Rafael Nadal will continue his Monte-Carlo campaign on Friday against Grigor Dimitrov. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Stanislas Wawrinka are also in quarterfinal action.
(3) Rafael Nadal vs. Grigor Dimitrov
Nadal and Dimitrov will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they clash in the quarterfinals of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on Friday afternoon. Their only previous encounter came four years ago on the indoor hard courts of Rotterdam, where Nadal survived 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 .
Dimitrov is a much different player now, primed to enter the Top 30 next week for the first time in his career at 21 years old. The Bulgarian has not dropped a set this week in victories over Xavier Malisse, Janko Tipsarevic, and Florian Mayer, and he is now 14-7 for the season. Nadal’s 2013 campaign, of course, has been well-documented. The fifth-ranked Spaniard returned from his seven-month layoff and promptly won titles in Sao Paulo, Acapulco, and Indian Wells in addition to a runner-up finish in Vina del Mar. Nadal has won 19 of 20 matches this year.
While Dimitrov is showing clear signs of improvement on the slow stuff, he would obviously prefer to contest this matchup on a faster hard court. Nadal has won the Monte-Carlo title a record eight consecutive times since losing in the third round of his first appearance in 2003. Count on the favorite giving another clay-court lesson en route to the semifinals.
Pick: Nadal 6-2, 6-3
[polldaddy poll=7046072]
(6) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. (13) Stanislas Wawrinka
Tsonga and Wawrinka will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers when they collide on Friday. The head-to-head series stands at 2-1 in Tsonga’s favor, but the have split two clay-court meetings. Their two most recent encounters have come at the last two French Open installments, with Wawrinka prevailing 4-6, 6-7(3), 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-3 before Tsonga won another five-setter 6-4, 7-6(6), 3-6, 3-6, 6-4.
Both players are in solid form this season. Wawrinka’s 16-7 record could be even better because his Australian Open run was cut short when he lost an epic fourth-round match to Novak Djokovic 12-10 in the fifth set. The 17th-ranked Swiss, who finished runner-up in Buenos Aires, has taken out Denis Istomin, Albert Montanes, and Andy Murray without dropping a set so far this week. Wawrinka lost a combined total of five games to Montanes and Murray. Tsonga earned a first-round bye as the No. 6 seed then dismissed both Nikolay Davydenko and Jurgen Melzer in straights. The eighth-ranked Frenchman is 18-5 for the year, which includes a title in Marseille.
Based on their past history and their current form, this has all the makings of another high-quality thriller. Tsonga has a slightly more powerful game mainly due to his serve, but Wawrinka’s one-handed backhand is arguably the most dangerous shot in this matchup especially when he has time to set up for it on clay. This surface should give Wawrinka a slight edge thanks to what will likely be a considerable number of baseline exchanges, which he can turn into backhand-to-backhand exchanges.
Pick: Wawrinka in 3
[polldaddy poll=7046060]
Murray* lost a combined total of five games to Montanes and Murray.
*Wawrinka is what you mean, right?
yep, thanks!