Swarms of Spaniards descend on the ATP 500 event in Barcelona, one week before their nation’s Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid.  While Madrid receives more attention, Barcelona is one of the clay season’s more overlooked gems.  A quality field assures plenty of exciting tennis in a Mediterranean city filled with vibrant culture.

Top half:  After a stunning quarterfinal loss in Monte Carlo, Rafael Nadal hopes to reassert himself on home soil.  He usually feels comfortable surrounded by his compatriots, as he is in the Barcelona draw, although he fell to Ferrer in Monte Carlo.  Nadal has not lost in Barcelona since his first appearance in 2003, winning seven titles there since then.  Almost as remarkably, he has lost only two total sets during those seven title runs.  None of the Spaniards near him has ever defeated Nadal on red clay.  The aging fast-court specialist Feliciano Lopez lacks the consistency to trouble him, while Nicolas Almagro lacks the self-belief.  Fernando Verdasco, who won a clay title two weeks ago, twice has come close to edging Nadal on an outdoor hard court but has lost all 13 of their clay sets. 

Overshadowed by more notable headlines, Fabio Fognini’s early exit in Monte Carlo last week disappointed.  The Italian faded swiftly after winning the first set from Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, wasting a chance to climb closer to the top 10.  Fognini makes his living on clay, so he can ill afford to suffer another setback as the third seed at this 500 event.  Both Santiago Giraldo and Marcel Granollers mounted strong runs in smaller events at Houston and Casablanca.  They will look to catch Fognini off guard in a softer section of the draw.  While these men aim to string wins together, Jerzy Janowicz aims merely to win a match in any way possible.  He has lost six straight matches and will find the slow Barcelona clay a test of his patience.

Bottom half:  Can David Ferrer topple Nadal twice in two weeks?  We won’t find an answer until the final, since the top two Spaniards hold the top two seeds in Barcelona.  Before then, however, Ferrer may need to conquer some of his recent nemeses.  Dmitry Tursunov defeated him twice in 2013, including a victory in Barcelona that defied all expectations of each man’s prowess on the surface.  On South American clay this spring, Alexandr Dolgopolov upset Ferrer in an augury of his March victories over Nadal and Stanislas Wawrinka.  Dolgopolov has not yet translated that momentum to clay, yet he defeated projected third-round opponent Ernests Gulbis in Monte Carlo.  Confidence from his semifinal surge last week may make Ferrer a more dangerous opponent than in his last meeting with Dolgopolov.

Another chance for revenge might await the Spaniard in a semifinal against Kei Nishikori, who defeated him in Miami after saving four match points.  A product of the Nick Bolletieri Academy, Nishikori produces much more convincing tennis on hard courts than clay.  He did defeat Roger Federer on the clay of Madrid last spring, though, and few dirt devils lurk in his vicinity.  Mercurial shot-maker Benoit Paire should create a contrast of styles with the steady Japanese star, while Marin Cilic shares Nishikori’s preference for hard courts.  The clay specialist of note in this section, Tommy Robredo, fell to the clay-averse Milos Raonic in Monte Carlo and has struggled to gain traction on his favorite surface this year. 

Only two top-20 men make the trip to an ATP 250 tournament in Bucharest, far from the familiar clay battlegrounds in Western Europe.

Top half:  Since Bulgaria lacks an ATP event, Bucharest may offer top seed Grigor Dimitrov the closest parallel available to a home tournament.  Dimitrov took a wildcard after a resounding loss to Ferrer in Monte Carlo that looked better in retrospect when the Spaniard defeated Nadal.  Veteran Italian grinder Andreas Seppi has passed his prime by two or three years, even on clay, so Dimitrov’s talent should carry him at least to the semifinals.  Still, clay is his least favorite surface despite his upset over Novak Djokovic in Madrid last year.  Former Roland Garros semifinalist Gael Monfils might test Dimitrov in the Bucharest semifinals, although Monfils fell to a lucky loser in Monte Carlo as his early-season surge subsided.  Seventh seed Nicolas Mahut deploys a game antithetical to clay, so the other seeds should have little to fear.

Bottom half:  Despite meager results so far in 2014, Mikhail Youzhny remains entrenched inside the top 20.  The Russian has battled illness this season while winning only three ATP main-draw matches.  On the other hand, Vasek Pospisil has not won a match since the Australian Open, leaving him even more devoid of momentum.  Brazilian clay specialist Thomaz Bellucci might make surprising inroads in this section, where all of the seeds look vulnerable.  Gilles Simon and Jarkko Nieminen also have struggled with fitness early in 2014, suffering embarrassing setbacks from lack of match play.  Former Bucharest champion Lukas Rosol returns as an unseeded entrant in a soft section of the draw near home hope Victor Hanescu.