Monte Carlo by reaching the round of 16 and stretching Dominic Thiem to three sets before succumbing to the Austrian.

With a certain Marian Vajda by Novak's side again, the former World No. 1 will look to go deep into the tournament this time around.

For Nadal, although a quarter-final ticket is a guarantee, there looms a challenge in the form of Kei Nishikori in the third round. A two-time Barcelona Open champ, the Japanese has ousted the King of Clay twice in his career, including in the Rio Olympic Games 2016 in Brazil and the Canada Masters 2015.

Nadal improved to 10-2 in their head to head yesterday with a win in the Monte Carlo Final. It seems almost impossible that the Japanese can pose much of a threat to the Spaniard. Also, coming back from injuries of his own, what is most likely is that Nishikori will be forced into submission by the World No. 1.

Novak is in much better form than what those early exits in Indian Wells and Miami indicated and he proved that in Monte Carlo. But an opening round challenge in the form of Federico Delbonis (possibly) needs to be handled with care. Also, a third round face-off with Feliciano Lopez awaits the Serb. Agreed Lopez should not be a tough task but let us keep our fingers crossed and hope he coasts to the quarters with ease to meet the Spanish great.

Semi-finalist: Rafael Nadal.

SECOND QUARTER:

ATP Masters Series: Monte Carlo Rolex Masters - Day Six

Predicted quarterfinals 4th seed David Goffin vs 8th seed Roberto Bautista Agut

World no. 10 Goffin is back on tour after the scary eye injury he suffered in Rotterdam. The Belgian's journey was thwarted by the Bulgarian, Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals of Monte Carlo.

In this quarter of the draw, Goffin has a third-round challenge in the form of Karen Khachanov who is a super clay court player. Khachanov had taken out Goffin in the R16 in the same tournament in 2017. It will interesting to see how he handles it this time though with the Belgian flaunting a 3-1 head to head against him.

Australian Open semi-finalist Hyeon Chung is also in this quarter of the Barcelona draw. He is set to face a qualifier in the first round before a third-round meeting with Bautista Agut.

Semi-finalist: Khachanov

THIRD QUARTER

Fernando Verdasco

Predicted quarter-final: 3rd seed Dominic Thiem vs 7th seed Diego Schwartzman

Last year's runner-up in Barcelona, Dominic Thiem is set to go deep in the tournament yet again. The Austrian, who is back from a five-week right ankle injury layoff, had put up a brave show in Monte Carlo last week. The World No. 7 ousted Novak Djokovic in straight sets before suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of Nadal.

Diego Schwartzman does not possess enough firepower to defeat the prince of clay, Thiem. Dominic is 3-1 against Schwartzman and the only time the Argentine defeated the Austrian was in the 2017 Canada Masters in the R32 (6-4 6-7 7-5).

Thiem could possibly face Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the third round in Barcelona. But the Spaniard is unlikely to pose the Austrian a challenge on clay. Suffering a 4-6 2-6 defeat at the hands of Kohlschreiber in Monte Carlo, it is hard to think of him as a challenger out there.

The real danger for the third seed Thiem comes in the form of Fernando Verdasco, if at all, in the third round. Having won in Barcelona twice, in 2005 and 2013, Verdasco should be the man to watch out for in this quarter.

The World no. 36 Verdasco has a 3-0 record against Thiem. The Austrian has yet to find those skills needed to take out Fernando whose wins against Thiem have been super sizzling ones. The 2015 Wimbledon, 2017 Paris Masters and a crushing win in Rio Brazil this season. It's safe to say, Fernando Verdasco has all the weapons to oust the Austrian once again.

Semi-finalist: Fernando Verdasco

FOURTH QUARTER

Pablo Carreno Busta

Predicted quarter-final 5th seed Pablo Carreno Busta vs 2nd seed Grigor Dimitrov.

Grigor Dimitrov is not having a very great season after the initial run in Brisbane and Rotterdam where he made the semi-finals and finals respectively. After early round exits in Indian Wells and Miami, Dimitrov had to struggle to make it to the semis in Monte Carlo. The Bulgarian was stretched to three sets by Pierre Hugues Herbert and Kohlschreiber and also Goffin, who gave him jitters in the second set of the quarter-final.

Andrey Rublev, who also sits in this quarter of the Barcelona draw, is the one to watch out for. Playing with reckless abandon, the 20-year-old is looking to bulldoze ahead with full throttle.

Carreno Busta, on the other hand, has a great opportunity as he faces off against the unpredictable Benoit Paire. Busta could then potentially face Adrian Mannarino or Pablo Cuevas, both of whom should be easy to overcome.

Semifinalist: Pablo Carreno Busta

Most likely semifinals,

Nadal vs Khachanov and Verdasco vs Pablo Carreno Busta

Sit back and enjoy the action as it unfolds from the beautiful Barcelona.