Rafael Nadal of Spain puts on a headband during his men's singles match against Robby Ginepri of the U.S. at the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris May 26, 2014.
Rafael Nadal of Spain puts on a headband during his men's singles match against Robby Ginepri of the U.S. at the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris May 26, 2014. REUTERS

Ernests Gulbis pulled off the upset against Tomas Berdych while Novak Djokovic survived Milos Raonic’s challenge in the first two quarterfinal matches in the men’s singles competition of the 2014 French Open. Two more QF matches are scheduled Wednesday night in Australia; Can David Ferrer (Spain) and Gael Monfils (France) replicate Gulbis’s underdog victory or will Rafael Nadal (Spain) and Andy Murray (Great Britain) come unscathed and advance to the final four?

Betting Odds – Men’s Singles Quarterfinals (Lines via SportsBet, accurate as time of posting)
Gulbis (6.50) vs. Djokovic (1.12)
Nadal (1.16) vs. Ferrer (5.30)

Only Nadal and Ferrer’s draw have lived up to expectations—or at least, how the seeds have played out. Nadal is seeded first and Ferrer, fifth in the clay court championship.

The Spanish compatriots go the separate ways after this match, their 28th career meeting. Nadal has dominated this head-to-head winning 21 of 27 matches.

However, Ferrer has won two of the last three matches including a quarterfinals win at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo, Monaco last April. Ferrer won in straight sets in that one, 7-6(1), 6-4. His other victory came at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 in Paris, France last October 2013.

The 32-year-old Ferrer admitted he is the underdog in the match but remains positive about his chances.

“I hope that I will instill some doubt in Rafa's mind, but if we play at our best level, both of us, he will be the better player,” Ferrer said in the tournament’s official website.

“I was very nervous. I was jittery. It was a little bit too much for me, but I'm calmer, I’ve had time to adapt,” added Ferrer referring to last year’s Roland Garros final where he lost in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 to Nadal.

Meanwhile, the 23rd-seeded Monfils is the lone representative from the home country left to contend for the title and he needs to defeat 7th seed Murray to continue waving the flag for France. The pair has not met in an ATP tournament since 2010 when Monfils beat Murray, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 in Paris, France.