Rafael Nadal faces Marinko Matosevic on Friday in the 2013 Rogers Cup quarterfinals. The match is slated to begin at 8 p.m. ET. Watch the live stream HERE.
World No. 4 Nadal continues his bid for his third Rogers Cup title. If there were any questions about his nagging knee injury, it's telling that he hasn't yet dropped a set.
After his first-round bye, the Spaniard defeated Jessie Levine (6-2, 6-0). Nadal then fell Jerzy Janowicz in the third round (7-6, 6-4).
Nadal addressed his knee earlier in the week.
"The knee is not bothering me as much," Nadal said, via Sports24.com. "In the last couple of days, I was able to practice with no limitation, that is the most important thing.
"After seven weeks without playing tennis, you start a tournament on a hard court, that is tougher for the body. You always feel a few things at the beginning. But hopefully those things will not limit my chances to play well."
Nadal's next obstacle is Matosevic. The Bosnian is ranked No. 74 in the World and has a record this season of 13-21. Despite the record, Matosevic has been playing well as of late. He beat Benjamin Becker in two sets (6-2, 6-3) to begin the tournament, and then advanced past Tommy Haas when the German retired. Benoit Paire took Matosevic to three sets, but ultimately fell (6-9, 7-6, 3-6).
Nadal and Matosevic have met head-to-head only once, according to TennGrand.com. Their only meeting, earlier this year at Monte-Carlo, saw Nadal easily drop Matosevic in just two sets (6-1, 6-2).
