Rafael Nadal will take on a familiar foe in Mikhail Youzhny in the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open.
Nadal has opted for a new, heavier racket this season to try and pack more of a punch from the back of the court but on Wednesday's evidence, the adjustment is going well. He swept past qualifier Denis Gremelmayr with ease 6-2, 6-2, earning a total of 15 break points against the German's serve.
"I'm trying to play aggressive, I'm trying to return a little bit better, because for me the worst thing I did for most of last year was the return, especially the second half of the year," Nadal said. "I'm so happy with my returns here and happy how a few things have worked well with the new weight of the racket. I'm starting to have good feelings, so that's really important."
Youzhny has battled through a couple of tough three setters. He saw off the hard hitting but inconsistent Ernests Gulbis 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-2 in the opening round before overcoming the serving might of Ivo Karlovic 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-3 in round two.
Nadal and Youzhny know each other's games back to front, this will be their thirteenth career meeting. Youzhny gave Nadal a few headaches earlier on in his career, handing him a thrashing in Chennai a few years back, beating him twice in Dubai and also at the 2006 US Open. However Nadal has had the Russian's measure in recent years, beating him 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 in the 2010 US Open semis.
