Ferrer stuns Nadal in Monte Carlo

David Ferrer produced a major upset at the Monte Carlo Masters as the persistent Spaniard stunned eight-time champion Rafael Nadal 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 in the quarterfinal on Friday.

Ferrer, seeded sixth, handed the top seed only his third loss at the tournament a day after Nadal had won his 300th clay match of his career and 50th at the Monte Carlo Country Club. Ferrer came to the court with a 5-21 deficit against his compatriot, whose form has dropped this season.

Nadal’s only other losses at the tournament occurred in the 2003 third round against Guillermo Coria and last year when he went down in straight sets to Novak Djokovic in the final. Prior to that final, he had won eight straight editions. Nadal was well off the boil from the start in a contest where the opening set took 75 minutes and the third game required a quarter of an hour.

The top seed ended his quest with a forehand to the net, his 44th unforced error. Ferrer battled his nerves as he served for victory leading 5-2, but was broken. 

Meanwhile, Australian Open winner Stanislas Wawrinka reached the semifinal with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 victory over Canadian Milos Raonic. Wawrinka, who had a walkover in the previous round when Spain’s Nicolas Almagro pulled out with a foot injury, will play David Ferrer in the semifinal. 

Wawrinka, who has dragged himself out of a short slump he suffered after beating Nadal for the grand slam title in Melbourne three months ago, took control as eighth seed Raonic twice lost leads in the opening set tie-breaker. 

The mistakes gave an opening to Wawrinka, who took the first set on his initial opportunity and then broke to start the second as the frustrated Raonic let go of a 40-15 lead in the first game. 

From that point on, momentum totally shifted to the Swiss world number three, who broke the Canadian again for 5-2 before serving out for the match in 90 minutes. Wawrinka finished with 30 winners and 28 unforced errors and never faced a break point.

The Swiss was playing his third consecutive quarterfinal at the event which marks the start of the European clay season and the run-up to Roland Garros which begins on May 25. 

He now stands 3-0 over Raonic, who was playing his first clay court quarter-final at the Masters 1000 level. Wawrinak duplicated his 2009 result by reaching the semifinals and improving his season record to 18-3.