Frenchman Gael Monfils and Brit Andy Murray will square off for a spot in the Roland Garros 2014 semifinal on Wednesday after the two reached the quarterfinals with straight sets wins on Monday.
“It’s going to be an exciting match,” said Murray. “I’m sure there will be some fun rallies. There always is when I have played against him.
“We haven’t played against each other for quite a while, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Monfils defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 on Monday. It was the latter who made the first big upset of the tournament by eliminating third-seed Stanislas Wawrinka in the opening round.
“I tried to be extremely accurate to make tactical choices in a very accurate way,” said Monfils. “I thought it went well. Every day, I gather more steam and power, and every time I win, then I improve and I play better.”
Meanwhile, Murray advanced after getting past 24th seed Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 in almost three hours. It was a different result from his previous round where he needed two days to dismiss Philipp Kohlschreiber in a five-set match that ended 12-10 in the decided.
“I was tired after the match against Kohlschreiber,” Murray revealed. “I thought I dictated as many points as I could today. It’s not always possible, because you’re playing against top tennis players. He’s got a lot of firepower as well. Did a good job of that.”
