Tennis Barcelona 2012: Match Highlights and Player Interviews

All Barcelona 2012 match highlights and interviews are available here. | Preview: The 2012 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell held at the prestigious Real Club de Tenis Barcelona in Spain starts this week from April 23 - April 29, 2012. Watch live tennis action online direct from the 2012 Barcelona Open through TennisTv.com. The clay court event is a ATP World Tour 500 tennis tournament and has a 56-man singles main draw with the top eight seeds drawing a first round bye. The total prize money is €1,627,500 and Barcelona Open tickets can be acquired by using the following ticket hotline: +34 902 33 22 11.

The Barcelona tournament's is celebrating its 60th edition this week. This tennis tournament is one of the most important events in Spanish tennis and on the Barcelona social calendar. Spaniards have won the last nine editions, with world #2 Rafael Nadal lifting the trophy six times in the past seven years. This year, Nadal is aiming for his seventh title. Fresh from winning his eighth Monte-Carlo tournament last Sunday beating world #1 Novak Djokovic in the process, the top Spaniard defeated David Ferrer, 6-2, 6-4, in the 2011 final. He won this title five consecutive times from 2005-2009, and combined with his Monte-Carlo success, he became the first player in the Open Era to win two tournaments at least six times.

Three players challenging Nadal includes world #4 Andy Murray, Spain's own David Ferrer, and former champion Fernando Verdasco. Murray is competing in Barcelona for the fourth time but doesn't have much success in the tournament having won only one of four matches. He and brother Jamie, are also entered in this year's doubles draw. Ferrer is most likely Nadal's main challenger - the Spanish number two finished runner-up to Nadal three times in 2008, 2009 and 2011. He has a 21-9 record in the tournament. Verdasco is the 2010 champion and is hoping to win his sixth ATP title in his career. He beat Swede Robin Soderling in the finals two years ago.

In doubles competition, the top-ranked team of Bob and Mike Bryan are aiming for a third title in Barcelona. The Bryan brothers won in 2003 and 2008 and finished runner-up last year. The second-seed is the Mirnyi / Nestor team who achieved a semifinal finish last year. The third-seeded pair of Bhupathi / Zimonjic have not competed in the tournament previously. The fourth-seed team is Fyrstenberg / Matkowski who have a 9-6 record in Barcelona and finishing as runner-up in 2006 and 2008.

Recent Champions / Finalists since 2000:

2011 Rafael Nadal/David Ferrer
2010 Fernando Verdasco/Robin Soderling
2009 Rafael Nadal/David Ferrer
2008 Rafael Nadal/David Ferrer
2007 Rafael Nadal/Guillermo Canas
2006 Rafael Nadal/Tommy Robredo
2005 Rafael Nadal/Juan Carlos Ferrero
2004 Tommy Robredo/Gaston Gaudio
2003 Carlos Moya/Marat Safin
2002 Gaston Gaudio/Albert Costa
2001 Juan Carlos Ferrero/Carlos Moya
2000 Marat Safin/Juan Carlos Ferrero

Tournament Profile:

Name: Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell
Category: ATP World Tour 500
Place: Barcelona, Spain
Date: 23.04.2012-29.04.2012
Draw Size: S-56 D-24
Surface: Clay
Prize Money: € 1,627,500
Total Financial Commitment: € 2,072,500
Ticket Hotline: +34 902 33 22 11

Watch tennis action live from the Barcelona Open 2012 through TennisTv.com.