World No 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic reached a 16th French Open quarterfinal on Sunday where old rival and 13-time winner Rafael Nadal could be waiting.
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Djokovic, bidding to equal Nadal's record of 21 Grand Slam titles, eased to a 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 last-16 victory against 15th seed Diego Schwartzman of Argentina.
"I have a lot of respect for him (Schwartzman). He's a good person off the court," said Djokovic who has now beaten Schwartzman seven times in seven meetings.
Djokovic is still to drop a set at Roland Garros after cruising through the first week.
He has also won 22 sets in a row, stretching back to his Italian Open title triumph in Rome earlier this month.
"I've made a good start but I have a lot of work to do," added Djokovic who will face Nadal for the 10th time at Roland Garros and 59th overall if the Spaniard defeats Felix Auger-Aliassime later Sunday.
In an interesting twist, Auger-Aliassime has Nadal's uncle and former long-time coach Toni working with him.
Toni coached his nephew for the best part of three decades during which time Nadal won 16 of his record 21 Slam titles.
When asked if he will divulge to Auger-Aliassime the secret of how to become just the third man to defeat Nadal at Roland Garros, the 61-year-old coach was unequivocal.
'ETHICS'
"Of course not. I told Felix that my ethics do not allow me to give him advice on beating my nephew. It's as if I were telling someone how to defeat my own son," said Toni ahead of his first meeting with Rafael since their split.
Toni said he would not sit in Auger-Aliassime's player box for the match, taking his place instead in the presidential box on Court Philippe Chatrier.
In the wide open women's event, which saw nine of the top 10 seeds fall before the second week, Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez reached the quarterfinals for the first time.
Fernandez, seeded 17th, and who was US Open runner-up last year, fired an impressive 40 winners past 2019 semifinalist Amanda Anisimova to secure a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win.
The 19-year-old has made the quarterfinals on the back of an impressive 23 service breaks over four rounds at Roland Garros.
"It was a very complicated match. Amanda is a very good player but I was happy to win in front of you," said the 2019 junior champion.
She next faces Martina Trevisan for a place in the semifinals.
The world number 59 from Italy booked her place in the quarterfinals for the second time in three years, edging out Aliaksandra Sasnovich from Belarus 7-6 (12/10), 7-5.
Trevisan enjoyed a surprise run to the quarters as a qualifier in 2020, losing to eventual champion and current world No 1 Iga Swiatek.
'SECOND HOME'
"Paris is a bit like my second home," said the 28-year-old, who won her maiden WTA title earlier this month in Rabat.
"The atmosphere here is magical and I feel great on the court."
American teenager Coco Gauff reached the last-eight for the second successive year with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Belgium's Elise Mertens.
Gauff, 18, will face either US compatriot, and 2018 runner-up, Sloane Stephens or 23rd-seeded Jil Teichmann of Switzerland for a spot in the semifinals.
Later Sunday, 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz, the youngest man through to the second week of the French Open since Djokovic 16 years ago, takes on 21st seed Karen Khachanov.
Alcaraz has won 20 of 21 matches on clay this season but needed to save a match point to beat Spanish compatriot Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the second round.
Third seed and 2021 semifinalist Alexander Zverev plays qualifier Bernabe Zapata Miralles, the 134th-ranked Spaniard who is enjoying his best run at a major.
THIRD SEED ZVEREV BATTLES INTO FRENCH OPEN QUARTERFINALS
Alexander Zverev reached the French Open quarterfinals for the fourth time by ending Spanish qualifier Bernabe Zapata Miralles' run in the last 16 on Sunday.
Zverev's quality in the big moments proved enough in a 7-6 (13/11), 7-5, 6-3 victory.
The 25-year-old German will face either Karen Khachanov or teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz in the last eight.
Zapata Miralles, the world number 131, had three set points in the first-set tie-break, which Zverev took on his fourth set point.
The underdog led by a break twice in the second set but Zverev always looked a danger on his opponent's serve and completed victory after two hours and 45 minutes on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
NADAL TO FACE DJOKOVIC IN FRENCH OPEN QUARTERFINAL AFTER EPIC LAST-16 WIN
Rafael Nadal set up a blockbuster French Open quarterfinal against world No 1 Novak Djokovic on Sunday when he defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime in a five-set fourth round epic.
Nadal, the 13-time champion at Roland Garros and holder of a record 21 Grand Slam titles, triumphed over the Canadian 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in a match which lasted four hours and 21 minutes.
It was only the third time in his 17-year, 111-match career in Paris that Nadal had been stretched to five sets.
Nadal and Djokovic will meet for the 10th time at Roland Garros and 59th overall in a rivalry stretching back to 2006.
"We know each other well, we have a lot of history. The only thing I can say is that I will be focussed, try my best and fight until the end," said Nadal of renewing his rivalry with the defending champion on Tuesday.
Nadal hailed Auger-Aliassime who has been working with his uncle and former coach Toni since April last year.
"Felix is a great player, one of the best in the world. He's very young with a lot of power and great mobility," said the 35-year-old Spaniard.
"He was a very tough opponent for me, he is doing a lot of things well and has improved every year.
"He is a great guy and a good colleague on the tour."
TEENAGER ALCARAZ CRUSHES KHACHANOV TO REACH QUARTERFINALS
Carlos Alcaraz pummelled Karen Khachanov into submission in a 6-1 6-4 6-4 victory on Sunday to reach the French Open quarterfinals and stretch his winning run to 14 matches.
The 19-year-old, who has taken the tennis world by storm this year, became the youngest male player in 29 years to reach two Grand Slam quarterfinals after also making the US Open last eight.
"It has been a great match from my side. I played really well from the beginning until the end of the match," he said. "I knew I had to be really focused from the beginning."
"I expected the level that I played. I started really well and I kept the level for the whole match. I am very happy with it."
He needed just 29 minutes to storm through the first set with his special mix of raw power, punishing forehands and deft drop shots that made his 26-year-old opponent look old.
Khachanov, the world number 25 and a quarterfinalist in Paris in 2019, managed to hold serve early in the second set but the Spaniard broke him at 3-3, and never looked back.
The pair traded breaks midway through the third set on a chilly and overcast evening in the French capital but it was Alcaraz who pulled ahead with yet another break after an eye-popping 'tweener' lob over the tall Russian.
He wobbled a bit at the end, wasting five match points on Khachanov's serve, but that only delayed the inevitable by one game, as he sealed victory on his serve minutes later.
World No 6 Alcaraz, who now has a 19-1 win-loss record on clay this season after winning back-to-back titles in Barcelona and Madrid in April and May, will next face third seed Alexander Zverev, who beat qualifier Bernabe Zapata Miralles in straight sets.
"Sasha (Zverev) is playing a great game. He is real aggressive and it will be a tough match," Alcaraz said. "Best of five against him will be tough. He has beaten great players in Grand Slams."
"I like to play tough, close matches so it is going to be a good match."
Should the stars align for Alcaraz, he could eventually take on either world No 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic or 13-time Roland Garros winner Rafael Nadal in the last four.