Tennis News

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.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and reigning US Open champion Marin Cilic will meet in one of the four quarter-final matches on Friday afternoon to determine who will advance to the following stage in Monte Carlo. This marks the 12th meeting between the two competitors, with Djokovic leading the head-to-head series with a formidable 11-0 record.

Of all the straightforward matches that took place on Thursday afternoon in Monte Carlo, the top seed had arguably the breeziest of the matches, as he cruised past Andreas Haider-Maurer 6-4, 6-0 in the third round of the tournament. He won 77% of his first service points, 80% of his second serve points and faced no break points en route to the 56 minute win.

“I’ve played quite a lot of matches this year, so I don’t think I’m missing the competitive rhythm on the court; I actually feel confident,” said Djokovic. “I’ve played and won a lot of matches this year, fortunately.

Eighth seed Marin Cilic reached the quarter-final with another staright sets win over France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Thursday. He struck 5 aces, won 84% of his first service points and saved the only break point he faced to win the match 6-3, 7-6(5) in one hour and 24 minutes of court time.

“I have Marin Cilic [next], who is a Grand Slam winner, who is playing the tennis of his life… I look forward to that challenge. Obviously now it’s going to get tougher.”

Djokovic holds a dominant 11-0 lead in the head-to-head series and will be looking to remain undefeated en route to the semi-final round of the tournament. Cilic has only ever taken five sets off Djokovic in their eleven meetings on the tour and considering he is returning from a lengthy spell on the sidelines, he is unlikely to challenge the Serb much this time around.

The first match on Centre Court saw Dimitrov thrash the defending champion Stan Wawrinka in straight sets to cement his place in the final eight in Monte Carlo. He saved all six break points he faced in the encounter to close out the match 6-1, 6-2 in 55 minutes. It was one of Dimtrov’s most impressive wins of the season to date.

He will now come up against swashbuckling Frenchman Gael Monfils, who produced another marvelous showing against Federer on clay to dispatch the 17-time Grand Slam champion in straight sets. He won the match 6-4, 7-6(5) to secure his spot in the quarter-final stage of the tournament. He even rallied to win four consecutive points in the final tiebreaker to earn the emphatic victory over the world No. 2.

“It was not the best end to the match,” said Federer. “I should have done better with the break up in the first. I think I did a good job to hang around the second set. I also had chances of my own. “It remained close, but I never felt like things were really happening the way I wanted them to be going during the whole match.”

Dimitrov and Monfils have crossed paths on three previous occasions on the ATP World Tour, with Monfils leading the series 2-1. The Frenchman has won their two hard court encounters, including the most recent one in the fourth round of last year’s US Open, but Dimitrov won their sole clay court encounter in Bucharest last season, which certainly adds a layer of intrigue to an already riveting encounter. Given that both players produced strong showings on Thursday, it is difficult to determine who will advance to the final four in Monte Carlo.

Milos Raonic is through to the quarter-final round in Monte Carlo, and with momentum on his side, will look to down Czech No. 1 Tomas Berdych in their fiftth career encounter. The Canadian leads the head-to-head series 3-1, including a win in their most recent meeting at the Paris Masters. This is also set to be their first ever clay court encounter, which only adds to the overall intrigue.

Faced with the difficult task of overcoming a Spaniard on clay, fourth seed Milos Raonic managed to overcome a tough second set and momentum shift to defeat Tommy Robredo in three sets. He struck 35 winners to close out the match 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in one hour and 40 minutes.

“Tommy can be tricky on any surface,” said Raonic. “He’s been having a great 12 months. I was fortunate to get through that match. It was a lot of up and downs, but through some improvisation and fighting hard I was able to win.

“It’s 10 months since I last played on clay and I’m still finding my way, but at least I know my objectives, how to reach my goals; it gives me a little bit of a jump start.”

The Canadian will next encounter Tomas Berdych, who performed well in his third round encounter against Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut. Unlike Raonic, Berdych was able to route his tricky opponent in straight sets 7-6(7), 6-4. He struck 41 winners, 12 aces and won 84% of his first service points to earn the victory in exactly the same amount of time as his upcoming opponent, one our and 40 minutes.

This marks the fifth time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with Raonic leading the series 3-1. While Raonic has proven to be the better player on hard courts recently, it will be interesting to see if his advantage remains the same when the step out onto the red dust court in Monte Carlo.

Although it was a match that required three sets to complete, Marin Cilic was able to put away Argentina’s Florian Mayer to secure the pivotal win for himself on the ATP World Tour. He won the match 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in a solid performance for a player coming off a lengthy spell on the sidelines. He has been away from the tour since he suffered a shoulder injury during the IPTL exhibition tournaments in December.

However, the eighth seed looked to be in much better shape now, as he struck eight aces, 43 winners, won 76% of his first service points and saved four break points to close out the contest in one hour and 40 minutes.

While locked in a competitive battle for the majority of the match, France’s Tsonga was able to find the necessary openings in both sets to close out the victory against David Goffin. In the first set, the break of serve came late, but was later accompanied by an early break in the second frame to give Tsonga the 6-3, 6-4 win. The Frenchman hit five aces, won 71% of his first service points and saved all four of the break points he faced on serve to bring an end to the proceedings in one hours and 24 minutes.

This marks the fifth time that Cilic and Tsonga will meet on the professional tour, with Cilic leading the series 3-1. While both are coming off their respective injury woes, it is difficult to predict who will be better prepared for their upcoming meeting. If one is to suggest the more capable clay court performer, then it is Tsonga who should edge out the victory in three sets to bring the head-to-head series to a more competitive stance.

While all eyes were on him at the start of the clay court season in Monte Carlo, Rafael Nadal appeared to be in high spirits and played as though he had something to prove. With his first match behind him in a breeze, the Spaniard will next come up against American No. 1 John Isner, whom he has faced on four previous occasions. Nadal leads the head-to-head series 4-0, including two clay court wins between 2010-11.

In first clay court match since the Golden Swing in Latin America, the world No. 4 breezed past French wildcard Lucas Pouille, who himself was playing some strong tennis for a player outside the Top 100. Nadal won the match 6-2, 6-1 in a contest that lasted one hour and nine minutes. He converted four break points and maintained a 75% first service rate to close out the match in style.

“Today, I played solidly,” said Nadal. “Today, I played with no mistakes in a row. I played aggressively when I had to play aggressive. I hit some good passing shots than [in] the past couple of months. [It is] a thing that I haven’t been doing very well. “I will go back to the hotel with [a] fantastic feeling, because I played probably the best match of the year for me… I played with the right mentality [and] the right concentration.”

Later in the day, towering American John Isner played to his usual strengths against Viktor Troicki to defeat the Serb in straight sets with a pair of tiebreakers. He hit 16 aces, won 78% of his first service points and saved all seven of the break points he faced on serve to close out the match in one hour and 40 minutes.

While Isner has never been able to earn a win against Nadal, no matter the surface, he did get exceptionally close to producing a remarkable upset in 2011, when he forced Nadal to contest five sets against him in the opening round of that year’s French Open. While that was almost four years ago, it was their most recent clay court meeting, and serves as a reminder that Isner can be a dreadfully difficult obstacle when he is in form. Nadal leads the series 4-0, but will he suffer the first blemish in that record on Thursday?

In his first clay court match of the season, 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer cruised into the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters 1000 event, one of two tournaments on the ATP World Tour that the Swiss star has not won. There, he will encounter Gael Monfils, whom he has faced on 11 previous occasions and leads 8-3 in the head-to-head series.

Follow the match live here: Federer vs Monfils Live Stream

The world No. 2 faced little resistance from France’s Jeremy Chardy in his opening match at the Monte Carlo tournament on Wednesday. The second seed struck 19 winners, five aces and won 70% of his first service points to close out the match in straight sets. While he did lose a break during the encounter, it did not stop him from securing the 6-2, 6-1 in in exactly 54 minutes of court time.

“I thought Jeremy didn’t serve very well, and I felt good on the return,” said Federer. “So I was in a lot of the service games when he was serving. Then I thought I served well, had a high first serve percentage and was able to control the baseline. On clay, things move ahead very quickly, I must say.”

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His upcoming opponent, Gael Monfils, reached the third round with a straight sets win over Alexandr Dolgopolov. He beat the Ukrainian with a pair of tiebreakers 7-6(5), 7-6(6) to edge out the match in one hour and 51 minutes.

“Gaël is such a player. He has capacities that other players don’t have, physically, also because of his power on the forehand and the backhand. It is a real challenge to play him. Often the problem is not on your own racquet against him.”

This marks the 12th meeting between Federer and Monfils, but the first encounter of the season. They most recently met on the clay courts in Lille, which was a meeting that Monfils won in the Davis Cup final. While he has been competitive against Federer in their recent meetings, Federer believes he is better prepared for this match-up, as well as the clay court season.

Prediction: Roger Federer in Three Sets

Following surprisingly quick and painless second round matches, Stan Wawrinka and Grigor Dimitrov will meet once again to determine who will advance to the next stage of the Monte Carlo Masters 1000 event. This is the fourth time that the two will meet on the ATP World Tour, with Wawrinka leading the head-to-head series 2-1.

Follow the match live here: Wawrinka vs Dimitrov Live Stream

Seeded seventh at this event, the Monte Carlo defending champion Stan Wawrinka looked fantastic in his opening match in the 2015 campaign to retain his first clay court Masters crown. He began his week against Juan Monaco, whom he defeated 6-1, 6-4 in lopsided fashion. He lost just two of his first service points and looked confident in his abilities on the red dust surface.

“I think I play a great match,” said Wawrinka. “It’s a tough first round to play Monaco, but it’s a typical clay-court match… playing from the baseline. Over the past two months, [I have had] really difficultly with my game [and] with my confidence. I was happy to come on clay again. The conditions are great here.”

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The Swiss No. 2 will next encounter Grigor Dimitrov, who faced little resistance from Italy’s Fabio Fognin in his second round match on Wednesday. He defeated the clay court specialist 6-4, 6-4 in a solid overall performance to set up the intriguing encounter. While it was a competitive affair for the most part, he struck four aces and won 83% of his first service points to earn the victory in 70 minutes.

“It was a pretty tight match, just one break in each set,” said Dimitrov. “He played quite well. All I could do was stay focused and composed. I’m just taking it match-by-match, considering I’ve not won that many this year. I’m working on my movement on court and on my shots.”

This marks the fourth time these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour, with Wawrinka leading the series 2-1. Wawrinka won their initial two meetings, one on hard court and one on clay, but their most recent match-up took place last year at Queen’s Club, where Dimitrov was able to overcome his adversary for the first time en route to the tournament final. However, that win does not do much to prepare him against the Swiss on clay, a surface that Wawrinka is particularly dangerous on when he is in form.

Prediction: Stan Wawrinka in Three Sets

Following a tumultuous first quarter of the season on hard courts, where he was forced to gradually make his way back from a surgery and a spell on the sidelines, world No. 1 Rafael Nadal braces himself for the start of the clay court portion of the season when he steps onto the courts in Monte Carlo to begin his campaign at the Masters 1000 event. His opening match will be against France’s Lucas Pouille, whom he has never faced previously on the tour.

Watch the match live here: Nadal vs Pouille Live Stream

Several weeks ago, the world No. 4’s campaign for his first Miami Open title was put on hold for another year, as the Spaniard crashed out of the third round of the tournament with a loss to Fernando Verdasco. It was a timid performance from Nadal, who rallied from a set down to level the match and force a decider. However, he was unable to stop his fellow countryman from breaking serve in the final set to close out the match 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.

While Nadal will always remain the favourite on clay, at least in the eyes of the fans, he insists that he is playing this year’s event with no pressure and should not be expected to trump the competition while he still looking to regain his confidence.

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“The most important thing for me is to feel well on court again, feel confident, feel I am improving,” he said. “I was improving every week before Miami, and in Miami I played bad… If I’m able to find the confidence, to find the tennis here on clay, then it makes everything a little less difficult.

“I am working to be playing well as soon as possible, and if I didn’t believe that I could, I would not be here… If I am here it’s because I have the motivation, the passion, the emotion to keep playing tennis.”

The Spaniard will begin his campaign against Lucas Pouille, the French wildcard who ousted Dominic Thiem in a surprisingly straightforward 6-4, 6-4 win to reach the second round of the tournament.

This is set to the be the first time that Nadal and Pouille will meet on the ATP World Tour, with Nadal set to be the favourite for the match. Although he is mentally shaky, a few showings on the clay should get him back into focus for the pivotal portion of the season to come.

Prediction: Rafael Nadal in Straight Sets