Barcelona Draw is out and can be found HERE!!

The following article states it's a tough draw...but after seeing the way Rafa is playing at Monte Carlo...we here at Rafaholic.com say simply...BRING IT ON!!! Can I get a VAMOS????

Rafa Nadal given tough draw in quest for 6th consecutive title

Five-time defending champion Rafael Nadal will have to navigate a tricky route if he is to extend his record-breaking run at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell – 58th Conde de Godó Trophy to six titles, after three of the four semi finalists of this week's Masters 1000 event in Monte Carlo were placed in his section of the draw. The world #3 will face a succession of dangerous opponents, with the prospect of a possible final against Robin Soderling, the player responsible for ending Nadal’s unbeaten run at Roland Garros last year.

TOP SEEDS FACE TRICKY PATHS TO FINAL

Top seeded Nadal will open against either fellow Spaniard Guillermo Garcia Lopez or a qualifier, with Thomas Belucci, seeded thirteen, projected to be his first seeded opposition. If he survives that, Nadal will likely then have to face 8th seeded compatriot David Ferrer in the quarterfinals. The two players have faced off in the final in each of the last two editions of the tournament, and also meet in Saturday’s semi final in Monte Carlo.

World #7 Robin Söderling is seeded second. The Swede has gone from strength to strength since dethroning Nadal at Roland Garros, winning events in Bästad and Rotterdam, and is competing in Barcelona for the third time in his career. Söderling also has a complicated draw, with a potentially tough opening match against either wild card Filip Krajinovic, a much-heralded talent from Serbia, or tournament veteran Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina, who is competing in Barcelona for the eighth time and won his first ATP World Tour title for three years in Houston two weeks ago.

Jo Wilfried Tsonga of France is seeded third, and in Söderling’s half of the draw. The world #10 is making his long-awaited Barcelona debut after being forced to withdraw at the last moment in 2009, and could meet seventh seed Juan Carlos Ferrero in the quarterfinals. The pair has met in their last two events, with Tsonga winning on hard courts in Miami, and Ferrero scoring a revenge win against the Frenchman on clay this week in Monte Carlo.

4th seed Fernando González, who lost an epic semi final match to Ferrer in Barcelona last year, is once again in the same half of the draw as he and Nadal. He will first have to get through a section of the draw that features a number of clay court specialists, including Igor Andreev and wild card David Nalbandián, who arrives in Barcelona fresh from posting his best performance in some time, a quarterfinal placing in Monte Carlo. Nalbandián is attempting to rediscover his best form after spending nine months on the sidelines recovering from a hip injury that he suffered last year at this event, forcing his withdrawal from a scheduled quarterfinal clash with Rafael Nadal.

TOP SPANIARDS AMONGST SEEDS

Of the thirteen Spaniards to feature in the main draw, eight are seeded. 2004 champion Tommy Robredo is seeded ninth, and is competing in Barcelona for the twelfth time in his career. He will open his campaign against a qualifier, before possibly facing Davis Cup teammate David Ferrer in the third round. Other home players to be seeded are Albert Montañes (#14), Nicolas Almagro (#15) and Feliciano López (#16).

The remaining seeds are #10 Juan Monaco of Argentina, #11 Jurgen Melzer of Austria and #12 Lleyton Hewitt, the Australian former world #1 who returns to the Barcelona event for the first time since reaching semi finals in 2002.

A number of Spanish sporting stars assisted with the draw ceremony, including former World 1500m Champion Reyes Estevez and Spanish high jump record holder Ruth Beitia. They were joined by Davis Cup teammates Marcel Granollers and Nicolas Almagro, the tournament's Sporting Director Albert Costa, Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899 President Albert Agustí, Pere Alcober of the Barcelona Sports Council and Jaume Guardiola, representative of the event's title sponsor, Banco Sabadell.

Despite the last-minute withdrawals of top ten stars Nikolay Davydenko and Juan Martín del Potro, the 56-player draw features a total of twelve of the world’s top thirty players, each battling for a share of €1,995,000 total prize money and 500 ATP World Tour ranking points on offer for the winner.

Main draw action gets underway on Monday 19th April at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899. Ticket information, draws and results can al be found at the corresponding sections of this site.