The Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell – an ATP 500 event – lost two of its biggest stars on Tuesday as third seed David Ferrer and fourth seed Richard Gasquet both made last-minute withdrawals ahead of their opening matches. World No. 8 Ferrer has not yet recovered from a calf injury that had ruled him out of last week’s Monte Carlo Masters as well.
The 34-year-old has fallen victim to a recent spate of injuries that saw him play just two matches after February. The Spaniard has been replaced by World No. 17 Edouard Roger-Vasselin, who is now set to face qualifier Radek Stepanek in the second round.
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Ferrer was in top seed Rafael Nadal’s half of the draw and was scheduled to meet him in the semi-finals.
The 10th ranked Gasquet, meanwhile, is suffering from a back problem that had also kept him out of the Australian Open in January. Renzo Olivo of Argentina, ranked 167th, substituted the Frenchman but he could not capitalize on it as he lost 1-6, 6-4, 3-6 to Malek Jaziri on Wednesday.
Both Ferrer and Gasquet are expected to return to the Tour at the Masters event in Madrid, beginning May 1.
