The 72nd edition of the Count Trophy of Godó will be “very good, but what will come will be better.” This is understood by David Ferrer, director of the tournament, “happy and happy”, for the competition that will be held from April 12 to 20, at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona. Although from now on, there will be a tennis player who can no longer jump to his tracks, Rafael Nadal. “He had thought to pay him a tribute this year, but he has a very tight calendar. From the one that is coming, one will be done as it deserves, ”said Ferrer on Monday, at the Solemne he left Cent.
However, the Catalan tournament will have the participation of four world top-10 players in 2025: Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud, the current champion, and Carlos Alcaraz. . “The injuries cannot be controlled. I have not talked to him, because he is focused on Miami. He is excited to be in Barcelona and it is lucky to have him, ”said the director of the Godó, about El Palmar’s athlete, who fell this last weekend before Jack Draper in the semifinals of Indian Wells.
They will also be present at the Alex de Miñaur and Holger Rune competition, current number 12 of the ATP ranking, the Spanish tennis player, Pablo Carreño, will also be part of the list of participants, being one of the four wild-cards of the tournament. David Ferrer has announced two of them: the Japanese, Kei Nishikori, double champion of the Catalan competition in 2014 and 2015, and the Swiss, Stan Wawrinka, triple champion of Grand Slams, who will compete again in Barcelona, after being semifinalist in the 2006 and 2008 editions.
To be champion of the clay of Barcelona, both Alcaraz and the rest of the registered tennis players must face one of the novelties that the Godó will present this season: the reduction of the number of players in the final table. Now, the tournament will have one of 32, instead of 48. “As of Monday, Top-10 players can compete and it is something that is an evolution for the tournament. Fans can see the best players in the world every day, ”said Ferrer.
The first round of the Count of Godó will be played on Monday 14 and Tuesday, April 15. In this way, the first eight heads of standard will debut one of these two days. On the other hand, the picture of the previous phase will be expanded from 16 to 24 players, while the doubles remains with 16. As regards the rest of innovations in the Godó, the presence of the great legend of tennis Björn Borg is expected during the course of it, as the CEO of Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, Xavier Pujol, has pointed out.
The eleven times Grand Slam champion will receive a tribute for the 50 years of his victory in the 1975 tournament and will receive the Award off track: a new initiative that rewards relevant personalities and institutions for the contest. Likewise, news has also been announced in “the inclusion of people with disabilities”, since “the infrastructure of the tournament will be adapted, so that everything can be traveled in a wheelchair.”
Only 2% of the tickets are available for fans: “To be held during Holy Week the same, it harms local people, but the people outside come here on vacation. On a professional and sports level, it has not harmed us at all, ”Ferrer concluded, when only 26 days are missing for the start of the 72nd edition of the Count Trophy of Godó.
