The Catalan player receives an invitation to play in the main draw of the Mutua Madrid Open after Juan Carlos Ferrero qualifies to the tournament directly thanks to Kei Nishikori picking up an injury
Barcelona’s Albert Montañés no longer has to play the preliminary phase of the Mutua Madrid Open to qualify for the main draw of the competition. The injury Kei Nishikori picked up in Conde de Godó will prevent the Japanese player from taking part in the tournament, meaning that Juan Carlos Ferrero, who had received a wild card invitation, will take his place due to his positioning in the ranking.
Ferrero’s direct pass to the main draw allowed the organisers of the Mutua Madrid Open to bestow his wild card invitation on Albert Montañés. The Spaniard is an expert on clay, a surface where he has won five ATP titles. At 31 years of age he will be looking to improve on his past performances at the Caja Mágica, where he has lost in the first round in the last three editions of the event. Last year Montañés reached the last 16 of Roland Garros.
The Mutua Madrid Open organisers have also issued a wild card to the doubles pairing of Daniel Gimeno and Iván Navarro. This February Gimeno, who hails from Valencia, lifted his first ATP doubles title alongside Portugal’s Frederico Gil, and will be looking to ruffle some feathers alongside Iván Pastor in the main draw of this competition where the best pairs in the world are competing.
Russian’s Alisa Kleybanova and Spain’s Estrella Cabeza and Leticia Costas have also received wild card invitations to take part in the preliminary round. Kleybanova reached number 20 in the official rankings in February 2011, but was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma few months later from which she has only just recovered. Also playing in the qualifying round will be Estrella Cabez,a the world number 166, and Leticia Costas, who at 22-years-old currently occupies the 211 spot in the WTA rankings.
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