Tennis:Gael Monfils managed the rare feat of getting a Spanish crowd on his side in a match against Rafa Nadal on Friday but was unable to prevent another clay court masterclass from the four-times French Open champion.
After Nadal had stormed into a one-set lead in their Madrid Open quarter-final, the Frenchman’s antics at 2-2 in the second set briefly had the normally partisan locals behind him on a chilly Manolo Santana centre court at the Magic Box arena.
The 23-year-old's comical protests when a thumping winner was wrongly called out prompted laughter and cheers and he further endeared himself to the fans when he had to wave his arms to attract the attention of a distracted ball girl.
World number three Nadal, bidding for a third straight Masters title of the year on his favoured surface after triumphs in Monte Carlo and Rome, was unfazed and quickly claimed two more breaks of serve to add to a pair in the first set.
A double fault from Monfils on the first match point handed the world number three a 6-1 6-3 victory and a place in tomorrow's semi-finals. Both players were given warm ovations as they left the stadium.
“I enjoy connecting with the crowd,” said Monfils, playing his first clay event of the year after a hand injury, told a news conference. “I played my game as well as I could but I was up against the best clay player on the planet and I lost so what can you do," he added with a Gallic shrug.
If Nadal reaches Sunday's final, he will reclaim the number two ranking from Serb Novak Djokovic, who pulled out of Madrid due to illness, but he will first have to get past compatriot Nicolas Almagro.
The unseeded 24-year-old was on scintillating form against Austrian Juergen Melzer to reach his first Masters Series semi, converting four of his seven break points and not facing a single one on his own serve for a 6-3 6-1 success.