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."
Alcaraz begins Madrid Open campaign with emphatic win
Carlos Alcaraz continued his fine record at the Madrid Open with an emphatic 6-2 6-1 victory over Alexander Shevchenko on Friday.
The two-time defending champion made it 12 straight wins at his home tournament to ensure he will face Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild in the last 32.
Alcaraz was playing his first match on the ATP Tour since March 28 after being unable to compete in the Monte-Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open due to an arm injury.
But he was still able to make a fine start to his clay-court season, breaking serve in the first game and racing to victory in only one hour and eight minutes.
Data Debrief
Sometimes the scoreline can be harsh on a beaten player, but on this occasion Alcaraz was clearly dominant, breaking the Kazakh seven times in the match and forcing 11 break-point opportunities while conceding only three for his opponent.
That allowed the Spaniard to claim a dominant victory despite being broken once in each set. He will now turn his attention to a clash with Seyboth Wild, who battled past Lorenzo Musetti with a 6-4 6-4 win.
Reigning champion Sabalenka pushed by Linette at Madrid Open
Aryna Sabalenka got her Madrid Open campaign started with a 6-4 3-6 6-3 win over Magda Linette on Friday.
Sabalenka could not quite hit her peak form against Linette, but the world number two nevertheless got the job done after going the distance.
The Belarusian is hunting a record-equalling third title in Madrid, where she is the reigning champion, though she has not won back-to-back matches at a tournament since winning the Australian Open.
"It's not about being confident," Sabalenka said. "It's about how much you're ready to do to get it. It's about the hard work and to be ready, be ready for the big fights. I feel like confidence is not going to help you in those big matches. It's about staying there and fighting for it."
Data Debrief
Sabalenka (70 per cent, 56-24) is now one of five active players since 2020 to hold a winning percentage of 70 per cent or higher at WTA-1000 events.
Iga Swiatek, Simona Halep, Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula are the other players to feature on that list.
Rybakina continues clay winning streak with victory over Bronzetti
In-form Elena Rybakina has moved into the last 32 of the Madrid Open after a straight sets victory over Italian Lucia Bronzetti.
Number four seed Rybakina triumphed 6-4 6-3 on Friday and will next face either Marta Kostyuk or Mayar Sherif.
Rybakina was broken early in each set but ultimately had few problems getting over the line, converting four of her five break points to continue an impressive run of results after winning the Stuttgart Open last week.
She has now won five consecutive WTA matches and has 13 straight wins on clay courts to her name in a superb streak that started one year ago.
Data Debrief: Rybakina in elite company
Since the start of 2020, only two other players have claimed as many 13 consecutive WTA wins on clay, and they are Iga Swiatek and Simona Halep, so Rybakina is in elite company.
Rybakina's last defeat on this surface came in the 2023 edition of the Madrid Open, when she fell to Anna Kalinskaya in her first match, so this win represented a better start to her campaign in the Spanish capital.
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