time defending champion Rafael Nadal of Spain and Swiss star Roger Federer coasted into the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters with straight-sets wins Thursday. Nadal, the five-time French Open champion, was rarely troubled and beat Richard Gasquet of France 6-2, 6-4 to chalk up his 34th straight win at the tournament. The top-ranked Spaniard remains on course for a fourth Monte Carlo final against Federer, after the 16-time Grand Slam champion's comfortable 6-4, 6-3 win against 15th-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia. “I think I was consistent,” said the second-seeded Federer, who lost to Nadal in three Monte Carlo finals from 2006-08. Federer next plays seventh-seeded Jurgen Melzer of Austria, while Nadal faces veteran Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia, the former world No. 3. Nadal has lost his last three finals — once to Federer and twice against second-ranked Novak Djokovic — and is without a title since winning the Japan Open last October. He felt he was far more aggressive than he was against Finland's Jarkko Nieminen Wednesday. Nadal had a brief wobble when the 13th-seeded Gasquet picked up his form late in the second set, breaking the five-time French Open champion's serve with a superb crosscourt winner from the back of the court to level at 4-4. But Gasquet, who lost in the Monte Carlo semifinals to Nadal in 2005, hurried his shots in the next game, going for spectacular forehand winners, and Nadal broke back. Federer once again looked sharp, just as he did when he beat Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber in just 50 minutes in the second round. Federer won 79 percent of first-serve points and 75 percent on second, breaking Cilic once in each set. Third-seeded Andy Murray and fourth-seeded David Ferrer enjoyed comfortable wins Thursday. Murray saw off a hobbling Gilles Simon 6-3, 6-3. Frenchman Simon turned his right ankle jumping up to play a forehand from the baseline at the end of the first set and completed the match with heavy strapping on the affected area. Murray was jeered by fans throughout the second set for playing several drop shots that Simon could not return. “Well, you just got to deal with it. I wasn't doing anything wrong,” Murray said. Simon is optimistic his sore ankle will heal within a few days. Murray will next face Portuguese qualifier Frederico Gil, who upset the eighth-seeded Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (6), 6-2. “I know a lot about him,” Murray said. “We played a little bit in the juniors around the same time.” Ferrer was far too experienced for 20-year-old Canadian Milos Raonic, winning 6-1, 6-3. The Spaniard dictated most of the rallies and pegged Raonic behind the baseline. The big-serving Raonic rarely threatened, managing only one ace and losing his own serve five times. Ferrer next faces 11th-seeded Viktor Troicki of Serbia, who was trailing 3-6, 2-1 when Spaniard Tommy Robredo retired with a left adductor injury. Ljubicic beat fifth-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-2 to reach his third quarterfinal of the season, while Melzer won 6-1, 6-4 against No. 9 Nicolas Almagro of Spain.
