Two-time champion Novak Djokovic set up a quarterfinal clash with fifth seed David Ferrer in the Rome Masters, after beating Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round on Thursday.
Djokovic, who is playing his first tournament since Monte Carlo Masters, rallied back after losing the first set to down the world number 29 Kohlschreiber.
Spaniard Ferrer, on the other hand, registered a routine straight set victory over Ernests Gulbis to move into the last eight at the Foro Italico. Ferrer forced Gulbis to make errors throughout the match.
The Spaniard, who finished as the runner-up in 2010, wrapped up the match in just 72 minutes, overpowering the Latvian 6-2 6-3.
"[Ferrer] has had an incredible career overall, but especially on clay," said Djokovic. "It's going to be a big challenge and we'll see where my game is."
Seven-time Rome Masters champion Rafael Nadal, who prevailed over Mikhail Youzhny in third round, will face Britain's Andy Murray in another quarterfinal clash at the Foro Italico.
Nadal continued to struggle in the windy conditions at Rome and only managed to beat Youzhny after losing the first set. The defending champion had earlier faced stiff competition from Frenchman Gilles Simon in the second round.
"Get used to it. With the years everybody suffers. It is part of the sport, part of everybody's career. It is normal in tennis," Nadal said. "I will not suffer that much if I am serving for the set, but it was difficult [in the wind] today. You don't want to be that long on court like yesterday, but these things happen. It was tough. Conditions today were impossible."
The world number one needs to play with more control against Murray and reduce the unforced errors. The Spaniard said it is going to be a tough match against the Brit but he is confident of beating the Wimbledon Champion.
"Tomorrow is going to be a very tough match. I am confident but I have to do the right things to give myself a chance to win, play with more control, a little bit more speed," Nadal said. "It's going to be hard, playing one of the best players in the world after two tough days. If I don't take my chances I am going to be spending the weekend in Mallorca."
Murray, who registered a straight set victory over Austrian Jurgen Melzer, said he was waiting to test himself against Nadal, before heading to the French Open and the Wimbledon. He added that it would be interesting to see how Nadal has changed his game of late.
"It would not be a bad thing for me to play against Nadal," Murray said. "Because I haven't played him for three years. I haven't practised with him hardly at all either. I used to practise with him quite a lot."
"So I would actually be quite interested to play against him before the French Open and Wimbledon, to see how his game has changed and also the things I can do to make it difficult for him," he said.
Where to Watch Live:
[Action starts at 3:30 pm IST, 10:00 am GMT]
Novak Djokovic v David Ferrer starts at 7:30 pm IST, 2:00 pm GMT.
Rafael Nadal v Andy Murray starts at 12:30 am IST, 7:00 pm GMT.
The live coverage will be on Ten Action in India. Global online viewers can live stream the live action HERE, HERE or HERE. ESPN will have live coverage for the US and Australia but to watch the action live online, click HERE or HERE.
