Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov flirted with a massive upset before Rafael Nadal managed to restore normal service as the Spaniard earned a tight 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 win in the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters on Friday. Nadal, bidding for an unprecedented ninth straight trophy at an event which he has dominated, was given a huge fright by Dimitrov, who fell victim to leg cramp in the closing moments of a thriller lasting just over two hours.
One of the closest calls of Nadal's clay career ended as the Spaniard won his 45th straight Monte Carlo match. He lost a set here for only the third time since 2009. Dimitrov, feeling his left thigh, managed to save a Nadal match point with a rifling winner down the line which left him doubled over in pain. A few moments later, Nadal fired over his second ace of a dramatic afternoon to take the win.
Nadal, whose only loss here came back in 2003, produced some 36 unforced errors while the 34th-ranked Dimitrov struck 28 winners. Third seed Nadal will now have to prepare for a semi-final against confident Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who earlier advanced against Stanislas Wawrinka, winning 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. Wawrinka, the 13th seed, saved four match points - three on his own serve in the penultimate game - before Tsonga bulldozed to victory in just over two hours on the clay. Tsonga ended with his sixth ace in a match where he fended off 10 Wawrinka break points from 12 chances for the Swiss. And he will now gather his strength for his match on Saturday against Nadal.