Monte Carlo Masters.
Nadal leads
Djokovic 23-19 in the series which began nine years ago; the Spaniard,
now fifth in the ATP rankings, won their last meeting in the Roland
Garros final last June.
Top
seed Djokovic crushed Marin Cilic 6-0, 6-3 in Friday's quarter-final,
while eight-time Monte Carlo winner Nadal, slowly building up his form
and confidence after a relatively poor previous 12 months, finally came
through 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 against countryman David Ferrer.
Nadal, the third seed, struggled through in two and three-quarter hours after faltering when leading by a set and 3-0.
"I
was pleased with my level in this match," Nadal said after beating
Ferrer for the 23rd time in 29 meetings -- 20 of them played on clay.
"David played very well, it was a high standard from both of us.
"The match with Novak will be tough, he is so far ahead of the rest of the players right now."
Djokovic
won the first eight games against Croatia's reigning US Open champion
who is seeded eighth but still coming back from months of shoulder
problems.
"Physically, it's very demanding because I've played a lot of matches," said Djokovic. "But momentum is on my side."
Should
he win the title on Sunday, Djokovic would become the first man to lift
trophies at the opening three Masters 1000 tournaments of the season
after completing the Indian Wells-Miami title double.
"The
first set went completely my way. I knew he was going to start to
change some things in his game so he can start to play a little bit
better," said Djokovic.
But I made a crucial break in
the beginning of the second, as well. So the first eight games were
really fantastic. I tried to keep it up.
"All
in all, it was probably the best match I've played so far in the
tournament. That's what I want, what I wish for in this moment.
"Obviously
the amount of matches that I won this year has helped boost my
confidence level, helped me to feel good at this tournament and continue
on with good performances."
- unchartered territory -
Gael
Monfils continued into uncharted territory, with the Frenchman slugging
Grigor Dimitrov 6-1, 6-3 for a career-first semi-final in the
principality where he had never previously been past the third round.
The flamboyant Monfils followed up on his surprise victory against Roger
Federer in the previous round while Bulgarian ninth seed Dimitrov came
onto the clay as just a shadow of the player who knocked out holder Stan
Wawrinka on Thursday with the loss of just three games.
"I'm just very happy," said
Monfils. "For sure I'm surprised because this is not a period where I've
played my best tennis so far."
Monfils,
levelling his career in Monaco to 8-8, will next take on Tomas Berdych,
who advanced into the final four as opponent Milos Raonic retired with a
right foot injury.
Monfils stands 1-5 against the sixth-seeded Czech, who won his 26th match of the season when Raonic quit.
Sixth
seed Berdych, now 2-3 against Raonic, spent just 31 minutes on court
against an opponent carrying the existing handicap into the match.
Berdych
has yet to drop a set this week and was in total charge through his
brief encounter with Raonic, striking 10 winners and breaking twice.
Berdych
will be playing in his 18th semi-final at the Masters 1000 level; he
also played Monte Carlo semis in 2007 (lost to Nadal) and 2012 (lost to
Djokovic).
"I'm in the
semi-final, which is good. It's positive to me," said Berdych, "But of
course, it's not the ideal way that you want to finish the match."
Source:AFP
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