Monte Carlo Site
April 15, 2024
The battle of Monte-Carlo champions takes place in Saturday's first semifinal as No. 6 seed and defending champ Guillermo Coria of Argentina plays 2002-2003 winner Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain.
Ferrero leads the series 2-1, having won the previous two clay court meetings in the third round at Roland Garros in 2002 and in the Monte-Carlo final two years ago. Coria won the last meeting 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 in the third round of this year's Australian Open.
Both players have outstanding career records in Monte-Carlo with Ferrero holding a 20-3 mark and Coria coming in with a 19-3 slate.
In the second semifinal, two of the bright young stars on the ATP circuit square off in a battle of 18-year-olds as French qualifier Richard Gasquet takes on No. 11 seed Rafael Nadal of Spain. Nadal, who turns 19 on June 3, is 15 days older than Gasquet.
This will be their third career meeting (tied 1-1) but only the second in an ATP tournament. Gasquet won the first time in a French Challenger in 2003 when the Spaniard retired with an injury but Nadal won in three sets in the second round in Estoril on April 15, 2004. In that match, Nadal suffered a left ankle injury and he was sidelined for the next three months.
The winner will be the first teenager to reach the Monte-Carlo final since 1994 when 19-year-old Andrei Medvedev captured the title (d. Bruguera). In 1983, Mats Wilander at 18 years, 7 months, captured the title (d. Purcell) to become the youngest champion in the Open Era.
Gasquet, who is the first Frenchman to reach the Monte-Carlo semifinals since Sebastien Grosjean in 2002, is playing in his first ATP tournament of the season. He is coming off back-to-back Challenger titles in Barletta and Napoli, Italy. He enters the semifinals having won his last 16 matches, including two in qualifying here and four in the main draw.
Gasquet is also the first qualifier to reach the Monte-Carlo semifinals since Italian Corrado Barazzutti in 1983. He lost to eventual champion Wilander in the semis.
Nadal has only dropped 14 games in his first four matches and he is attempting to reach his second straight ATP Masters Series final after losing to Federer in five sets in Miami.
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