TENNIS – Master 1000 Monte-Carlo Thursday 17th April – We all knew, the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters 2014 would be highly competitive with such an amazing draw. It proves to be the case with seven of the best eight players in the world qualified for the quarter-finals.From Monte-Carlo Isabelle Andrieux
Interviews and images from the Monte-Carlo Country Club
It was another rolling day on Central court for the top players. World number one, Rafael Nadal became the 11th player in the Open Era to record 300 tour-level-clay court wins as he defeated Andreas Seppi 6-1, 6-3 to reach the quarter finals. The 27-year-old Nadal won his first clay-court match 12 years ago in Mallorca against Ramon Delgado.
Earlier one, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who celebrated his 29th birthday at the VIP Rolex stand, with the attendance of Arnaud Boetsch and Bjorn Borg, set a quarter-final clash with Roger Federer as he battled through a tight and rocky match against Fabio Fognini. The Frenchman came back from one set down. The Italian looked to have the upper hand after clinching the opener but mental lapses proved costly allowing Tsonga to take the advantage. Tsonga will face Roger Federer who advanced to the quarter- finals on 57 minutes, dismissing Lukas Rosol 6-4-6-1. The Swiss needed more time than the previous day to find his rhythm and got, saying it “was a bit rocky” but found the key as he managed to break back his opponent at 4-3.
The defending champion, Novak Djokovic is still in a hurry, speeding into quarter-finals. The Serb claimed his 12th win in a row as he blasted past lucky loser Pablo Carreno Busta 6-0, 6-1 in 47 minutes, two minutes longer that his win over Albert Montanes on Tuesday.
Stanislas Wawrinka had a walkover to the quarter-finals as Nicola Almagro withdrew due to an injured foot. The Australian Open winner will meet Milos Raonic in the first clash of the quarter-finals on Friday at the Monte-Carlo Country Club.
They said:
Rafael Nadal: “I think today I played a little bit better than yesterday. For long time I was playing at the good level, I think, changing very well the directions, playing with the right intensity. Tomorrow will be a tough match against David (Ferrer). David is a tough, tough player on any surface. But here on clay, always a big challenge. I play a lot of matches against him, very tough ones.”
Roger Federer: “Yeah, I mean, I think I’ve seen Jo play different kind of quality matches lately. So not quite sure he’s going to play, how aggressive, how passive. I’m going to have to have a bit of an open mind when it comes to that. I didn’t play a very good match against him at the French last year. That was a bit of a disaster for me. On the other side, I played a really good match against in the Australian this year. So kind of excited to see what’s going to happen this time around.”
Novak Djokovic: “I have already great variety in the game which is one of the key components for an optimal success on this surface. You need to be able to play equally well defensively and offensively. That’s something I was doing quite well in the first two rounds.”
