David Ferrer continued his charge through the men’s draw with another efficient display to win through to the last eight. Today’s casualty was his Davis Cup team-mate Marcel Granollers, seeded No.20 here. For the fourth time in as many outings at Roland Garros 2012, Ferrer was never in anything you could seriously call trouble. He won 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 in an hour and 51 minutes, to equal his best career display at Roland Garros.Granollers too has had a good tournament, with this fourth round appearance his best Slam performance to date. But on a frankly chilly Philippe Chatrier court, he became the latest contender to fall victim to Ferrer’s trick of making his opponents play badly, a skill noted by Mats Wilander. The seven-time Slam winner (including three on the Parisian clay) says Ferrer’s expertise is so subtle that he leaves opponents puzzled as to exactly how he wins so many matches. But Wilander made it plain he would be delighted if Ferrer can capture a Slam title because it would be a triumph of dedication.
Certainly many here see Ferrer as a worthier member of the Big Four than his potential quarter-final opponent Andy Murray. But whether he can translate that into an actual Slam victory, particularly this year, is harder to see. Nonetheless, this fourth-round outing was right up his street, as he took his opponent to multiple deuces in Granollers’ opening service game. It was only a matter of time before the defences crumbled. At 3-2 Ferrer brought up his third break point of the game by outfoxing Granollers with a drop shot followed by a perfect ball down the line (not the last time he would use that combination to crushing effect). Granollers, who is just the sixth-ranked Spaniard here despite his seeding, double faulted and it was 2-4. Aside from one thoroughly atypical love game, he always looked vulnerable on service.
Granollers did however manage to carve out two chances. Ferrer was serving for the set and unexpectedly put the ball wide for break point. A 23-stroke rally forced Granollers further and further into a defensive corner and left him nowhere to go. Then Ferrer sent the ball long again, and another long rally drew a further error from Granollers. That was the nearest Ferrer came to a crisis, even though it was a set where he made more errors than Granollers. Crucially Ferrer produced even more winners, and he served it out 6-3 in 44 minutes.
The second set opened with a 13-minute game as Ferrer cemented his advantage. He brought up his fourth break point with a backhand volley, and converted with a wrong-footing forehand. At 0-2 it was raining on Granollers’ parade and also on Chatrier, although play continued. At 3-1 Ferrer forced the pace once more, racing to the net to reach a seemingly perfect drop shot and send it down the line to move clear at 4-1. Granollers had little left to give and captured just one more game before the match was done.
Commented Ferrer after the win: "It's a series of reasons why I have reached quarterfinals, why this year is my best performance at Roland Garros. It's true that in the past three or four ‑ well, four matches ‑ I felt really comfortable. I felt really at ease. I think I have to continue this way. Next match I will be playing will probably be a difficult match to play, but I'll have to continue and be positive. I should try and reach semifinals. I've never managed to go beyond the level of quarterfinals. I managed at the US Open but never on clay, so I will have to continue and make even more effort."
Nicolas Almagro, meanwhile, continued his incredible run that began in the first round of the Nice Open. Since that match, the Spanish no.12 seed has yet to drop a set, winning the tournament in the south of France and racing into the quarter-finals here. Almagro's latest victim was Janko Tipsarevic, no less, the no.8 seed from Serbia. Tipsarevic was outplayed in every part of the game by the Spaniard who must be starting to feel invincible, such is his form. The clay-court specialist is about to find out, as he faces the winner of the Juan Monaco-Rafael Nadal match this afternoon.
Almagro was understandably delighted to reach the last eight: "Yes, of course I'm very happy. I think I played great tennis today. The day was a little bit cloudy, but now it's really sunny for me. (Smiling.) Now that win is one of the best moments of my career, and I want to enjoy and I'm very happy with my tennis."
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was a mightily relieved man when he converted his second match point on Stanislav Wawrinska's serve to win 6-4, 7-6(6), 3-6, 3-6, 6-4. The French fifth seed had come into the match carried over from last night with a 4-2 lead and lost the first game to relinquish his precious break. The Swiss then drew level at 4-4 and a potentially tight, drawn-out conclusion looked likely. No doubt annoyed at letting his lead slip, Tsonga had other ideas, running around his forehand to smash winners in the next two games and grasp victory from the valiant Wawrinka. Providing he makes full use of that devastating forehand in tomorrow's quarter-final, the Frenchman must have a (small) chance. Especially if Djokovic starts as sluggishly as he did against Andreas Seppi in the last round...
Juan Martin Del Potro took up where he left off last night, carving out a 7-6(6), 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 win over Tomas Berdych by taking the fourth set he required. Leading two sets to one overnight, the Argentinean no.9 seed broke to lead 2-0, only to relinquish that break in the seventh game. Del Potro looked the more dangerous throughout though, and after he raced into a 0-40 lead in the 12th game he clinched his place in the quarter-final on his first match point when Berdych hit long.
Del Potro was bothered by his heavily strapped knee in the early rounds, but gave no sign of discomfort either yesterday or today. His groundstrokes have been wreaking havoc and Roger Federer will need to bring his A-game against the former US Open champion in the quarter-final. Since missing nearly all of 2010 with a wrist injury, tennis fans have been waiting for the giant South American to get back to his devastating best. He is not there yet, but there are growing signs that the Del Potro of old is back, and the 'Big Four' may become a 'Big Five' on this evidence.
Looking forward to his quarter-final with Roger Federer, Del Potro was upbeat: "I (need to) play an unbelievable match, try to take my opportunities, serve 100%, trying to play winners with my forehand, with my backhand, and put him to raise his game. I don't like to run too much, so I will try to be more aggressive than his game and looking at unbelievable shots."
