Scouting Report: Nadal returns in Barcelona; Rune chases Munich three-peat

A three-tournament week on European clay features plenty of action, including Rafael Nadal's return at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and Holger Rune trying to win his third consecutive BMW Open title in Munich.

Monte-Carlo champion Stefanos Tsitsipas is competing in Barcelona. Rune, No. 12 in the PIF ATP Rankings, is joined in Munich by top seed Alexander Zverev and third seed Taylor Fritz. Francisco Cerundolo leads the field at the Tiriac Open as the ATP Tour returns to Bucharest for the first time since 2016.

ATPTour.com looks ahead at five things to watch at each event.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN BARCELONA
1) Rafa Makes Return: A 12-time champion at the ATP 500, where the stadium court is named after him, Nadal is set to play just his second tournament of 2024. The Spaniard boasts a standout 66-4 match record in Barcelona, having first lifted the trophy in 2005 and most recently in 2021.

2) Tsitsipas Hunting One More Step: A three-time finalist in Barcelona, Stefanos Tsitsipas will look to bring his Monte-Carlo form to Spain in hopes of placing his hands around the Barcelona champion’s trophy for the first time. The fifth seed finished runner-up at the ATP 500 in 2018, 2021 and 2023.

3) Ruud On A Roll: Casper Ruud, who reached the Monte-Carlo final, has made a quick star to 2024. The Norwegian is second on the ATP Tour this year in wins (24-7) according to Infosys ATP Stats and will try to improve his record in Barcelona, where he is the third seed.

4) Stars To Watch: Second seed Andrey Rublev, who is playing Barcelona for the first time since 2021, will aim to end his three-match skid and re-energise his season with a deep run in Spain. Australian Alex de Minaur, a 2022 semi-finalist at the tournament, is the fourth seed and could play Nadal in the second round.

5) Strong Doubles Field: Top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos lead the Barcelona doubles field, which also includes Ivan Dodig/Neal Skupski, Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury and Santiago Gonzalez/Edouard Roger-Vasselin. 

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN MUNICH
1) Zverev Leads Field: Home favourite Zverev will look to relive his championship memories at the BMW Open, where he lifted the trophy in 2017 and 2018. The top seed, who is one victory shy of 20 match wins this season, will be focused on the task at hand after suffering losses in his opening match the past two years in Munich.

2) Rune’s Charge For Three-Peat: Second seed Rune is aiming for his third consecutive title at the clay-court event. Last year, the Dane dramatically saved four championship points against Botic van de Zandschulp to claim his fourth tour-level crown. Rune is searching for his first trophy since that run 12 months ago.

3) Thiem Seeks Best Form: After earning his first ATP Tour win of 2024 in Estoril, two-time Roland Garros finalist Dominic Thiem will search to roll back the years in Munich, where he reached the final in 2016.

4) Fritz, Struff Among Top Seeds: Third seed Fritz is making his second appearance on the Munich clay. A semi-finalist last year, Fritz is seeking his first clay-court win of 2024. Jan-Lennard Struff, seeded fourth, will have the home crowd behind him as he plays the event for a ninth time and looks to go one step further than his 2021 finalist finish.

5) #NextGenATP Michelsen’s Milestone Clay Win? American teen Alex Michelsen looks to improve upon his fourth position in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah this week. To do so, the 19-year-old will need to capture a milestone moment in his young career: a maiden tour-level win on clay.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN BUCHAREST
1) Top Seed Cerundolo: Argentine Francisco Cerundolo headlines the Tiriac Open as he aims for his third tour-level title and second on clay. The 25-year-old was 19-12 on the surface last season, with his best result being a final appearance in Lyon.

2) Gasquet Plays 1,000th Match: Frenchman Richard Gasquet will add his name to a slice of history this week, when he takes the court for his 1,000th tour-level match. The 37-year-old joins Novak Djokovic and Nadal as the only active players to reach the feat.

3) #NextGenATP Teen Fonseca: Brazilian 17-year-old Joao Fonseca captured the attention of tennis fans in February, when he reached the quarter-finals of the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro. At sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, the wild card looks for another deep run in Romania in just his fifth tour-level tournament.

4) Talented Top Seeds: Headlining the top seeds behind Cerundolo are Tallon Griekspoor, Alejandro Tabilo and Sebastian Korda. While the American Korda seeks his first tour-level trophy since the clay-court event in Parma three years ago, Griekspoor and Tabilo are aiming for their maiden title on the surface.

5) Italians To Make A Splash? Sixth seed Lorenzo Sonego, Luca Nardi and Luciano Darderi make a strong trio of Italians in Bucharest. Each of the three has found a high level at times this season, with Darderi winning the ATP 250 in Cordoba and Sonego reaching the quarter-finals in Marrakech. Nardi defeated Djokovic in Indian Wells and followed it with an ATP Challenger Tour title in Napoli.