Rafa’s shock defeat on clay, Federer scrapes through

Eight-time champion Rafael Nadal slumped to a shock Monte Carlo Masters quarter-final defeat to compatriot and close friend David Ferrer on Friday while Roger Federer scraped into the last-four.

Eight-time champion Rafael Nadal slumped to a shock Monte Carlo Masters quarter-final defeat to compatriot and close friend David Ferrer on Friday while Roger Federer scraped into the last-four.

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Ferrer claimed a famous 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 win to hand the top seed only his third loss in the principality just a day after Nadal had won his 300th career claycourt match and 50th at the Monte Carlo Country Club.

Meanwhile Federer, bidding to win the title for the first time, squandered his first 15 break points before finally coming good on a 16th on his way to a 2-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-1 defeat of French ninth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Topsy-turvy
The Swiss fourth seed won his 950th career match in a topsy-turvy clash, winning the second set on a fourth set point before running away with the third.

Ferrer came to the court on Friday with a 5-21 deficit against Nadal who last failed to make the final in Monte Carlo in his debut year of 2003. Ferrer will now face off on Saturday against Australian Open winner Stanislas Wawrinka who clinched a 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 over Canadian Milos Raonic.

Nadal’s only other losses here occurred in the 2003 third round against Guillermo Coria and last year when he went down to Djokovic in the final.