Monte-Carlo finalists (1) Rafael Nadal and (4) David Ferrer are among the eight seeded players to receive byes. Along with the two Spaniards, semifinalists in Monte-Carlo (2) Andy Murray and (6) Jurgen Melzer have the luxury of a first-round bye.

For 48 others, they'll have to navigate five matches to win the championship. In the first round tantalizing matches include (9) Richard Gasquet of France facing a formidable challenge in Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina and (15) Milos Raonic of Canada against Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic.

Nadal's quarter once again doesn't appear to have any major speedbumps until a possible clash with Frenchman (7) Gael Monfils for a spot in the semis. Nadal, however, even though he won't admit it must be thinking a little bit about a possible semifinal showdown with (3) Robin Soderling of Sweden who upset the Spaniard at Roland Garros a few years ago to introduce himself as one of tennis' best.

On the other side of the draw Ferrer and Melzer appear to be on a collision course to another clash of the emerging titans. Ferrer dismantled Melzer in Monte-Carlo 6-3, 6-2 to take a 3-2 head-to-head lead over the Austrian.

Then we have Scotland's Murray with on paper possibly the most favorable draw. The Scot's road to at least the quarterfinals appears to be a sure thing. Then again Murray recently snapped a four-match losing streak. However returning his form on the clay has Murray a safe bet to go far at Barcelona and possibly get another crack at the King of Clay in the final.

I like Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela to knock off (9) Richard Gasquet of France. While Gasquet was given the highest seed of the players to not receive byes, his first round opponent Chela won their last encounter in Buenos Aires on clay last season 7-6(3), 7-5 after losing to the Frenchman 6-2, 6-1 on hard court in Indian Wells during their first battle. I think we'll see a match more similar to their last meeting on clay with Chela coming up with the goods when it matters most against the serve-and-volleyer.

Soderling, who himself has had a short lay off due to a knee injury, will be hoping to go one step better than 2010 when he narrowly came up short to Fernando Verdasco. The World No.5 indeed made giant strides last year culminating in a run to the final of the French Open for the second  consecutive year, where he lost to World No.1 Nadal.

The rest of the supporting cast include clay specialist Nicolas Almagro, who will be adamant to quickly put a poor Monte-Carlo showing behind him, whilst Austrian Jurgen Melzer will be trying to maintain the momentum he gained by toppling Roger Federer earlier this week.

With French No.1 Gael Monfils and the talented Tomas Berdych also in the mix, a hot week of tennis is surely on the cards in Catalunya.

• Name: Barcelona Open BancSabadell
• Category: ATP World Tour 500
• Place: Barcelona, Spain
• Date: 18.04.2011-24.04.2011
• Draw Size: S-56 D-24
• Surface: Clay
• Prize Money: € 1,550,000
• Total Financial Commitment: € 1,995,000
• Ticket Hotline: +34 902 33 22 11

Draws and Order of Play