Jurgen Melzer looks to avenge his Monte Carlo defeat to David Ferrer when the duo meet in the Barcelona Open quarters on Friday.
Melzer scored one of the finest victories of his career in the last eight of the Monte Carlo Masters last week when he outplayed Roger Federer in straight sets. However the Austrian was brought swiftly down to earth a day later by the tenacious Ferrer who cruised into his first final in Monaco.
It is a tough ask for Melzer to get revenge this week as Barcelona is one of Ferrer's favourite venues on tour. Apart from Nadal, no other player has enjoyed such consistent success in Barcelona in recent years. He has yet to be troubled so far this week, cruising past both Victor Hanescu and Carlos Berlocq in straight sets.
However Melzer is full of confidence in his game right now. “I started off really well last week and then lost the momentum and my game. So, it’s nice to get the chance a week later to play him again and I’ll try my best to make it a little better than last week," he said. "I’m happy with my clay-court season so far, reaching the semis in Monte-Carlo and then being already in the quarter-finals here,” assessed Melzer. “I’ve been beating good players lately on clay and my confidence is high. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the clay-court season."
Ferrer though has been playing just that bit better and even troubled Nadal at times in Sunday's Monte Carlo final. He dropped just nine points on serve against Hanescu in the third round.
Prediction: Ferrer in two
