Rafa Nadal defeated Richard Gasquet today 6-2, 6-4 Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay-court tennis tournament. Nadal next will face Croatian Ivan Ljubicic, their head to head 5 & 2 for Rafa

“It was a good match," said Gasquet. "But I have regrets about that game at 4-4 [in the second set]. I believe I played at the level of a Top 10 player, but he is one step above.”

“I'm very happy how I played today,” said Nadal. “I think I played much better than yesterday, easier. In general, I think [it] was a very positive victory against a very difficult opponent.”

 “He's a very experienced player,” warned Nadal. “He played well against Berdych. [I] saw him play in the locker room. It's going to be a really difficult match tomorrow. I have to play like today if I want to have chances, and that's what I'm going to try.”

Rafa vs Gasquet (match photos)

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