Both dropped service games in the opening set before Stan thumped his way to a 7-1 lead to take the tiebreak and the first set.

In the third set Stan stood up to serve for the match having broken Seppi twice but the plucky Italian, spurred on by his home crowd, fought his way back to force a tiebreak.

Again Seppi fell behind in the tiebreak facing match points at 3-6 but with some brilliant play he managed to secure five consecutive points and a place in the quarterfinals.

Since the tie break rule was introduce in Rome in 1971 it was the first time that all three sets had been decided in tie breaks.

Seppi goes into his quarterfinal match against Roger Federer with over 6 hours of court time under his belt.

The new and improved Monaco took the match to Novak in the opening set and took the first break of serve comfortably for a 3-2 lead. It was an extremely focused Monaco who seemed to bully the Serbian around the court, dictating with his forehand.

After wasting two set points at 5-3 Monaco attempted to serve out the set before being forced to defend a break point with an incredible (and gutsy) drop shot.

Eventually, when Monaco finally took the set 6-4, Djokovic demolished his racket as he seemed to struggle to generate racket head speed on his forehand.

Out of nowhere Monaco seemed to lose his concentration after breaking 2-1 in the second set with 20 of 24 points going to Djokovic – the second set disappearing from the Argentinians grasp very quickly.

While Djokovic simply maintained his level Monaco’s game (and luck) disappeared. Within two hours and nineteen minutes the match was over.

Novak will face Jo Wilfried Tsonga or Juan Martin Del Potro in the quarters.

While the former world number four denies making any decisions about the remaining 2012 season it is hard to see him coming back from such an ongoing form of mono.

Federer has also had issues with mono but managed to shake it off. The most marked case was that of Mario Ancic who ultimately retired when he found he just couldn’t get back in the the rhythm of playing because his fatigue was so extreme.

Rafael Nadal is refusing to play in Madrid again on the new blue clay which players have said is markedly different and more slippery than natural clay. The fact that Madrid is now talking about changing the colour of the ball will only irritate Nadal more.

Overnight Nadal fell to his compatriot and close friend Fernando Verdasco in a third round match that he twice had the opportunity to serve out after gaining a 5-2 lead in the third set.

It is the first time Verdasco has beaten Rafa in 14 attempts. He finally won the 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 match in three hours and 11 minutes.

“Movement is very important for me and I couldn’t move. I couldn’t hit ball the way I wanted. I lost because I deserved to lose.

The ATP and the tournament can do what they want, I tried my best, I’ve trained here since Thursday. I was as prepared as I could be. I was not good enough to adapt my game to this court. If things continue like this, it will be very sad.

Next year this will be one less event for my calendar.”

It will be interesting to see if the loss of Nadal, which will be felt heavily in Madrid, will be enough of an incentive to see a change back to normal red clay.

David pushed Rafa for almost three hours but ultimately Nadal secured the title 7-6, 7-5.

Ferrer, it seems, is destined to always be the bridesmaid and never gain a major title despite the fact that he undeniably deserves one for years of consistently grinding the best in the game to within an inch of cramps.

Even Nadal was sympathetic to David’s heartache.

“It’s almost unimaginable to win here seven times. It’s a special tournament for me, at home in my club. To win at home in front of the people you know is always more special. I played at a very high level to win in Monte Carlo and now Barcelona without losing a set, but I’ve been playing at a high level from the beginning of the year starting in Australia.

The emotions are always high, but probably each year they get a bit higher as you are one year older and you don’t know how many chances you are going to have left.

It was a very equal match. He didn’t let me play my best level in the first set. I feel sorry for David and hope he can win here one day because he deserves it. Of course I am very happy to win two titles in a row and to start the clay court season like this.”

Nadal was not willing to have the French Open taken from him and refused to let Djokovic claim a title on the court that has become the House Of Nadal. Rafael claimed his 8th Monte Carlo crown with a 6-3, 6-1 win.

Novak came out of the gates firing, briefly looking to be incredibly sharp given his shaky starts in previous matches.

Nadal’s loopy shots, which other players struggle to control, seemed to be giving Novak ample time to move around the court and prepare himself to strike lethal blow after lethal blow.

Suddenly Djokovic focus seemed to wane slightly and he started throwing in a few errors and the 7 time defending champion broke for a 2-1 lead.

Djokovic’s fluctuations were initially small but poorly timed. Despite some, at times, truly brilliant shot making from the Serb his depth of return was not as consistent as it has been in recent months, allowing Nadal to force himself forward.

With the help of some extra power on his serve and a growing error count from Novak, Nadal broke for a second time to take the first set 6-3.

Nadal looked increasingly hungry as Djokovic’s backhand began breaking down. Again Nadal broke early for a 2-0 lead as he focused on flattening his shots out and looking for more depth.

As Djokovic’s fluctuations became more of a permanent issue the crowd sensed that the Serbian had mentally checked out.

With Nadal serving at 4-0, the match seemingly all but over, Rafa got broken to love after a very average service game. He quickly recovered breaking back before sealing the championship with an ace.

With the victory Nadal resumed his position at the top of the champions who have claimed Masters 1000 titles with 20 to his name. Rafa has now won every single Monte Carlo tournament since 2005 when he was just 18 years old.

Rafa came into this tournament under an injury cloud but with an impressive 234 wins and 18 losses in his clay court career. Simon came in under the radar.

Both players started playing entertaining tennis from the beginning of the match with Simon producing blinding winners that even beat Nadal’s forehand for power, placement and pace.

In the seventh game Simon had two break point chances and forced Nadal to dig deep to find a way out of trouble as the Frenchman took balls on the rise and looked incredibly sharp.

In the next game Simon blinked as the tension mounted after the missed opportunities in the previous game. With a 5-3 lead Nadal served for the first set.

As the wind picked up and Gilles struggled to find his opening form Rafa continued his aggressive play, actively seeking his 8th Monte Carlo title and another chance to break the Djokovic curse.

Again Rafa drew first blood, taking a 2-1 lead, he looked to finally be on the hunt again for scalps on clay rather than looking passive and somewhat jaded like he has for much of the last 18 months.

Nadal showed his touch and power as he fended off break back chances for Gilles before missing a chance for the double break of serve.

Rafa’s girlfriend of 7 years, Xisca Perello, arrived to watch the semi finals and will stay for his eighth consecutive final against Novak Djokovic.

Berdych came into the match playing some solid and powerful tennis while Djokovic came in struggling with his concentration after the death of his grandfather on Thursday.

Novak struggled to keep his emotions in check, being easily irritated by movement within the crowd and many other things he’s learnt to tune out over the last 18 months.

While Tomas played well in the first set he failed to take control of the opportunity of a sub-par Djokovic and quickly fell behind 0-3 in the second set. He failed to pick up his intensity and energy and soon found himself in a third set instead of in the locker room.

The the noticeable difference in the distracted Djokovic is that his shots didn’t have the lethal penetrating depth, particularly on return, anywhere near as consistently as he has since the beginning of 2011.

As top soil blew wildly around the court Djokovic served for the second set against a lackluster Berdych, taking it 6-3.

Seemingly inspired by taking the second set and by watching Berdych fall away, Novak started grunting and forcing his way through the wind to break in the opening game. Novak went about his business finding some depth on his shots while Tomas complained about the extremely windy conditions.

Djokovic dug in, showing why he’s a champion, while Berdych showed why he is yet to fulfill his potential. Tomas has so much power and ball striking ability and yet, once again, he let the conditions and the moment get the better of him.

The last set was particularly disappointing from Tomas as he quickly found himself down 0-4. He failed to find a way to engage himself in the match and instead it quickly came to look like another wasted opportunity on the his resume.

It is likely that Novak will again face Rafa Nadal in what would be their eighth final against each other in little over a year – all won by Novak.

Julien Benneteau was pushing Andy Murray, locking heads with the Scot at 5-5 in the first set. He slid into the corner to retrieve a ball when he hit a bad patch in the court and twisted his ankle horribly. As he lost his balance and fell (screaming in pain) he put his right hand out to break the fall. Instead he damaged his wrist and you can almost see his elbow breaking – the mechanics of which will likely leave him with ligament damage.

Andy Murray ran off to get ice while Benneteau cried and shook on the ground – clearly in agony.

“I have fractured my right elbow and sprained my ankle. The worst thing is the fracture, which means at least three weeks of immobility. I will then have to get the feeling back in my elbow.”

Benneteau’s statement that he will have to be immobilized for three weeks is very optimistic. He wont play Roland Garros and I cant see him being fit for Wimbledon. It is more likely that we wont see Julien for 6 months. This could easily be the end of his season.

Elbows are notoriously difficult. Just ask Justine Henin and Nikolay Davydenko.

Monaco did the borderline impossible and broke Isner’s serve twice in the first set before the lanky American came thundering back. The two did battle for almost two and a half hours.

Isner said despite his slow start he thought, ultimately, it was a high quality match.

“I came out of the gates slow. I wasn’t quite there. It took a while to get warmed up and engaged in the match. I got better as the match went on.

After the first set, the quality from both of us picked up a lot. I had some things go right in the second set. I saved a number of break points. But I had some things go against me in the third set. He was pressuring me pretty well all day. All in all, it was a good effort and was the best match I played all week. That’s encouraging. I was a little tired, but I didn’t feel it at the end.”

For Monaco this is the most consistent play we have seen from him in a long time (if ever) with the best results. Due to some hard work Monaco has now moved up to number 14 in the world which is an equal career best for him.