With Rafael Nadal out of the Barcelona Open, the remaining competitors in the quarter-final round of the tournament with have a renewed motivation to battle their way to more realistic title win on Sunday. Two of those competitors are David Ferrer and Philipp Kohlschreiber who will meet on Friday to secure a spot in the semi-final. Of their 12 previous meetings on the tour, Ferrer leads the head-to-head series 10-2, including wins in the last seven consecutive encounters on the tour.

Seeded third at this year’s event, David Ferrer picked up his 26th victory of the season when he defeated 19-year-old wildcard entrant Elias Ymer in straight sets to advance to the quarter-final stage of the tournament. The Spaniard won 65% of his first service points and converted five of six break point opportunities to close out the match 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 26 minutes. It was a straightforward affair for the veteran competitor.

Later on in the day, Germany’s Kohlschreiber needed straight sets to win his third round encounter against France’s Benoit Paire. The match eventually ended 6-4, 7-6(6), where Philipp win 67% of his first service points and converted four break points to bring an end to the proceedings in one hour and 23 minutes. He will now go on to challenge Ferrer, whom he has not defeated in over seven years.

This marks the 13th time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with Ferrer leading the head-to-head series 10-2. The Spaniard has won the last eight consecutive meetings on the tour and will look to add another one to his resume. Given that this match is on clay, where Ferrer is undefeated against the German, he should have little trouble dispatching his opponent once more. Philipp’s last win over Ferrer was back in 2008, which also does not bode well for his chances.