David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro clashed in the first of the men's quarter-finals in a potentiall exciting all-Spanish encounter.
Almagro defied the odds to win the first two sets and found himself serving for the match in the third.
However, a combination of poor tennis from him and fantastic play from Ferrer saw the latter recover to win the final three sets and take the match 4-6 4-6 7-5 7-6[4] 6-2.
Read below how the action unfolded.
Hello all. Thanks for joining me for this second quarter-final of the day. This should be a belter between the Spaniards Ferrer and Almagro.
Ferrer, seeded fourth, must surely be the best man in the Open era yet to reach a Slam final. His best performance here was the semi-finals in 2011.
Almagro, seeded 10th, has never been past a quarter-final.
Warm-ups just about done, Ferrer will serve when we get underway.
I can't look beyond Ferrer here. I hope, however, that it at least goes to four sets.
Fantastic start from Ferrer. Two aces begin this contest.
He then gets on top of a rally with Almagro going long and wins the opening game after a 26-shot rally. Very good start from Ferrer.
Almagro starts well too, with Ferrer unable to return his first serve.
The 10th seed opens with a love game, he couldn't ask for any more than that. Both men comfortable in their opening service games.
What a backhand from Almagro. One-handed right across the court, superb.
Despite that shot, Ferrer holds comfortably again, finishing off with a forehand that Almagro cannot return. No chance of a break for Almagro so far.
Ferrer pulls back to 30-30 from 30-0, could he get a sniff of a break here?
He does at deuce, but after a good baseline rally Almagro earns the game point with a smash at the net after working Ferrer around the court.
Ferrer is just about on top of this as he holds to love. Absolutely perfect serving from him and Almagro will be wondering when his chance might come.
Almagro managing to run Ferrer all over the court on some points, which really is not a common sight in tennis.
Ferrer steers a marvellous return back past Almagro and suddenly it's 40-30 from 40-0.
But Almagro once more pulls off a sublime backhand right down the line. What a way to hold and it's still with serve half way through this set.
Almagro turns defence into attack to take the first point of the next Ferrer service game.
It's now 15-40 and the first break points go to Almagro.
BREAK! Really expansive tennis from Almagro. He completely dominated the Ferrer serve in that game and deservedly breaks. This will be a big test of Ferrer now, can he respond straight away?
Almagro consolidates the break to 15 and is now just one game away form the opening set. He's been thoroughly impressive here and is well on top right now.
Absolutely booming backhand from Almagro. That was hit so hard even Ferrer had no hope of returning it. Thumping shot.
After that fantastic shot, Ferrer recovered really well and finished the game with his fifth ace. Almagro must serve for the set.
Strong start from Almagro, he's 30-0 up. This doesn't look like a man who has been beaten 12 times by his opponent.
Again that backhand from Almagro! He had to reach low but it flew down the line for a superb winner and set point.
SET! A double fault follows, but he did more than enough in that set to take it. Emphatic start from him, can he keep up that level in the second set?
An ace takes Ferrer to 30-0.
Almagro brings it to 30-30 but Ferrer steps into a monstrous forehand before finishing it off with ace number seven. Good start from him, now can he get into his opponent's serve?
Ferrer simple cannot respond if Almagro's serving is to stay hard and accurate. The 10th seed takes this one after a solid one-two with a forehand that Ferrer cannot get back over the net.
Excellent stuff from Ferrer, who wraps up a service game to love that will surely give him a bit of a confidence boost. His ego has certainly taken a hit after that first set.
Almagro still comfortable on serve. He's 40-15 up here.
Another service hold and just the one break so far. Neither player has had a say in terms of breaks so far this set.
Superb from Ferrer. He runs Almagro around the court before unleashing that backhand down the line for 15-15.
Ferrer is giving himself a hard time here, screaming at himself on every error.
BREAK! Almagro digs in on the Ferrer serve and converts only the second break point of the match. Both men were shouting at themselves in that game but Almagro gets the set and 3-2 lead.
Ferrer is misplacing too many shots now. Twice he goes wide at the start of this one and it's 30-0.
An ace and a well-worked forehand winner give Almagro an easy service game to consolidate his break. It's not looking good for Ferrer right now.
Ferrer responds well with a love game of his own, but he needs to start making inroads into the Almagro serve.
Here is perhaps his chance. He's up 0-30. Big test of Almagro's serve.
Now two break points. His first.
Almagro saves both, the second with a huge serve down the middle.
Once more there's that backhand down the line! Four times he's hit winners from deep that Ferrer hasn't got close to.
From 15-40 down Almagro holds. Ferrer's chance to level the sets has gone, and it was once more down to brilliant hitting from his opponent. Ferrer to serve to stay in it.
BREAKING! The order of play for the second set of quarter-finals tomorrow has been announced. Take a look here.
Ferrer does seem to be turning the screw, certainly on his serve. He's 40-0 up but desperately needs to break.
Almagro gets a couple back with another good backhand but Ferrer holds to make Almagro serve out the set, if he can.
SET! Just as he did last set, Almagro serves out easily and he's now two up. If Ferrer is going to win this he'll need to take it in five. He'll also need to improve!
This seems like a good place to take a break. Michael Penkman is on hand to describe the next half an hour. A huge 30 minutes in Ferrer's tournament.
Thanks Matt. Yes indeed, it is a crucial 30 minutes in which I join you. If he can get an early break then who knows what could happen.
Ferrer quickly gets to 30-0, before ripping an inside out forehand winner to go within a point of holding. He finishes with an ace to go ahead. Can he do anything on Almagro's serve now?
Almagro goes long with a backhand, which has been working well for him so far. That gets Ferrer to 15-30, but some brutal hitting from Almagro sees him square up at 30-30. Ferrer was scrambling and gave his opponent an easy chance to smash a volley at the net.
Ferrer attacks Almagro's serve with a brilliant forehand down the line before coming into the net. Almagro can't find the pass. That brings up break point but Ferrer rifles the ball into the net. Deuce.
The fifth seed continues to make the errors. Almagro blasts another ace to hold after Ferrer found the net at deuce.
Ferrer once again claims the first two points on his serve, before Almagro rushes the net. Ferrer puts too much into the cross-court pass, but a couple of errors from Almagro sees him hold.
Ferrer is missing quite a bit. He had Almagro on the move from side to side there, but dragged a forehand into the tramlines.
Almagro holds, but it's Ferrer who continues to baffle with uncharacteristically poor play. His opponent isn't really having to work very hard for this, although that may seem unfair to Almagro, who has played very well.
It's a comfortable hold for Ferrer. He really needs to step up to the Almagro serve here, because he's not even testing it at the moment.
Strange request from Almagro. He's asking the umpire where he lost his challenge in this set. "It was on the centre service line," the umpire reminds him, after checking with someone on his hand radio.
Never seen Ferrer surrender so meekly. He's still on serve in this set, but took just one point off Almagro in that last game. He just doesn't look himself today.
Ferrer goes for a drop shot, but finds only the net. The shot wasn't really on and Almagro was going to close it down. He's run out of idea, the fifth seed. He screams into his towel in frustration as Almagro is 0-30 up.
BREAK! Now the racquet is slammed into the plexicushion with Almagro three break points to the good. Ferrer then goes long to confirm a break to love. Almagro sailing through now.
Right, I'm handing back over to Matt now as victory looks all but certain for Almagro. Bye for now folks.
Thanks, Michael. We're at 15-15 in Federer's response to break straight back. Which he has to do, really.
Ferrer gets himself into a rally but again uncharacteristically misses with a backhand for 40-30 Almagro.
The 10th seed finishes with an ace, and is now one game away from a first win over Ferrer and a first semi-final appearance.
What a forehand from Ferrer to go up 40-0 in this game and an ace sees him take a love game and put the pressure on Almagro to see it out. He's taken 40-0 in both the previous sets, but this is a different ask entirely.
Possibly the biggest service game of his career to date this for Almagro... he starts fantastically well with a few big forehands.
Ferrer goes up 15-30 with some excellent movement and footwork. A slight look-in here.
Oh what a forehand! He works this point all over the court and steps into a thunderous forehand right down the line. Two huge break points.
An ace saves the first!
Before bold net play allows Almagro to finish with the volley with the whole court to aim at. Deuce.
Another break point after Almagro starts to tighten up.
BREAK! Oh it's game on now! That was a game with top five player in the world written all over it. He's back on serve and picks up his first break at the very last time of asking!
Oh he's turning it on now! An unbelievable backhand on the run goes flashing past Almagro on his near side.
Now Almagro must serve to save the net. Quite a turnaround these last few minutes and we've started to see the best of Ferrer. There's just a sense here... can he take it all the way? You bet he can, but there's a mountain to climb first, starting with a break here or a tie break win.
The spring is back in his step now as Ferrer gets it to 0-30.
SET! He looked down and out but Ferrer breaks again after Almagro goes long. Four games straight for Ferrer and you just feel this is going to five. You have to feel for Almagro who was a couple of points away form victory, but he can only bame himself really.
How can Almagro respond here? He has to be deflated and now Ferrer is using his entire repertoire - a sublime drop shot on display just then.
And the fourth seed takes another love game. That's nine straight points as well, Almagro has to go back to the tennis he played for almost three sets.
Now Ferrer is up 15-30 on the Almagro serve. The 27-year-old is missing all the shots he was making in the previous couple of hours. However, he responds with a lovely subtle pass.
A good hold from Almagro from behind. It was vital that he regained his composure and he did with a few big serves that got him out of trouble.
Now Almagro is up 0-30 on the Ferrer serve.
He misses a simple return forehand to let Ferrer back in but he now has two big break points.
BREAK! Fantastic conversion rate from Almagro on break points. He has four from four! Ferrer had regained his form but has let Almagro back in. He's furious with himself! Can Almagro hang on in this set after throwing away the last one?
Uneblievable point at 0-40. Ferrer defends three straight smashes before finally Almagro wrong-foots him for the winner.
BREAK! Ferrer responds immediately. Despite that point Almagro was poor and again we're back on serve.
It's a Jekyll and Hyde performance from Almagro. Since the chance to serve for the set Almagro has thrown so many points away. Ferrer is playing far better but Almagro is beating himself as well.
Now would be a good time for a Ferrer break, so Almagro must hold. He's started well and is 30-0 up.
A double fault and sublime forehand accuracy from Ferrer levels it at 30-30.
He just about holds after severe Ferrer pressure. Almagro's service games are getting longer while Ferrer's are flying by at the moment.
Better from Almagro. He attacks the serve and finishes off with a good forehand down the line.
Brilliant! Both men play some big shots in a rally but that backhand returns for Almagro and he's 0-30 up. Can he take advantage?
Again the backhand gets the point and he's got two break points.
BREAK! Four from four in breaks becomes five from five. Incredible conversion rate from Almagro and he earned that one with a couple of huge backhands. Pressure right back on Ferrer.
Great start from Almagro. Two aces to go 30-0 ahead.
Ferrer fights his way back into it with some deep, corner forehands and it's 30-30.
How did he win that point Ferrer? Almagro throws down a huge ace and follow-up forehand but Federer defends before winning with a forehand of his own. Break point.
BREAK! He's done it again! This time it's taken the very, very best of Ferrer. The winner is a splendid soft-handed volley from a powerful Almagro passing attempt. Back with serve.
That Ferrer forehand is on fire now. He crafts a superb point, that is finished with Almagro hitting the net for 30-15.
Backhand down the line from Almagro, and that's the best of his five or six today. Incredible to bring it to deuce.
Break point.. Remember he's five from five..
BREAK! The remarkable 100% break point conversion continues! Almagro breaks again and he again serves for the match. Three breaks running in this match and Ferrer needs a fourth to save the match.
First point to Ferrer, with some more forehands right into the corners.
Now two break points Ferrer.. is Almagro about to choke again?
Almagro saves the second with an unbelievable forehand from deep in the shadows!
BREAK! What a huge break for Ferrer! Both men played some great tennis in that game, but Almagro makes the crucial error and he's thrown it away again!
Almagro finds himself up 15-30 here. Surely we won't see break number five running?
We may well - its not 15-40. With his 100% conversion rate, it looks good.
They've both gone! The second one he's on top of the point but puts a backhand long. Poor.
BREAK! Ferrer saves a series of break points but they keep coming and eventually Almagro takes one. Third time lucky serving for the match? Ferrer is fuming at himself, a rare display of emotion today.
Maybe the new balls will do him good. Good start, volleying for 15-0.
Ferrer is now up 15-30. Almagro battles on Ferrer's serve but seems to lose fight on his own. Now 15-40!
BREAK! Just unbelievable! Almagro throws it away for the third time and we're in a tie-break.
Ferrer up 2-1 with the mini-break. Dangerously close to five sets this!
Superb backhand again from Almagro saves it from being 4-1. Instead, it's 3-2 and back on serve.
He levels it with a smash, but has hurt himself there. He's feeling his groin.
Just brilliant from Ferrer. Backhands, forehands and a winner at the net. 5-3
Set point now at 6-3.
It will indeed be a fifth set. Almagro has had three chances to serve for the match but instead they'll play a decider. You can't look beyond Ferrer now.
It just seemed so obvious that Almagro would struggle to get the win after setting it up. Credit to Ferrer, his fightback has been exceptional, but he should thank Almagro at least as much.
So, three and a quarter hours after we started, we're down to a one-set decider. Almagro serving first. He got some treatment after that set and isn't moving as freely.
He had to save a couple of break points there, but Almagro does get the hold. An important one, too, finished with aplomb and an ace out wide.
Almagro just went back out to the court without his racquet! That won't do him much good.
Almagro's shots are all being played from a standing position. He's not lively at all out there. Ferrer holds and you sense one break would do it for him.
It's not good to see a player unable to move properly, but then again he should have wrapped this one up more than an hour ago. Ferrer is 15-30 up.
Despite that, he does hold and we still have no break in this set.
Very little resistance from Almagro on the Ferrer serve. He holds to love and is quickly level. It's a matter of time for the Ferrer break, I think.
At 0-30, Almagro hits a good ace to get back in the game.
BREAK! There it is. Ferrer breaks, and is ahead for the first time in the match. I don't see Almagro fighting back now.
Almagro not done yet. He hammers a rising second serve right down the line for a winner.
Almagro causes a little scare at 15-30 but Ferrer is able to hold. You know he's completely focused on seeing this out now.
BREAK! Ferrer is cruising now as much as Almagro is limping. He breaks with a perfect lob, and I mean inch perfect, to move to withing one game. He will serve for the match.
GAME, SET AND MATCH! No problems for Ferrer seeing out the match. He shows Almagro how it is done and the younger of the two will be ruing a huge missed chance to reach his first Slam semi-final.
That's it from me on this one. I'll be on Makarova vs. Sharapova shortly. See you over there.
Written by
Matt Domm
Matt Domm
