French Open Preview: Men's singles quarterfinals (Day 10)

(4) David Ferrer vs (32) Tommy Robredo [Head-to-head: Ferrer leads 6-2]

[Last meeting: Buenos Aires 2013 (Clay), SF, Ferrer won 6-3 6-2]

Tommy Robredo has undoubtedly been the story of the tournament (a special piece on this man later). Making comeback after comeback, the man continues to amaze everyone with the sheer force of will and endurance that has seen him come from two sets to love down 3 consecutive times and emerge victorious – all of them against opponents at least 5 years younger than him.

Every match where he’s been on the brink, the fat lady has been told to warm-up, only to be shelved for later for the other guy. His win against No.11 seed Nicolas Almagro in the last round was superhuman. He was down a break in sets 3, 4 and 5 and still somehow managed to extricate himself. By the end of the match, Almagro was very close to tearing his hair out in frustration as he stared in disbelief and witnessed Robredo’s improbable comeback.

Andy Murray‘s pull out from the clay Slam was most beneficial to one man – David Ferrer. It bumped him up to the No.4 seeding which makes the player the top dog of an entire quarter and does make the draw slightly easier. That said, you have to take your opportunities and Spain’s No.2 has quietly gone about his work grinding his opponents into the red dust very efficiently. He has not lost a set so far, though he has had his serve broken quite a few times. That will be a worry as the serve is not a major weapon for him and Robredo is a good returner.

There will be many long rallies with plenty of court being covered as it happens when two clay court experts meet. Court Suzanne Lenglen will turn into a grindhouse as the two Spanish 31-year-olds battle it out for a place in the semifinals. It has been a draining first week for Robredo – both physically and emotionally – and it will be interesting to see if he can endure another long match.

Ferrer, for his part, will not go away. We know that he will chase down every ball and fight for every point, so in a battle of endurance, the 4th seed will definitely have the upper hand. Ferrer will also be aware of the opportunity that Murray’s withdrawal has presented; if he makes it past this round, he will have Tsonga or Federer to contend with, a proposition that he will take on clay as opposed to facing Djokovic or Nadal.

Ferrer should come through this, likely losing a set along the way, but stranger things have happened in tennis and sport.

[Expected start: 7.30 pm IST]