Facing Rafael Nadal at the French Open is arguably the toughest challenge in sport, such is the King of Clay's incredible record at Roland Garros and, for Diego Schwartzman, forgetting about the 13-time champion and his reputation will be half the battle when he faces him in Wednesday's quarter-final.

Schwartzman is enjoying another excellent run at Roland Garros, having reached the semi-finals last year only to be defeated by Nadal in their 11th career meeting.

The Argentinian saw off Jan-Lennard Struff in straight sets on Monday before Nadal recovered from a slow start to beat Jannik Sinner in three and set up a reunion in the last eight.

They are the only two players remaining in the draw who are yet to drop a set.

Schwartzman has a 1-10 record against Nadal but has the distinction of having beaten the Spaniard on clay, doing so in Rome in 2020.

And he took a set off Nadal in their first clash at Roland Garros back in 2018, though he could not do the same last year.

Asked about the prospect of a four or five-hour match with Nadal, Schwartzman told a media conference: "I think at the beginning of every match against Rafa, you have to walk on the court thinking to win the match, to have opportunities, to get opportunities, and think about something else and not think about Rafa on the other side of the net.

"If you think about the four, five hours you are going to play, if you think about everything about Rafa in Roland Garros, he's very difficult to play.

"You know, you have to go on court, think about the tactics, think about how to play your best game. 

"It's Rafa and you never know what is going to happen, and everyone knows that it's going to be very difficult.

"Playing against Rafa in these kind of tournaments, it's always, I mean, a good step, a good time to know how good are you playing. It's always a good challenge.

"I want to be there one more time. I beat him one time, so is not the same thing. I know we played two times here were good matches, and now let's see what happens. I have to enjoy today, day free tomorrow, and let's see what happens on Wednesday."

Nadal heads into the contest content with his overall performance against Sinner, who failed to serve for the first set and could not produce a turnaround in the second despite fighting from 4-0 down to get back on serve at 4-3.

"I think I started the first two games playing great. Then I had a bad game with 2-0 and with the wind helping, so that was a big mistake. Then I started to play too much against his backhand and too far from the baseline. So then I give him the chance to be inside the court and to have the control of the point from inside," said Nadal.

"From that position he's dangerous. I was a little bit farther every time, no, from the baseline. Then I was able to have the break back in the 5-4 with the wind helping. I know that was a chance. So it was important to hold my serve with the 5-3 against the wind.

"Then with the 5-4, you know that you can have your chances. So that's what happened. I won that game. I had the break. Then I play a solid game with my serve.

"Then from that moment to 7-5, 4-0 I think I played very good level of tennis. Then again, couple of mistakes and he played well, honestly. Four-three until that moment to the
end of the match I think I played great."

Mitch Duke scored twice as Australia closed in on a place in the third stage of World Cup qualifying with a 5-1 hammering of Chinese Taipei on Monday.

The Socceroos made it six wins out of six and within one victory of a guaranteed spot in the third phase of Asian qualifying at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait, outclassing the team propping up Group B without a point to their name.

Harry Souttar and Jamie Maclaren each scored their fifth goals of the qualifying campaign and Trent Sainsbury added a third in the first half, with Duke claiming a second-half double either side of Gao Wei-Jie's surprise goal for Chinese Taipei.

Head coach Graham Arnold called on Australia to be more clinical after a 3-0 win over Kuwait and gave a completely different side the opportunity to capitalise on Chinese Taipei's defensive frailties.

Souttar opened the scoring by heading home Riley McGree's corner 11 minutes in and A-League Golden Boot winner Maclaren got in on the act from the penalty spot after he was upended by Chen Wei-chuan.

Sainsbury got on the end of another McGree corner to head in a third Australia goal late in a first half which also saw Brandon Borrello rattle the post from close range.

Borrello provided the cross for Duke to nod home 20 seconds into the second half before Gao scored only Chinese Taipei's third goal from seven group games with a clinical finish.

Duke had the final say, tucking into an empty net after being set up by Nikita Rukavytsya six minutes from time.

Defending champion Iga Swiatek overcame a strong challenge from Marta Kostyuk to reach the French Open quarter-finals.

Swiatek is the only top-10 player in the last eight of the women's draw at Roland Garros after beating the 18-year-old Kostyuk 6-3 6-4 on Monday.

Playing her first night match on Court Philippe-Chatrier, Swiatek came from a break down in a thrilling first set and went on to book a meeting with Maria Sakkari – conqueror of last year's runner-up Sofia Kenin.

Eighth seed Swiatek has won 22 consecutive sets at the Paris grand slam and is a strong favourite to win back-to-back titles.

Swiatek, who won a marathon doubles match in combination with Bethanie Mattek-Sands on Sunday, was 2-1 down in the opening set as world number 81 Kostyuk was rewarded for her positive approach.

The 20-year-old Pole responded like a champion, though, breaking back immediately and again after fending off two break points to take a 4-3 lead.

Swiatek, demonstrating her great power and precision, served out the opening set and went a break up at 2-1 in the second, but Kostyuk – playing at this stage of a grand slam for the first time –was not finished yet.

The teenager defended brilliantly and showed great speed over the court as she broke back to level at 2-2 when Swiatek netted a backhand.

Yet Swiatek edged back in front when Kostyuk put a backhand of her own into the net and sealed victory with a magnificent winner – her 24th of an entertaining match.

Luka Doncic appeared to confirm he would be signing a supermax contract extension with the Dallas Mavericks following their NBA playoff exit.

The Mavs were eliminated from the postseason with Sunday's Game 7 defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers, despite another outstanding series from Doncic.

The Slovenian has played in only two playoff series – both defeats against the Clippers – but has quickly established himself as one of the league's elite offensive players.

Doncic scored 35.7 points per game across the seven games, improving his career postseason average to 33.5.

That is the best mark of any player to appear in 13 or more playoff games, passing Michael Jordan's 33.4.

Jordan is one of only three men since 1963 to outscore Doncic across the first 13 games of his playoff career, with the Mavs superstar matching Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 436 points.

Dallas will pursue an extension to keep Doncic on the team long term, and he replied to questions about an imminent supermax deal: "I think you know the answer."

Doncic is still playing on the four-year rookie contract he signed after the Mavs traded with the Atlanta Hawks on draft night in 2018.

The 22-year-old is set to earn $10.2million in the coming season, but Dallas are expected to make him an offer that would then exceed $200m across the next five years.

Doncic, who averages 25.7 points in the regular season, was the Rookie of the Year in 2018-19 and made the All-NBA First Team last year. He will likely be included in the same selection for 2020-21.

American duo Caty McNally and Caroline Dolehide bounced back from their French Open woe with victories at the Nottingham Open as their grass-court seasons began.

McNally and Dolehide both failed to progress through qualifying at the ongoing grand slam in Paris, but they recovered to make successful starts to their campaign at the WTA 250 event on Monday.

World number 36 McNally – on the day her doubles partner Coco Gauff reached the last eight in the singles at Roland Garros – won 6-4 6-3 against India's Ankita Raina, saving five of the six break points she faced. 

McNally – beaten by Gauff in the French Open junior final in 2018 – will now cheer the 17-year-old on from afar while she herself looks to make further progress in England.

Dolehide conceded just one break point as she won by the same scoreline against Giulia Gatto-Monticone, while home hope Harriet Dart beat compatriot Emma Raducanu in straight sets.

Australian pair Lizette Cabrera and Arina Rodionova both beat Chinese opponents, seeing off Wang Yafan and Wang Xinyu respectively. 

Number one seed Johanna Konta will begin her campaign on Tuesday against Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove.

Rodrigo Moreno, Pablo Fornals, Carlos Soler and Brais Mendez will join Spain's parallel bubble for training ahead of Euro 2020 after Sergio Busquets tested positive for coronavirus.

The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) revealed on Sunday that captain Busquets had contracted COVID-19 just eight days before Spain's first game of the European Championship against Sweden.

With the senior squad in isolation, Spain will be represented by the Under-21 team in a friendly against Lithuania on Tuesday.

The RFEF has now announced that Leeds United forward Moreno, West Ham midfielder Fornals, Valencia midfielder Soler and Celta Vigo midfielder Mendez will enter the bubble on Tuesday.

Another "small" group of players will also train with the senior squad after the game against Lithuania, with Spain's final Euro 2020 squad dependent on further coronavirus test results.

An RFEF statement said: "In anticipation of the possible consequences that Sergio Busquets' positive could bring, the coaching staff has decided to incorporate a group of footballers to complete training during the next few days under Luis Enrique's orders within a parallel bubble.

"In this sense, tomorrow [Tuesday]  the players Rodrigo Moreno (Leeds United), Pablo Fornals (West Ham United), Carlos Soler (Valencia CF) and Brais Mendez (RC Celta) will join the sessions in Las Rozas.

"In addition, once the game against Lithuania is over, a small group of footballers yet to be confirmed will join the training sessions of the senior team under the same conditions as the previous ones. 

"They will train at different times and will not mix in any case with the summoned.

"The players invited to the training sessions will remain outside the Ciudad del Futbol bubble and will go daily to Las Rozas after having passed the relevant daily tests before their arrival and during their stay. 

"Their definitive incorporation to the Euro 2020 list will be evaluated based on the results obtained in the coming days."

Rafael Nadal continued on his serene path to a 14th French Open title by seeing off Jannik Sinner in straight sets.

Having seen Italian compatriot Lorenzo Musetti take Novak Djokovic to five sets earlier on Court Philippe-Chatrier, Sinner made a strong start against the King of Clay.

However, whereas Musetti took two sets from the world number one before being outpunched by Djokovic, Sinner was swiftly reeled back in after spurning a chance to win the first set.

The 19-year-old's spirited efforts were undermined by 40 unforced errors, offering Nadal far too many opportunities to press home the gulf in class and experience in a 7-5 6-3 6-0 win.

Nadal held to love in his first service game and then immediately broke Sinner. However, he was uncharacteristically sloppy across his next two service games, sending down three double faults, as Sinner reversed the tide to surge into a 4-2 lead.

Yet the teenager crumbled as he failed to serve out the set, surrendering a break to love with a double fault.

Then tasked with serving to stay in the set, Sinner had no answer for Nadal, who was now in full flow, an exquisite drop shot bringing up three set points. Sinner saved one, but Nadal's defence forced him into a forehand error that handed the Spaniard his 33rd consecutive set at Roland Garros.

A scorching cross-court backhand saw Nadal craft an early break in the second and he seemingly had a stranglehold on the contest after going 4-0 up.

Sinner surprisingly rattled off the next three games to get back on serve, only to instantly cede the advantage back to Nadal, who subsequently wrapped up the second set with a powerful serve down the middle.

And there was no fightback from Sinner in the third as Nadal coasted to a last-eight clash with Diego Schwartzman, who won earlier against Jan-Lennard Struff.

Iga Swiatek is the only top-10 player remaining in the women's singles draw at the French Open after Maria Sakkari beat Sofia Kenin in straight sets.

Sakkari moved into the quarter-finals of a grand slam for the first time with an emphatic 6-1 6-3 defeat of last year's runner-up Kenin on Monday.

Greek 17th seed Sakkari will face either defending champion Swiatek or Marta Kostyuk in the last eight at Roland Garros.

The 25-year-old is the first Greek woman to reach a grand slam quarter-final in the Open Era.

World number four Kenin made 32 unforced errors and racked up nine double faults in a one-sided contest on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.

Sakkari broke the 2020 Australian Open champion, beaten by Swiatek in the 2020 final, six times and lost just four points on her first serve to march into the last eight.

Coco Gauff, 17, earlier became the youngest grand slam quarter-finalist for 15 years by beating Ons Jabeur 6-3 6-1, while Barbora Krejcikova thrashed Sloane Stephens 6-2 6-0 in Paris.

Novak Djokovic came from two sets down against Lorenzo Musetti on Monday to reach the quarter-finals of the French Open for a record 12th consecutive year after his opponent retired in the fifth set.

The world number one went into the contest with the 19-year-old having not dropped a set at these championships but found himself in big trouble after a gruelling first couple of hours.

It felt like a different match entirely after that, as Djokovic won 16 of the final 17 games before Musetti retired with the scores at 6-7 (7-9) 6-7 (2-7) 6-1 6-0 4-0 in the 2016 champion's favour.

The Serbian seemed unsettled by Musetti's unpredictable early approach, the teenager mixing up forehand speeds and backhand passes to good effect after an early exchange of breaks.

It looked like Djokovic had control of the opening tie-break only for Musetti to win five out of six points to lead 6-5. Two rasping forehands soon secured the set after a Djokovic error.

Belief in a shock upset really did begin to grow when Musetti took a 3-1 lead in the second set, at which point Djokovic literally took his hat off to his opponent. Whether it was psychological or his cap really was a bother, a bare-headed Djokovic promptly broke back to love.

Djokovic's error count dropped from 20 in the first set to 15 in the second, but the momentum still seemed to be with the Italian, who continued to paint the lines from both sides of the court even when it seemed impossible: early in the second tie-break, a reflex lob from the net somehow bounced on the baseline as his opponent watched in disbelief.

Deserved as his lead was, there was still a feeling that, should Musetti's standards slip even a touch, the door to the comeback would be open. Djokovic seemed to sense as much, returning from a bathroom break to power his way through the third set in just 28 minutes, less than half the time of each of the first two.

Suddenly, doubt crept into Musetti's play as Djokovic began to dictate. He won 16 points in a row to take a 4-0 lead in the fourth and broke again with the sort of drop-shot winner that Musetti had anticipated with ease in the opening two hours.

Djokovic was troubled by his lower back before the fifth set and needed treatment to his hand after somehow winning the first point on the Musetti serve despite falling heavily in the dirt.

Yet it was Musetti whose body could simply no longer keep up, his retirement ensuring Djokovic will now face Matteo Berrettini in the last eight.
 

Data Slam: Djokovic kept his cool as Musetti froze

Djokovic is rarely shy about showing his emotions on court, so it was interesting to see not a single outburst even after he fell 2-0 down.

Each player had won 85 points in those first two sets and Djokovic seemed to know this was no one-sided affair. When he moved up a gear and Musetti started to falter in mind and body, it was a totally different contest, Musetti winning just 18 points in the final 17 games.

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Djokovic – 53/42
Musetti – 30/49

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Djokovic – 11/2
Musetti – 1/2

BREAK POINTS WON

Djokovic – 9/9
Musetti – 2/4

Pep Guardiola believes Ronald Koeman deserves to stay on as Barcelona boss for another season.

Koeman admitted it was a relief to see speculation over his future as Barca head coach ended last week when president Joan Laporta confirmed he would remain in charge for the 2021-22 season.

It followed a period where Laporta sought out other potential candidates while Koeman remained in his post, with some controversy when the president was criticised by the head coach's representatives for comments about his health.

The Dutchman led Barca to Copa del Rey glory last season, though fell short in LaLiga and the Champions League, having taken over at a turbulent period that saw Lionel Messi request to leave following a fallout with former president Josep Maria Bartomeu and Luis Suarez controversially sold to eventual champions Atletico Madrid.

Former Barca team-mates Koeman and Guardiola were golfing together with their sons last week, with the Manchester City boss thrilled at Laporta's decision.

"Koeman is the ideal coach for next season, I spoke to Laporta and I am very happy the president is convinced," Guardiola said to Cadena SER.

"I am a good friend of Ronald. It has been a difficult year for everyone and Ronald deserves one more year, with people in the stadium. 

"Besides, second years are always better.

"At times the team has played very well, they are among those who played better football in Spain.

"They fell at the end when he was close to winning and Atletico won the league, but he won the cup and in general were very good."

Guardiola was one of the names briefly connected with the Camp Nou post when Laporta referenced his dream to bring the Catalan back to the club he coached so successfully from 2008 to 2012.

"I have a two-year contract at Manchester, I'm happy and so it will continue to be," said Guardiola.

He recently saw one of his top young prospects and an experienced stalwart swap City for Barca after the Catalans signed Eric Garcia and Sergio Aguero on free transfers.

Guardiola had warm words for both players, predicting Garcia to become a future Camp Nou star.

"Aguero and Eric Garcia are two great signings - Kun is a scorer," said Guardiola. 

"With Eric I will tell Koeman that he has a spectacular fit, he is a good guy, really intelligent. He will be one of the captains of the next decade."

Roberto Martinez will not rush Eden Hazard back into Belgium's starting line-up and says Kevin De Bruyne looks "fresh" and "ready" for Euro 2020.

Hazard has been blighted by injuries since joining Real Madrid from Chelsea two years ago and there have been concerns over his fitness for the European Championship.

The winger gave the Red Devils a lift on Sunday, though, making his first international appearance for 19 months as a late substitute in a 1-0 victory over Croatia.

Belgium boss Martinez will be patient with Hazard, who looks set to be on the bench for the Group B opener against Russia at Saint Petersburg Stadium on Saturday.

The Spaniard said: "I think the target for Eden was to be on the pitch and I think that was almost a psychological step. You need to be on the pitch, in a match scenario and it doesn't matter the minutes.

"It wasn't the case Eden needs to play bigger chunks of time on the pitch but I think the next step now will be in training to try to get the match intensity, but I was very pleased in the way that Eden came on, affected the pace of the because it's very hard to come on as a substitute to adapt to the pace of the game.

"It was a needed step, it wasn't about the minutes, it was about being able to do make that step without risk, in a safe manner and that is what we did."

Martinez is unsure when Hazard will be in a position to play an entire game, but says that is not essential.

He added: "I think it will be difficult to tell when he will be ready. It will depend on a lot of things; how the game goes, what is the scoreline, how demanding the game can be in and out of possession.

"What is important is now he is medically fit and now we have a good build-up of five days before the Russia game and then it will be about quality.

"It's not going to be about playing minutes, it's going to be about being able to see Eden Hazard with a big smile on his face and when he's on the pitch he can make the difference.

"I'm not too concerned about the minutes and I think it's a different approach, it's a tournament where we need to think we have five substitutes. It's not a lot about the starting XI, it's about every player when he's on the pitch can make a contribution.

"Five substitutes means almost 50 per cent of the outfield players can almost share the minutes, so I think that approach is going to be very important in this tournament."

Midfielder De Bruyne linked up with the Belgium squad on Monday as he recovers from the fractured nose and left orbital he suffered in Manchester City's Champions League final loss to Chelsea.

Martinez will take no risks with De Bruyne against Russia but gave a positive update on the playmaker's condition after he underwent surgery.

"Kevin De Bruyne has joined the group and that’s fantastic news," said the former Everton manager. "He looks ready, he looks fresh and just for him walking into the dining room was a real highlight of the day.

"He watched the game [against Croatia] and he's already in the mood of the team and is looking forward to slowly taking his own pace with the medical team. But it makes a big difference when he's with the players and is part of the group."

Asked how De Bruyne's recovery is going, Martinez replied: "Very well, the medical intervention went extremely well. It's still a very fresh one, so will take a few days, but the initial reaction has been really positive and he seems ready. He’s looking more forwards than backwards."