Ferrer sends Nadal packing in Monaco
Print Edition
RAFAEL Nadal lost to David Ferrer 6-7 (1), 4-6 in the quarterfinals in Monaco yesterday, his earliest exit at the Monte Carlo Masters in 11 years.
While he beat Nadal just last year, Spaniard Ferrer hadn’t beaten his compatriot on clay since 2004, in the first of their 27 career meetings.
A day after becoming the 11th man in the Open era to reach 300 wins on clay, Nadal committed 44 unforced errors and was broken four times in the face of Ferrer’s relentless attack. Ferrer lost his own serve three times in the 2-hour, 13-minute match.
“It was a tough loss, all losses feel bad, but especially on clay,” the top-ranked Nadal said. “I didn’t play the right way, I didn’t have the intensity in my legs.”
Nadal won eight consecutive Monte Carlo titles from 2005-12 before he lost last year’s final to Novak Djokovic.
The sixth-seeded Ferrer next faces third seed Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, who reached his first semifinals since winning the Australian Open after beating eighth-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada 7-6 (5), 6-2.
Nadal struggled badly on his serve, facing 10 break points in an attritional match where the first six games alone took 45 minutes.
“I’m not playing well right now and I’m not happy with how I’m playing,” said Nadal, who has also lost his last three matches against Serbia’s Djokovic in straight sets.
Nadal looked shaky as early as his second-round opener against Russian qualifier Teymuraz Gabashvili, and started poorly again yesterday.
He dropped his opening service game, broke back in a game lasting 16 minutes, double-faulted to lose his next serve, and broke Ferrer again with a cross-court winner. Nadal saved break points in the next game, too, before making it 3-3.
The tiebreaker was all about Nadal’s mistakes. He lost it by making three straight unforced errors.
In the second set, Ferrer broke him with a neat pass down the line and held for 3-1 to seize control. A despondent Nadal then hit a sloppy forehand long to trail 2-5.
Later, Djokovic was taking on Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, while Swiss fourth seed Roger Federer was to play No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France.
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