British number one Andy Murray is set to make his return to the Barcelona Open after accepting a wild card to the claycourt event.

Murray was handed the seventh seed and a first-round bye after reversing course and deciding to compete at the 888,000 euro tournament.

He was forced to miss last year's event due to injuries and reached the second round in 2006.

The 20-year-old Scot, who fell in the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters to Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic last week, awaits either Mario Ancic or Mischa Zverev in the second round.

Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, will be out to maintain his dominance when he chases a record fourth consecutive title in Barcelona.

The Spanish world number two, who won his fourth consecutive Monte Carlo Masters Series title on Sunday, is the red-hot favourite at the Real Club de Barcelona, despite the presence of a strong field which includes three other players ranked in the world's top 10.

David Ferrer, David Nalbandian and James Blake are among those hoping to wrest the title from Nadal's grasp, while former French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero and Murray are also in action.

Nadal arrives in Barcelona on the back of another title in Monte Carlo but apart from the opposition, though, his biggest problem could be his heavy schedule as he builds towards the defence of his French Open crown next month.

The Spaniard, who is scheduled to follow the Barcelona event with the back-to-back Masters Series events in Rome and Hamburg, has been critical of the changes, saying last week: "The calendar is completely crazy.

"I think it's not fair to the European players and the claycourt players, too. Three Masters Series in four weeks, it is too much."

Nadal, like all the top eight seeded players, has a first-round bye and is unlikely to begin his campaign until Wednesday, when he will play either Italian Potito Starace or Australian Peter Luczak.

Among the other notable entries this week are the Spanish trio of Carlos Moya, Tommy Robredo and Nicolas Almagro.

Croatian Mario Ancic, who has climbed back to the verge of the world's top 50 after missing six months of last year because of glandular fever, is another wildcard entry.

And Guillermo Coria, the forgotten man of men's tennis, will also be in action after organisers awarded him a wildcard.

The Argentine, the runner-up at the French Open in 2004, has won just one match on the main tour in the past 20 months after completely losing his game, partly because of a serious shoulder injury, and now has a protected injury ranking of 105.

Eurosport / Reuters