British tennis player Andy Murray is set to feature in the upcoming Barcelona Open from April 24-30. Murray will be playing for the fifth time in his career in Barcelona once the event kicks off on Monday. Britain's Murray hasn't played in Barcelona since 2012 when he was defeated in the quarter-final stage. It will be the second clay-court tournament of the season for the 29-year-old, who participated in this week's Monte Carlo Masters.

Murray hopes to bounce back

Andy Murray lost in the Monte Carlo Masters last-16 stage on Thursday to world number 24 Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-2 2-6 5-7.

Murray was close to making it past Ramos-Vinolas -- had a 4-0 lead in the deciding set -- but was unable to touch the finish line first. It wasn't a great campaign for Murray, who will be hoping to perform better next week at the Barcelona Open and catch up some momentum.

Barcelona could be huge for Murray

The first clay-court Masters 1000 event of the season, the Monte Carlo Masters, will be finishing on Sunday. It is the second week of the ongoing clay season and some big events on that surface will be the case. In just over two weeks, the Madrid Masters is scheduled to kick off, May 07-14. It won't take long for the next big tournament to kick off as the Rome Masters is set to take place from May 14-21.

Andy Murray had great outings in Madrid and Rome last year, finishing as the Madrid runner-up and as the Rome champion. 29-year-old Murray will certainly be looking to leave his mark at those tournaments this year as well. A good campaign at the Barcelona Open could help Murray to feel good and enter Madrid and Rome in good spirits.

Can Murray repeat some of his last year's success?

Andy Murray had his career-best campaign on clay in the 2016 tennis season. Murray opted to play only at the biggest clay-court tournaments -- Monte Carlo, Madrid, Rome, and Roland Garros. After a semi-final showing at the Monte Carlo Masters, Murray went on to play three consecutive finals in Madrid, Rome, and Roland Garros.

He made it all the way in Rome after beating Novak Djokovic but wasn't able to beat the same opponent at Madrid and Roland Garros.

Alexander Zverev joins Murray

Rising Alexander Zverev is reportedly set to play at the Barcelona Open as well. Should Zverev come to play the Barcelona event, he would make his second career appearance in Barcelona. He lost in the round-of-16 stage in his debut campaign in Barcelona last year. Zverev is coming off a Monte Carlo Masters last-16 stage loss to Spain's Rafa Nadal. It remains to be seen can he achieve a notable campaign in Barcelona next week.
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