MONACO - Canadian Milos Raonic welcomes a Thursday rematch with fourth-seeded clay ace David Ferrer for a place in the Monte Carlo Masters quarter-finals.

Ferrer, who beat fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-2, 6-0 on Wednesday, defeated Raonic on hardcourt at the Australian Open in Melbourne in their only previous meeting.

The Spaniard is ranked sixth in the world, compared to No. 34 for Raonic.

The 20-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., goes into the match boosted by the confidence he's set for a move into the ATP top-30, guaranteeing him a seeding at the French Open.

Raonic spent time Wednesday on the practice courts under a perfectly blue sky. He's letting coach Galo Blanco worry about the Ferrer scouting report.

"I try not to think about the opponent," Raonic said. "I feel if I'm able to control the court and dictate, I always have a good chance.

"My job is to hopefully to keep winning, to keep getting better. I just have to focus on myself, focus on what I need to do."

Raonic said while his total career exposure to clay can still only be counted in hours, he's learning fast.

"I think it's more the mentality behind it. I'm used to knowing if I hit a good forehand, the point could be over," he explained. "Here it's not just one good forehand, it comes down to a few good forehands in a row.

"I need to always be expecting the ball to come back, being prepared to have to play a lot of long points, a lot of good shots.

"I'm trying to get used to as much as possible and I think this is getting better by the day."

Raonic is also enjoying playing in Monaco, one of the European temples of tennis.

He has been duly impressed in his first trip to the luxury haven on the Mediterranean -- and his five-star waterfront accommodation.

"It's really a spectacular place," he said of the cliffside Monte Carlo Country Club, which overlooks the sea. "The first thing my coach told me when we got here, we came after an hour to the club, first thing he told me, 'Go up there, climb up behind centre court and take a look over centre court and absorb the view.'

"I think I tweeted it right away. This was probably the most spectacular thing, just like knowing where I am, absorbing, understanding I'm actually here playing, I'm not at some future in somebody's backyard playing a clay court tournament."