Week in Preview: Stuttgart, Barcelona, Bucharest

The men kicked off their clay season with a Masters tournament in Monte Carlo last week. This week the women do the same at the Porsche Grand Prix, a Premier event in Stuttgart. The barn-like indoor locale may not be as appealing to the eye as the steep hills of Monaco, but the draw is almost as loaded. Here’s a look ahead at that event, as well as the two men’s tournaments in Barcelona and Bucharest.

Stuttgart, Germany
$731,000; Premier
Clay
Draw is here

Eight of the WTA’s Top 10 are in Stuttgart; only Serena Williams and Eugenie Bouchard resisted the chance to drive off with a new Porsche. That’s a strong start to any draw, though this one was even stronger a few hours ago, before Jelena Jankovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and local favorite Andrea Petkovic all pulled out. Stuttgart’s position on the tour calendar has its pros and cons: The event benefits from being the first significant tournament of the WTA's European clay season, but it’s hurt by the fact that it comes on the heels of a busy Fed Cup weekend.

Speaking of Fed Cup, the top seed in Stuttgart, Maria Sharapova, pulled out of Russia's semifinal tie. Her garage is well stocked with sports cars, but this tournament is an important one for her. She’s the three-time defending champion, and her runs to to the French Open title in 2012 and 2014 essentially began here. After her disappointing March in the U.S., anything short of another title in Stuttgart might feel like a letdown, or a warning sign of trouble to come.

A fourth win will be tough to come by. Foremost among Sharapova's challengers will be second seed Simona Halep. The Romanian, winner in Indian Wells and semifinalist in Miami, has been the de facto world No. 2 for the last couple of months, and she'll take over the position for real if Sharapova doesn’t at least reach the semis here. Halep is also likely to be among Sharapova’s stiffest competition in her title defense in Paris. Last year she pushed her to the brink at Roland Garros and in Madrid; taking another step and beating her in Stuttgart would a significant breakthrough for Halep.

Also here, and looking for a 2015 reboot on clay: Petra Kvitova, Caroline Wozniacki, Ana Ivanovic, and Aga Radwanska.

First-round matches to watch: Ivanovic vs. Caroline Garcia; Radwanska vs. Sara Errani

Possible second-round match to watch: Sharapova vs. home favorite Angelique Kerber

Barcelona, Spain
$2,138,889; 500 ranking points
Clay
Draw is here

You know you’ve dominated a few tournaments when you can win one of them eight times and hardly anybody ever mentions it. So it goes on clay for Rafael Nadal, who will try to make it No. 9 in his backyard.

In the past, Barcelona seemed to be a guilty pleasure for Rafa, a way for him to get in a few extra swings, slides, ranking points, and guaranteed money while staying close to home. This year there’s more on the line. Nadal is the second seed behind Kei Nishikori, and the two of them are currently fighting for the all-important No. 4 seed at Roland Garros—after Monte Carlo, Rafa moved into the No. 4 spot, 155 points ahead of Nishikori at No. 5. Kei, the winner here last year, is defending champion’s points, while Nadal only has to reach the semis to improve on his quarterfinal finish in 2014.

But it’s a sign of how unsettled things are for Rafa right now that just reaching the quarters in Barcelona, which features 12 of the ATP’s Top 25, is no sure thing for him. Nadal could face the man who upset him here last year, Nicolas Almagro, in his opener, and another player who beat him on clay earlier this season, Fabio Fognini, in the round after that. Two other highly ranked Spanish players who own wins over him, David Ferrer and Feliciano Lopez, are in Rafa’s half. And then there’s the prospect of facing Nishikori in the final.

If Nadal does lose early, questions about his progress and his future will swirl again. If he does win, though, no one should say it was just a ho-hum ninth title in Barcelona for the King of Clay. This one would mean something.

Also here: Nick Kyrgios, Ernests Gulbis, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Possible Second-Round Match to Watch: Nadal vs. Almagro

Bucharest, Romania
$474,610; 250 ranking points
Clay
Draw is here

Instead of heading south to Barcelona, two top-tier Frenchmen have gone east to Bucharest. Gilles Simon and Gael Monfils are the first and second seeds, respectively. The star quality drops off a bit after that: The next two seeds are Ivo Karlovic and Lukas Rosol.

Also here: Borna Coric, who beat Sergiy Stakhovsky in his opener; and Janko Tipsarevic, whose comeback continues. He could face Simon in the second round.

Name of the week: Jurgen Zopp