Rafael Nadal will try to cast away any doubts he may have picked up from his rare clay defeat to David Ferrer in Monte Carlo when he takes on his compatriot and good friend in the last eight.
What was last year’s final on Court Philippe Chatrier is this year a quarter-final on Suzanne Lenglen, and the result is expected to be much tighter than Nadal’s straight sets rout of Ferrer in 2013.
Prior to Ferrer’s victory over Nadal in the quarter-finals of Monte Carlo last April, the world No5’s only previous win against the Spaniard on clay came 10 years ago.
So it’s quite understandable if Nadal may feel more vulnerable than when he faced Ferrer in the Roland Garros final last year, but the eight-time champion says he’s unsure how that Monaco defeat will affect him on court today.
“When you lose, you lose. That’s it. Always when you have a loss in the last confrontation, it can affect (you), or not. I don’t know,” conceded Nadal, who turned 28 on Tuesday.
“But at the end, the important thing for me is that I am in quarterfinals. I am happy the way that I arrived here.
“I think that I am a little bit better than when I was playing against him in Monte Carlo, but I think he’s playing great, too. He played three weeks in a row at a very high level. In Madrid he played great, in Rome he played great, and he’s playing great here.
“He’s coming to the match with confidence. It will be a tough one.”
It will be Ferrer’s 10th consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final – an impressive mark that not even world No1 Nadal can boast.
“I’m very consistent. I’m very happy with that. I had some bad days, but not necessarily in the Grand Slam tournaments,” admits Ferrer, who adds that he will put last year’s final behind him when he steps on the court.
“I was very nervous. I was jittery. It was a little bit too much for me, but I’m calmer, had time to adapt. I think I will be more serene, but I don’t know exactly what will be my state of mind when I play against Rafa; but I won’t think about the final last year.”
The other quarter-final pits Andy Murray against Gael Monfils, who set the record straight that he does not favour flair over victory.
Asked whether he prefers winning or entertaining more, the Frenchman quickly said: “Win, for sure, like is not even a question.”
Monfils has often produced some of his best tennis at home in France and he hopes the crowd can help him again against Murray.
“(They give me) some energy and some more belief,” said Monfils. “It’s always hard for me to explain. But for sure it will help me if I have a big decision in the match or I feel tired or maybe I’m down, for sure they will help me a lot.”
