David Ferrer looks to reach the last four of the Paris Masters for the first time when he plays John Isner on Friday.
Like many of the top players, Ferrer has struggled in Paris in the past and this is the first time he's made the quarter-finals since 2007. The slower surface this year is definitely helping him and he's looked strong in both his matches so far, seeing off Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 6-4 and then the dangerous Alex Dolgopolov 6-3. 6-2.
Ferrer's returning was superb against Dolgopolov and he'll need to be equally sharp against the big serving Isner. The Paris courts may be slower than they used to be but they're still just as bouncy as Isner's serve kicks harder than almost anyone else.
He survived an epic opening round encounter with Stanislas Wawrinka, taking that one 6-7(3), 7-5, 7-6(5) and things have been plain sailing since then. Surprisingly enough for a player of his quality, this is Isner's first Masters 1000 quarter-final and he reached it with an emphatic 6-4, 6-2 win over Feliciano Lopez.
Unfortunately for the American, injury prevented him from immediately building upon his fine performance at the US Open and his return to action in Valencia last week was his first tournament in two months.
Ferrer leads 3-0 on the head-to-head but they have never played indoors. Look for Isner to come through this in three sets for his first win over the Spaniard.
