David Ferrer defeated world number one Rafael Nadal 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 in a hotly disputed quarter-final match at the Monte Carlo Masters on Friday.

Nadal has won the tournament a record eight times although he lost last year’s championship match in straight sets against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic.

Australian Open winner Stanislas Wawrinka reached the semi-finals with a 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 victory over Canadian Milos Raonic.

Wawrinka, who had a walkover in the previous round when Spain’s Nicolas Almagro pulled out with a foot injury, will next take on sixth-seeded Ferrer.

Wawrinka, who has dragged himself out of a short slump after beating Nadal for the grand slam title in Melbourne three months ago, took control as eighth seed Raonic twice lost leads in the opening set tiebreaker.

On the other side of the draw, defending champion Djokovic and fourth-seeded Roger Federer might end up in a semi-final showdown.

Djokovic will face Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the last eight after the Spaniard’s three-set win over fifth seed Tomas Berdych, while Federer will meet ninth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.