In a rematch of the last year’s men’s singles final, David Ferrer will face Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals of the French Open 2014 on Wednesday. Ferrer advanced to the final eight after eliminating Kevin Anderson of South Africa 6=3, 6-3, 6-7, 6-1.
The blockbuster Nadal vs Ferrer quarterfinal will certainly pique the interest of fans considering that Ferrer defeated Nadal for the first time on clay in 10 years at the Monte Carlo Masters quarterfinals.
“I will try to do my best,” said Ferrer. “I will try to play aggressively with my forehand and try to finish the points at the net. But of course it’s going to be difficult with Rafael on a clay court. Tactically, I will have to be perfect. I hope that I will instill some doubts in Rafa’s mind, but if we play at our best level, both of us, he will be the better player. So I will pull out all the stops to play well without making errors, and we’ll see what’s going to happen.
“I was very nervous [last year in the final]. I was jittery. It was a little bit too much for me. But now I’m calmer, I’ve had time to adapt. I think that I will be calmer, more serene, but I don’t know exactly what will be my state of mind when I play against Rafa. I won’t think about the final that took place last year.”
As for Anderson, it’s back in the drawing board and he couldn’t help but feel disappoint since he’s just a match away from achieving his first career Grand Slam quarterfinal.
“It’s disappointing not being able to get through this hurdle and make my first quarters of a slam,” said Anderson. “But I thought there was a lot of positives from today’s match. At the same time, it was difficult. It’s not easy playing him here; he doesn’t let up at all. I was able to really stay with him in the third, and felt at the end I was playing some really good tennis.”
