Monte Carlo: Ferrer wins Spanish duel with Ferrero

David Ferrer battled past Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-1 7-6 6-3 in an all-Spanish baseline duel to reach the last eight of the Monte Carlo Open on Thursday.

David Ferrer battled past Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-1 7-6 6-3 in an all-Spanish baseline duel to reach the last eight of the Monte Carlo Open on Thursday.

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Ferrer, seeded eighth, eased through the first set in 24 minutes before 11th seed Ferrero, winner of the tournament in 2002 and 2003, clinched the second set 7-5 in the tiebreak.

The 2003 French Open champion could 0not match Ferrer's powerful ground strokes in the third set. He saved a match point at 5-2 before winning the game, but still bowed out on Ferrer's serve after two hours 21 minutes.

In the quarter-finals, Ferrer should face world number one Roger Federer who was playing Monaco qualifier Benjamin Balleret later in the day.

The Swiss swept the Spaniard aside 6-1 6-4 in the semi-finals of the Nasdaq-100 Open in Miami three weeks ago.