Federer vs. Ferrer highlights and interview

Sigh. I must have been too tired from yesterday to wake up for today's 4am delayed telecast of Federer/Ferrer quarterfinal match at Monte Carlo. Good thing somebody's posted about four minutes worth of highlights of the match on YouTube. Still, there's nothing like watching the entire match. And besides, it's hard to spot the ball in the tiny video and especially against the red clay; it's difficult even when viewing the video full screen since the video quality just isn't good enough.

Anyway, there's also the post-match interview Federer gave where he recalls his very first ATP career match win and corresponding earnings (geesh, what a memory). He seems at least satisfied with this 500th win--which also brings his career earnings above US$30 million--although he didn't look exactly that ecstatic at matchpoint on the video.

A resurgent Juan Carlos Ferrero, who came back from behind to defeat Richard Gasquet 5-7 7-5 6-2, will be the next player to attempt to prevent Federer from reaching the Monte Carlo finals for the second straight time. The other semifinals match pits defending champion Rafael Nadal against nemesis Tomas Berdych. Since Nadal has lost to Berdych in all three meetings they have had so far--all on hard court though--this is certainly an interesting and exciting match-up.