For a long time it looked like we might not get any tennis on Wednesday, with wet weather deciding to rain on the French Open's parade. And once it did begin, there were doubts hovering over whether the men's singles quarterfinals could be completed, with the women's singles last-eight matches preceding them.
But worries were put into the backburner once both of those quarterfinals took centre-stage, with Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray coming up trumps in their respective matches to setup a mouth-watering semifinal matchup.
Spaniard Nadal was facing his toughest test yet in French Open 2014, against his good friend and compatriot David Ferrer, and it was the world number five who took the early lead in the match by winning the first set.
However, that first set proved to be the only blemish, as Nadal, coming off a loss to Ferrer in the Monte Carlo Masters, cranked the pressure up into overdrive in the second set, showing bigger nerves to take that home, despite facing a few break points, as Ferrer's game vanished with the rain.
Once Nadal had levelled the match up at two sets apiece, the contest was as good as over with the Spanish No.1 breezing past the Spanish No.2 to complete a 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, 6-1 victory.
"I am rather happy to have been able to turn the situation around," said Nadal, who beat Ferrer in straight sets in the final at Roland Garros last year. "I managed to pull through. Even though it was complicated, I managed to find solutions during the second set.
"The first set was mentally tough. I decided to go more inside to return in the second set, and I decided to play many more times with my forehand. When I did, I think the dynamic of the match changed."
Ferrer acknowledged he just couldn't produce his 'A' game on the day, and if there ever is an opponent you need to be at your absolute best, particularly on clay, it is Nadal.
"Today I was not good enough for this match," Ferrer said. "I lost my focus. I was too slow, and I think I didn't play the game of a Top 10 [player]. This is why I'm sad. It's my attitude, my behaviour on the court."
Nadal will now prepare for another big battle against Murray in the semis, after the Scot fought his way past home favourite Gael Monfils in five sets.
Murray was in control of the match, winning the first two sets to move to the brink of an easy victory. However, Monfils, as he always does, just refused to fade away, bringing out all his talent to the fore in the third set to put Murray on the back foot, before forcing the deciding fifth set by clinching the fourth as well.
Murray, though, found his mojo again in the fifth, under fading light, to bagel the Frenchman and take the match 6-4, 6-1, 4-6, 1-6, 6-0.
"It was a hard match," Murray said. "Conditions changed quite a lot during it. It was extremely windy in the beginning, and then it was pretty calm at the end and very slow. It was obviously very cold at the end of the match.
"He really raised his game in the third set. I thought I played a pretty good third set. Fourth set wasn't my best, but it was a fun match."
