Juan Monaco
World No. 2 Rafael Nadal crushed Juan Monaco 6-2, 6-0, 6-0 Â while Andy Murray recovered from a slow start to take out Richard Gasquet 1-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 on Monday to gain the quarterfinals of the French Open.
Nadal on track to win his seventh Roland Garros was given little resistance by Monaco, facing only two break points in the one hour and 46-minute match.
Nadal spoke about the match: “Well, the first break really helped me considerably. And, also, I think that today is the day when I served really my best serves. My percentage was a bit better than any of my previous percentages. I served faster, as well, which is also something very important. What else could I add?
“The next thing that’s important is that I didn’t make any mistakes. I missed not many points. Pico was starting really hard. I had to move around quite a lot.
“Then I started attacking more, and I realized that he’s not hurting me any longer.
“At the beginning it was good for him, but in reality it was not really the case, you see.
“One could have the impression that he was an attacker, but I was feeling comfortable. I was waiting for “the†moment when I knew I could attack him. You know, when you attack someone and then you counterattack, it’s very difficult.
“I felt, as I said, quite at ease on the court today. Maybe because it was quite heavy out there. I mean, the weather was.
“He was attacking, but he couldn’t take control. He didn’t have the upper hand. You know, when this happens once, twice, or thrice, I can say, you know, I was a bit lucky. I was a bit lucky because I could return all of his points.
Nadal has lost only 19 games on his way to the quarterfinals. Nadal takes on fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro next.
World No. 4 Andy Murray had to take on Richard Gasquet and a hostile French crowd in his four set win on Chatrier court.
“I wouldn’t say it got too much,†Murray said. “ I mean, yeah, it’s almost like playing a sort of a football match. And I like football. I enjoyed I mean, I enjoyed myself on the court today.
“It’s the most fun I’ve had on the court in a while, so I wasn’t so sort of shying away from the fact that the crowd wanted me to lose.â€
In the first set Murray, who has been nursing a back injury the past few weeks, was grabbing his back in the first set and lost it 6-4. As the match progressed Murray gained form and momentum playing without signs of back trouble.
“He obviously started the match well, but, yeah, I started to use the energy from the crowd in a positive way and obviously turned it around and played very well the last few sets,†added Murray.
“He was so lucky during the second set, so many shots, you know, not far away, said Gasquet. “He was so lucky. But then during the beginning of the third set I made a few mistakes.
“But then when he gains confidence, it’s really difficult, because he’s a fighter, and he’s always present. He always hits one time more than you, so he’s really into the match, and then he plays well. He played well during the third and fourth set. It was difficult for me to have the upper hand. He was a difficult player to play against.â€
“For me, a seventh Roland Garros win is not more important than No. 2, No. 3, or No. 4,†Nadal said. What really is important is what it brings me personally. If I win this one, and it’s the seventh one, is it more important than 2006 or 2005? I don’t know.
“It’s a personal feeling, a personal sensation, and, you know, records are all very important. But that’s when you’ve finished playing tennis.  When you finished that, you’ll think about this.
“But, otherwise, when you’re playing, you think about what you have to do daily.â€
The fourth seed Murray moves on to the quarterfinals where he’ll play David Ferrer who straight-setted Janko Tipsarevic.