Barcelona: Rafael Nadal is skipping the Barcelona Open because he needs to rest, missing a chance to defend his title at a tournament he has won for the last five years.
Nadal said "my body is asking for rest" on Monday, a day after winning his first tournament in nearly a year in Monte Carlo. "I am really sorry not to play in Barcelona, more than any other tournament."
Nadal said he has often complained that the clay court tennis schedule at this stage of the season "is poorly structured."
"For me, not playing in Barcelona is a consequence of that," Nadal said in a statement.
Sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic and David Nalbandian of Argentina both pulled out of the event because of injury on Monday.
In first-round action, Richard Gasquet beat Russia's Igor Andreev 7-6 (5), 6-4. The Frenchman next faces fifth-seeded Fernando Verdasco, who lost to Nadal in the Monte Carlo Masters final on Sunday.
Nicolas Almagro, the 15th-seeded Spaniard, dropped only seven points on serve as he crushed countryman Santiago Ventura 6-1, 6-2.
Thomaz Bellucci, the only other seeded player in action Monday, accounted for Finland's Jarkko Nieminen 6-4, 6-4.
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain came from behind to defeat qualifier Christophe Rochus 5-7, 6-1, 6-3, as did compatriot Oscar Hernandez in ousting Ukraine's Illya Marchenko 6-7 (2), 6-2, 6-4.
Juan Ignacio outclassed Filip Krajinovic of Serbia 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash with second-seeded Robin Soderling, last year's French Open finalist.
Other winners included Jan Hajek, who faces third-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Thiemo De Bakker of the Netherlands and Argentina's Eduardo Schwank.
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