MONTE CARLO: Andy Murray fought though a roller-coaster finish while Rafael Nadal had to hold off a young pretender as both seeds managed wins into the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters on Thursday.

Murray, seeded second and target man of the week after the second-round elimination of Novak Djokovic, scratched out a narrow 2-6, 7-5, 7-5 win over Benoit Paire.

Nadal, the eight-time tournament winner, had to save 15 break points against Dominic Thiem to avoid a second upset loss this season to the 22-year-old Austrian talent.

The Spanish fifth seed finally prevailed 7-5, 6-3 in two hours to put behind a semi-final loss he took against Thiem two months ago in Buenos Aires on clay.

Nadal will next play fellow Roland Garros champion Stan Wawrinka, who put away Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-1, 6-2. Murray will take on the big serve of Milos Raonic in a Friday quarter-final after the Canadian defeated Bosnian Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7/5).

Murray stands 5-4 over Raonic, and defeated the Canadian in an Australian Open semi-final in January.

Murray made a recovery from a set and two breaks down in the second set against Paire as he turned the tide in stuttering fashion against the Frenchman, who admitted this week that his tennis is plagued by doubts and a serious case of nerves.

He proved that point by double-faulting for the eighth time on a Murray match point to end the struggle after more than two and a half hours. The 22nd-ranked Paire also served twice for victory without success.

The Scotsman called his victory “a big win”.

“To win from 6-2, 3-0 down, two breaks, when you’re not playing particularly well, it’s a great effort. These matches are important.

“It would have been easy to lose today and get down on myself. But I kept fighting right the way through to the end,” said Murray.

“The second set was a lot of ups and downs.”

Results:

Third round:

Gael Monfils (FRA x13) bt Jirm Vesel} (CZE) 6-1, 6-2; Roger Federer (SUI x3) bt Roberto Bautista (ESP x14) 6-2, 6-4; Rafael Nadal (ESP x5) bt Dominic Thiem (AUT x12) 7-5, 6-3; Andy Murray (GBR x2) bt Benoit Paire (FRA x16) 2-6, 7-5, 7-5; Milos Raonic (CAN x10) bt Damir Dzumhur (BIH) 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7/5); Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI x4) bt Gilles Simon (FRA x15) 6-1, 6-2.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2016