Bidding for his fourth title of the season, World No.6 David Ferrer of Spain will square off against Countryman Albert Montanes in a third-round encounter of the 2012 Barcelona Open.

Ferrer is chasing his 15th career title and he has a stellar 24-4 win-loss record for the season so far. Ferrer also became the first contender on tour to win three titles this season. He triumphed in Auckland, Buenos Aires and Acapulco. Last season, Ferrer reached the final in Barcelona and fell to Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard is one of those defiant warriors on tour, who have carved a special niche for themselves in this highly competitive world of tennis – with sheer determination and hard-work. He would be aiming to put behind his shocking loss at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters and will be aiming to go one step better here. His previous round victory must have helped him calm a few nerves as he has a lot of points to defend this season on clay

His opponent is one who is very well versed with clay. Former Top-25 player Montanes has not been in the best of form this year with a win-loss record of 3-8 but, is a great competitor on clay, with 5 ATP titles to his name. Presently ranked outside the Top-50 at 69, Montanes has great coverage and is very consistent from the baseline. His previous round victory showed that he coming back to form. His victory over Bernard Tomic indicated that he still has the zeal to perform well and climb up the rankings, something he deserves.

The two have played three times with all wins going to Ferrer. Their last meeting was one way traffic for Ferrer as he lost just 2 games en route to this win.