Ferrer ousts Nadal in Monte Carlo QFs

Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France (SportsNetwork.com) - David Ferrer stunned eight-time champion Rafael Nadal in a quarterfinal Friday at the $4 million Monte Carlo Masters tennis event.

The sixth-seeded 2011 Monte Carlo runner-up to Nadal, Ferrer, upset the world No. 1 Nadal 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 on the red clay at Monte Carlo Country Club, where Nadal had won a record eighth straight titles before losing to Novak Djokovic in last year's blockbuster finale. This marks Nadal's earliest exit in Monte Carlo in 11 years.

Nadal piled up 44 unforced errors and was broken four times, while Ferrer lost his own serve three times in the 2-hour, 13-minute affair on Day 6.

On Thursday, Nadal became just the 11th man in the Open Era to reach 300 wins on clay.

Ferrer exacted a bit of revenge on Nadal, who prevailed between the two Spanish stars in last year's French Open final. Ferrer hadn't beaten Nadal on clay since 2004 and is now 6-21 overall against the brilliant left-hander, including wins in two of their last three matchups.

Nadal is now 50-3 overall in Monte Carlo, including losses in two of his last four matches here.

The 27-year-old superstar was the Miami Masters runner-up to Djokovic last month and had reached the final in four of his first five tournaments this season.

Ferrer's semifinal opponent on Saturday will be third-seeded Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka, who took care of eighth-seeded Canadian slugger Milos Raonic 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 at the first clay court Masters event of the year.

"I know I am supposed to be among the favorites, but every time I play a match I am in the state of mind of a challenger who is trying to win an additional match," Wawrinka said.

The 2014 Monte Carlo winner will collect $760,000.