( CNN ) -- After a difficult past year , Rafael Nadal is back where he feels most comfortable -- but his rivals are battling to find form ahead of the French Open . While the Spaniard cruised into the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo tournament he has won for the past eight seasons , world No . 1 Novak Djokovic again had to come from behind to earn his place while Andy Murray suffered a crushing defeat that will demote him to third in the rankings . Fourth seed Tomas Berdych and No . 5 Juan Martin del Potro also crashed out Thursday to thin out the competition for Nadal as he continues his winning return to the ATP Tour following longterm knee problems . His 6-2 6-4 rout of German 16th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber was his 16th successive victory this year following a defeat in the final of his comeback event in Chile in February . `` I feel more relaxed , yes . I had some uneasy moments during the past year , '' Nadal said after his 44th consecutive win at the clay-court event , which set up a clash with 21-year-old Bulgarian Gregor Dimitrov . `` Now I 'm back on the tour . Just being here is good news . And winning matches -- I say it every day , but winning every match is very important to me today . Every time I have the chance to go on court and play well , feel competitive , is a really good feeling . '' Dimitrov is also on a roll , having followed up his opening victory over world No . 10 Janko Tipsarevic by beating Germany 's Florian Mayer 6-2 6-4 . `` Really looking forward to that match , '' said Dimitrov , who reached a career-high 31st in the rankings last month . `` Even for now I 'm very excited . `` I 'm feeling quite good coming on court with ( the top players ) . I feel also physically I 'm ready to kind of hang with them more as the match goes on . `` I know tomorrow is another point of view , since clay court you 're playing against the greatest of all time . There 's that feeling and anxiety that you want to come out and do the best you can . I think most of all you have to keep a good composure . '' Murray is seeking to restore his composure after being beaten in less than an hour by Stanislas Wawrinka , a result that will see the Swiss 13th seed 's absent compatriot Roger Federer return to No . 2 in the rankings . `` When I started making a lot of errors he was able to dictate all of the points from there , '' said Murray , who made 24 unforced mistakes as he missed out on a possible semifinal against Nadal . `` I 've played some good tournaments here but it does take me time to feel comfortable on the surface . I need matches against top players to see what 's going wrong and going right and the things I need to work on to get better . `` No-one wants to lose matches like that . Hopefully I can use it as motivation to improve because I really need to do a lot of work . I need to work really hard over the next two weeks to get ready for Madrid . '' Last year the Spanish capital 's experiment with blue clay proved unpopular with most players , and it was banned for this season . Djokovic was one of the most vocal critics , but this year he is focused on his fitness problems after battling to beat Juan Monaco 4-6 6-2 6-2 on Thursday . `` It 's another big test obviously , again a two-hour match , '' said the Serbian , who injured his ankle on Davis Cup duty earlier this month . `` Obviously I 'm not physically feeling my best . Somehow feels that I always miss that half a step . But I 'm trying . I 'm fighting . After I lost the first set today , I tried to find that inner strength . I found it again . So that 's a positive thing . Every day brings a new challenge and we 'll see what happens tomorrow . '' A two-time runnerup in the principality , Djokovic -- who could again meet Nadal in the final -- will next face Del Potro 's conqueror Jarkko Nieminen . The veteran Finn triumphed 6-4 4-6 7-6 ( 7-4 ) against the 2009 U.S. Open champion as he was taken to a tie-break in the decider after the Argentine saved a match-point , before reaching his first Masters-level quarterfinal since 2006 . Berdych lost 6-4 6-2 to 32nd-ranked Italian Fabio Fognini , who earned his first Masters-level quarterfinal appearance -- a clash with French seventh seed Richard Gasquet . Gasquet , a semifinalist in Miami last month , beat Croatian ninth seed Marin Cilic 7-5 6-4 . Wawrinka , meanwhile , will next face world No . 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga , who defeated Austrian Jurgen Melzer 6-3 6-0 the day after the Frenchman 's 28th birthday . `` To beat Andy that easy was a big surprise , for sure , '' Wawrinka said . `` I 'm playing really good , really strong , really confident with my game . He 's playing slow , he 's playing from the baseline , he 's not putting so much pressure . For me on clay , it 's perfect . ''
Defending champion Rafael Nadal through to last 1 of Monte Carlo Masters . Novak Djokovic will next play 21-year-old Bulgarian Andy Murray . World No . 1 Spaniard comes from behind for second match in a row . Briton suffers shock loss that will drop Briton to third in world rankings .