An all-Spanish quarter-final is scheduled to take place on Friday afternoon, as Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer get set to cross paths once again on the professional tour. This marks the 29th time they will meet on the ATP World Tour, with Nadal leading the series 21-6, including wins in 10 of their last 12 encounters.

World No. 4 Rafael Nadal was required to participate in a three-set battle against towering American John Isner to reach the quarter-final of the Monte Carlo Masters, an event he has won on eight occasions. Following a turbulent ride, Nadal was able to overcome his adversary 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-3 to secure his spot on Friday.

“My mentality in the third [set was] very positive,” said Nadal. “The game, the level of tennis, [it] improved a little bit in the third than in the previous two sets. That’s very important for me. [I’m] very happy to be in quarter-finals. [It’s a] very important result for me.”

The Spaniard will next encounter his fellow countryman David Ferrer for a spot in the semi-final stage of the tournament. Ferrer advanced with a 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-1 victory against the Frenchman Gilles Simon, who despite an amazing second set performance failed to maintain the momentum in the decider, eventually going down to the ‘Little Beast’ Ferrer.

This marks the 29th time these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with Nadal leading the series 22-6, including wins in 10 of their last 12 encounters. Ferrer though, holds wins in Monte Carlo and will be keen to replicate his efforts on this surface. While Rafa was generally dominant against Ferrer on all surfaces, the No. 2 Spaniard is riding high of his confidence boosting win last month and will be looking to top it off with a big upset in clay.