The tournament deemed to be Rafa Nadal's return, the Copa Claro in Buenos Aires, will not be Rafa Nadal's return from injury. He pulled out recently. This means that Nadal's Spanish compatriot David Ferrer will get the spotlight all to himself. He may've slipped to 5th in the world, but the arguably underrated 31 year old is always a contender at Grand Slams and will fancy his chances here.
He has won the past 2 editions, beating Almagro and Wawrinka respectively. However, he was set for a 3rd consecutive Heineken Open in Auckland this year and crashed out early. Déjà vu? Perhaps, after a poor start to 2014. Fabio Fognini is the 2nd seed, the world #15 will have a good chance of another tour title, having won his inaugural 2 last year.
The controversial Italian, who has thrown matches and is renowned as a bit of a drama queen, has seemingly matured recently and has improved as a result. Spaniards Robredo, Almagro and Granollers complete the top 5 seeds, and Juan Monaco, the #7 seed will be the home support's hopeful.