Daniil Medvedev showed on Thursday why he is the top overall seed at the Los Cabos Open, comfortably handling the challenge of Ricardas Berankis in a 6-2 6-2 win.

The world number one gave Berankis no avenues into the match, winning 48 per cent (27-of-56) of his total return points, while also converting 88 per cent (21-of-24) of his own successful first serves into points.

Medvedev will meet Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic in the semi-final after he pulled off an impressive 6-2 6-4 victory against American Brandon Nakashima.

Kecmanovic's ability to serve his way out of trouble was the deciding factor, saving four of five break-point opportunities, while Nakashima could only save six out of 10.

Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime booked his spot in the second semi-final after defeating America's Steve Johnson 6-4 7-6 (7-3).

The 22-year-old winner – who now sits ninth in the world rankings – served up 17 aces in the contest, while Johnson, who is usually known for his serve, could only muster four.

Cameron Norrie was a straights-sets winner over Radu Albot, although he needed a second-set tie-break to get the job done in a 6-3 7-6 (7-4) triumph.

Meanwhile, Norrie's British compatriot Daniel Evans won a war of attrition against American Taylor Fritz at the Washington Open, pulling ahead 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 4-1 before the heavy favourite retired due to the oppressive conditions.

With rising temperatures, combined with spots of rain, the humidity threatened to claim a number of scalps as multiple players in Thursday's action took extended medical timeouts, before a serious downpour halted the rest of play.

The only other matches to reach their conclusion were Yoshihito Nishioka's 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-1) win against Karen Khachanov, and a 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 triumph for Sweden's Mikael Ymer against Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori.

When play resumes, Nick Kyrgios will look to finish off Reilly Opelka after reaching the rain with a 7-6 (7-1) 2-1 lead, and Grigor Dimitrov won his first set 6-4 against Sebastian Korda.

Botic van de Zandschulp was the beneficiary of the break against Frances Tiafoe, winning the first set 6-4 before slowing down in a big way to drop the second 6-2, but he will get a chance to recharge his batteries before the decider.

Second seed Hubert Hurkacz was a shock second-round casualty from the Citi Open on Wednesday after a straight-sets defeat to Emil Ruusuvuori.

World number 46 Ruusuvuori triumphed 6-4 7-6 (7-3) in one hour and 43 minutes to book a quarter-final spot.

Hurkacz, who is ranked 11th in the world and reached last year's Wimbledon semi-finals, fought hard but failed to capitalise on four break points throughout the match.

"He had an early break point, but then I was able to keep that service game and give myself a chance to break him and I was able to use it and then just try to keep my own serve," Ruusuvuori said.

"I just tried to hang in there and tried to stay as tough as [I] can."

Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios defeated 14th seed Tommy Paul 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 25 minutes.

The Australian hit 29-21 winners, with the majority coming from his serve and forehand, sending down 15 aces, winning 84 per cent on his first serve.

Kyrgios, who broke Paul in his opening service game, converted three of four break points for the match, while the American failed to capitalise on any of his four.

Sixth seed Denis Shapovalov was bundled out in the second round by American wildcard J.J. Wolf 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 in a major upset.

Third seed Taylor Fritz avoided an early exit with a 6-4 6-4 win over Australian Alexei Popyrin in one hour and 11 minutes, while fourth seed Reilly Opelka came from a set down to defeat Denis Kudla 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 6-4 in just over two hours. Opelka sent down 28 aces across the match.

Fifth seed Grigor Dimitrov got past Adrian Mannarino 6-1 3-6 7-5 and ninth seed Holger Rune brushed off Benoit Paire 6-3 6-2.

Francis Tiafoe defeated Christopher Eubanks 6-3 7-6 (7-2), while 13th seed Maxime Cressy fought back from an early deficit to get past Jack Sock 4-6 6-4 6-0 to set up a third-round clash with top seed Andrey Rublev.

There were defeats for 11th seed Alex de Minaur to Yoshihito Nishioka 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-2, 12th seed Sebastian Baez against Sebastian Korda 6-1 6-4 and 15th seed Aslan Karatsev against Andy Murray's first-round conqueror Mikael Ymer 6-4 3-6 6-4.

At the Los Cabos Open in Mexico, second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime had no troubles against local Juan Alejandro Hernandez Serrano, winning 6-3 7-5.

American sixth seed Brandon Nakashima also progressed into the quarter-finals with a 6-3 6-3 win over Max Purcell, while Miomir Kecmanovic beat Jordan Thompson 6-4 6-2.

Dominic Thiem declared he is "definitely back" after reaching the Swedish Open quarter-finals, while Hall of Fame Open favourite Felix Auger-Aliassime crashed out in the second round. 

Thiem earned his first tour-level win in 14 months by downing Emil Ruusuvuori on his Bastad debut, before reaching his first quarter-final of the season by overcoming Roberto Bautista Agut on Thursday.

The Austrian battled to a 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-4 victory over the fourth-seeded Bautista Agut, picking up his first top-20 win since beating Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals in 2020.

Sebastian Baez, who defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight sets, awaits in the next round and former world number three Thiem is ready for the task.

"The win against Emil gave me confidence that I can compete against the best players in the world and today against Roberto," said Thiem, the 2020 US Open champion.

"He is always such a tough opponent. I was expecting and hoping it would be a close match. Then when I won the first set in the tie-break I said 'Hey, I can win today.' 

"I had the belief until the end of the match and the third set was really good. It is a process. I beat Ruusuvuori and today I beat Bautista Agut.

"Two really top opponents, so if I can beat them I am definitely back. I am into the quarters of a really strong tournament, so I am happy. It is a process, but I am going the right way."

Second seed Andrey Rublev was made to work for his 7-5 4-6 7-6 (7-2) victory over Federico Coria and will meet Laslo Djere, who defeated Marc-Andrea Huesler in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, Auger-Aliassime resumed his match with Jason Kubler in Newport that was suspended due to bad light on Wednesday with a slight advantage but fell to a 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-4) second-round loss.

That marked a first top-10 victory for Kubler, continuing his fine 2022 season that saw him achieve his best major result at Wimbledon, where he reached the fourth round at the All England Club.

Fourth seed Maxime Cressy is yet to drop his serve at the tournament but needed to survive a first-set scare against fellow American Steve Johnson to triumph 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 6-4.

Second favourite John Isner will meet Cressy in the semi-finals after battling past fifth seed Benjamin Bonzi 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-5).

Casper Ruud was a surprise second-round loser as the Swedish Open defending champion fell to Francisco Cerundolo, while the favourites battled through at the Hall of Fame Open.

Ruud, a French Open finalist and defending champion in Bastad , lacked his usual composure as world number 39 Cerundolo broke him three times to win 6-4 3-6 7-5 on Wednesday.

That marked a first top-10 career victory for Cerundolo after defeating world number five Ruud, guiding him to his first quarter-final appearance at the tournament.

"I'm feeling amazing, I'm really happy," said Cerundolo, whose previous best result was beating world number 24 Gael Monfils. "It's amazing getting my first Top 10 win. It's been the best year so far in my career.

"He's a French Open finalist and was the defending champion here, so it was a big challenge for me and I'm happy to go through."

Aslan Karatsev awaits in the quarter-finals Cerundolo after downing Frenchman Hugo Gaston 6-2 6-4.

Fifth seed Pablo Carreno Busta survived a first-set scare to defeat 2016 champion Albert Ramos-Vinolas 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5.

The victory was Carreno Busta's 250th tour-level triumph and he will next face third favourite Diego Schwartzman, who overcame Elias Ymer in straight sets.

Third seed Alexander Bublik was made to work for a 6-3 3-6 6-2 second-round victory over Jack Sock in Newport and Andy Murray edged past Wimbledon doubles champion Max Purcell.

Murray needed almost two-and-a-half hours to get the better of Purcell, eventually triumphing 4-6 6-2 6-1 to tee up a last-eight meeting with Bublik.

Fourth favourite Maxime Cressy had little trouble in beating fellow American Mitchell Krueger 6-3 6-4 and will next face Steve Johnson, who progressed past seventh seed Jiri Vesely with a walkover.

Benjamin Bonzi, ranked as fifth seed in the United States, eased past Christopher Eubanks in straight sets, while James Duckworth triumphed 7-5 3-6 6-2 over Quentin Halys.

John Isner joined the list of favourites who made the third round in routine fashion, beating Peter Gojowczyk in straight sets 6-3 7-6 (8-6), before top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime faced some adversity against Jason Kubler following the Australian's strong run into the fourth round of Wimbledon.

Auger-Aliassime has a slight advantage, leading 6-4 3-6 6-5 before play was suspended due to poor light. When play resumes, Kubler will serve with a chance to force a third-set tiebreak.

Novak Djokovic has slipped to seventh in the ATP Tour rankings despite winning Wimbledon, where ranking points were stripped in this year's tournament.

Players from Russia and Belarus were banned from competing at the third major of the year due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

The ATP and WTA retaliated by stripping ranking points from the event at the All England Club, where the likes of world number one Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev did not feature.

Moscow-born Elena Rybakina, who switched to represent Kazakhstan four years ago, lifted the women's title in the singles competition, while Djokovic triumphed for a fourth straight time in the men's event.

Yet, Djokovic has lost 2,000 rankings points – the standard total awarded to a grand slam singles champion – after winning in SW19 last year, with no such rewards available on this occasion.

That meant the Serbian has dropped from third place to seventh, his lowest position since August 2018 when he fell to 10th.

Djokovic moved within just one major title of Rafael Nadal's record of 22 grand slams, and the Spaniard has jumped up one spot to third.

Medvedev and Alexander Zverev are unmoved as the respective top two after losing just 180 rankings points in the latest edition. Both missed Wimbledon, with the Russian banned and the German still injured.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud and Carlos Alcaraz make up the top six after climbing a place each, while Rublev, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jannik Sinner are the trio behind Djokovic.

Nick Kyrgios appeared in his maiden major final against Djokovic at Wimbledon as world number 40, the lowest-ranked grand slam male finalist since Marcos Baghdatis (54) at the Australian Open in 2006.

Just a day later Kyrgios has dropped five places to 45th in the rankings, losing 90 points from his third-round berth last year. If the ban was not imposed, the Australian would have broken into the top 20.

Cameron Norrie is another loser from the ranking points fallout. His run to the semi-finals at the London major would have seen him climb to eighth, but instead he has to settle for 11th.

A spirited fightback from Nick Kyrgios saw the Australian beat second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Halle Open on Wednesday.

Kyrgios suffered a disappointing semi-final defeat to Andy Murray in Stuttgart last week, but looked greatly improved against Tsitsipas as he recovered from a set down to win 5-7 6-2 6-4.

It was the second serve of both men where Kyrgios shone, winning 76 per cent (28 of 37) of points on his second serve, and 58 per cent (23 of 40) on his opponent's.

"Stef is one of the best players in the world at the moment and he's going to have some amazing results and I'm sure many, many grand slams," Kyrgios said following his win.

"I don't know if I can say the same for me, but I'm happy to still be able to produce this level with the tournaments I play. It is a testament to how hard I do work when I'm not playing."

He will face Pablo Carreno Busta in the quarter-finals after the Spanish sixth seed beat Sebastian Korda 6-4 0-6 6-3.

Elsewhere, Hubert Hurkacz will face Felix Auger-Aliassime in the last eight after defeating Ugo Humbert 7-6 (7-5) 6-3, while the Canadian also won in straight sets against Mackenzie McDonald 7-6 (9-7) 6-1.

The one remaining first round match saw number one seed Daniil Medvedev beat David Goffin 6-3 6-2 to set up a second round clash with Ilya Ivashka.

At the Queen's Club Championships, sixth seed Denis Shapovalov was eliminated by Tommy Paul 6-4 2-6 6-4, with the American now scheduled to face Stanislas Wawrinka in the second round.

It means that six of the eight seeds in west London were knocked out in the first round, with Matteo Berrettini and Marin Cilic the only remaining seeds. The latter sealed his place in the quarter-finals on Wednesday with a 7-6 (8-6) 7-5 win over Alexander Bublik.

Cilic will play Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori in the last eight after he beat home favourite Jack Draper 6-2 7-6 (7-2).

The best contest of the day came between Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Alex de Minaur, with the former coming from behind to win 4-6 6-4 7-5 to set up a quarter-final with Botic van de Zandschulp, who beat Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (7-5) 6-3.

Daniil Medvedev is one match away from winning his first title of 2022 after beating Adrian Mannarino in straight sets to reach the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships final.

Defending champion Mannarino had won eight matches in a row at the ATP 250 event, which was last held in 2019, but he fell 7-5 7-5 to Medvedev in a match lasting a little under two hours.

Top seed Medvedev, whose most recent appearance in a final came at the Australian Open in January, will now face home favourite Tim van Rijthoven on Sunday.

"Adrian plays good, and some games in this match I was like: okay, I can't do anything," said Medvedev, who will reclaim top spot in the ATP rankings next week.

"I had to just continue playing my tennis. He was unbelievable sometimes, missing sometimes, so I just continued my game, and it managed to work today."

Medvedev was far from his best against flat-hitting Mannarino, with the first set featuring five breaks of serve, but the 26-year-old did enough to edge in front.

After wasting a chance to serve out the match in the 10th game of the second set, Medvedev edged a mammoth 11th game and avoided any sort of scare to advance through.

The Russian will next face a different sort of test against Van Rijthoven after the Dutch wildcard stunned second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime earlier on Saturday.

Van Rijthoven, who had not won a match at tour level until his opening-round win over Matthew Ebden, prevailed 6-3 1-6 7-6 (7-5) in a thrilling semi-final.

After sharing the first two sets, Van Rijthoven wasted six break-point opportunities in the decider, but he held his nerve in the tie-break to keep his dream run going.

He is the first Dutchman to reach the final in 's-Hertogenbosch since Raemon Sluiter in 2009.

Andy Murray claimed his first win over a top-five opponent since 2016 as he stunned Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach the Stuttgart Open semi-finals.

Murray started his preparations for the grass-court swing with a run to the semi-finals of the challenger at Surbiton.

He knocked off seventh seed Alexander Bublik to reach the last eight in Stuttgart but a meeting with the top seed and world number five represented a much more imposing challenge.

It was one the two-time Wimbledon champion rose to emphatically, winning a first-set tie-break and then claiming the second set in comfortable fashion to cement a 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 win, gaining revenge for his contentious five-set defeat to the Greek at last year's US Open.

Murray's previous win over a top-five opponent came in the ATP Finals six years ago, when he defeated Novak Djokovic in a year that also saw him win Wimbledon.

"I thought I did well. He served unbelievably in the first set," Murray said in his on-court interview.

"I felt like I had very few chances, but when he was creating chances on my serve, I stayed strong.

"I played a really solid tie-break and in the second set, once I was in the rallies, I felt like I was dictating a lot of the points. It was a good performance."

Murray is up to 53rd in the live ATP rankings and is bidding to get back into the top 50 for the first time since 2018. 

Standing between him and a place in the final is Nick Kyrgios, who was 7-6 (7-3) 3-0 up when Marton Fucsovics retired from their quarter-final clash.

Matteo Berrettini beat Lorenzo Sonego in three sets, while Oscar Otte won by walkover against Benjamin Bonzi.

At the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships in 's-Hertogenbosch, Daniil Medvedev saw off Ilya Ivashka 7-6 (10-8) 6-4.

Medvedev, who will soon return to world number one when the ranking points from the French Open come into effect, sees the grass-court season as a chance to cement his grip on that spot.

"I don't have many points to defend on grass and I have some to win, so hopefully I can play well, starting here," said Medvedev. "Every round is points and the higher you get, the more you need to step up."

He will face defending champion Adrian Mannarino in the semi-finals, while second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime is into a last-four clash with home hope Tim van Rijthoven after beating Karen Khachanov. 

Daniil Medvedev started his grass-court season with victory over Gilles Simon in the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships, while Hubert Hurkacz and Denis Shapovalov suffered shock defeats in Stuttgart.

Medvedev will replace Novak Djokovic at the top of the rankings next Monday and the Russian could celebrate by claiming a first title of the year in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

The top seed, who will not compete at Wimbledon due to a ban on Russian and Belarusian players, beat Frenchman Simon 7-5 6-4 on Thursday after saving three set points and storming back from 5-2 down in the opener, setting up a quarter-final against lya Ivashka.

Felix Auger-Aliassime, the second seed, defeated Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-5), but third seed Taylor Fritz was beaten by wildcard Tim van Rijthoven in straight sets.

Alex de Minaur and Jenson Brooksby also made early exits, losing to French duo Adrian Mannarino and Hugo Gaston respectively.

Marton Fucsovics claimed the scalp of third seed Hurkacz to reach the last 16 at the Stuttgart Open, winning 7-5 6-7 (7-) 6-3

Shapovalov also lost his opening of the grass-court season, Oscar Otte getting the better of the fourth seed 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-4)

There was no such trouble for top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who beat Dominic Stricker 6-3 6-4, and Andy Murray accounted for seventh seed Alexander Bublik in straight sets.

Sixteen years after their rivalry began with a Roland Garros quarter-final, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will do battle again in the last eight of the French Open.

Nadal promised he will be "focused" for the big occasion, set to come on Tuesday, while Djokovic said he was ready for "a physical battle, along with everything else".

They could hardly have had more contrasting wins to set up that eagerly awaited match, however, with Djokovic enjoying a 6-1 6-3 6-3 Sunday stroll past Diego Schwartzman, before Nadal was pushed almost to his limit by Felix Auger-Aliassime, scraping a 3-6 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-3 victory in four hours and 21 minutes.

Auger-Aliassime has Nadal's uncle, Toni Nadal, on his coaching team now, but the 21-year-old Canadian played down that factor before the match, and it was a mere sideshow to the spectacle that unfolded.

Now Nadal and Djokovic can prepare for centre stage. The illustrious pair have never collided as early as the quarter-final stage at any other grand slam, but their clash in Paris will be a third such last-eight clash at the French major.

All matches considered, it will be a 59th career meeting, with Djokovic up to now holding a 30-28 lead in the head-to-head.

Nadal leads 10-7 in their grand slam matches, however, and has a 7-2 record in their Roland Garros past encounters, albeit losing the last of those in last year's semi-final.

The very first match between the pair came at Roland Garros in the 2006 quarter-finals, when Djokovic retired at 6-4 6-4 behind, giving up due to a back injury during the first game of the third set.

Nine years later, Djokovic thrashed Nadal 7-5 6-3 6-1 at the same stage to end the Spaniard's five-year all-conquering reign on the French capital's clay courts.

Djokovic called the upcoming reunion "a well-anticipated match", and he was delighted to get the job done quickly against an overwhelmed Schwartzman. The world number one has yet to drop a set in four matches in Paris, and that follows on from his triumph at the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome where he raced to the title without dropping a set either.

Assessing the Nadal prospect, Djokovic said: "I'm glad that I didn't spend too much time on the court myself up to the quarter-finals, knowing that playing him in Roland Garros is always a physical battle, along with everything else."

The "everything else" element of that may mean the feverish backing that Nadal is likely to receive, but Djokovic wants his tennis to do the talking.

"It's a huge challenge and probably the biggest one that you can have here in Roland Garros," said the Serbian. "I'm ready for it. I like the way I have been feeling, the way I have been hitting the ball. I will focus on what I need to do."

This is a first match of the year between Djokovic and Nadal. They have played each other at least once every year since that 2006 first encounter.

After describing Auger-Aliassime as "without a doubt one of the best players in the world", Nadal, who is again battling the foot problem that has plagued his career, turned his focus to the man who surely currently tops that list.

Nadal is nevertheless one ahead of Djokovic on the all-time list of most grand slam titles, having won the Australian Open in January when Djokovic was prevented from competing to move to 21 major successes.

Booing broke out when Djokovic's name was mentioned in Nadal's post-match on-court interview, an early indication that the record 13-time French Open champion will have the crowd's support.

"Of course we know each other well. We have a lot of history together," Nadal said. "He came here after winning Rome, and for me it has been not the ideal situation to arrive here.

"But here we are in Roland Garros, it is my favourite place without a doubt, and the only thing I can tell you is I will be focused. I don't know what will happen, but the only thing I can guarantee is I am going to fight until the end."

The last time Nadal and Djokovic met so early in any tournament was in May 2016 on clay in Rome, when Djokovic beat Nadal in straight sets but went on to lose to Andy Murray in the final.

Since then there have been four semi-finals and five finals between the pair, Nadal edging those matches five wins to four. This is knife-edge tennis, not to be missed.

Rafael Nadal set up the blockbuster quarter-final against Novak Djokovic that the French Open has been waiting for, but he was pushed all the way by Felix Auger-Aliassime.

The 13-time champion emerged as a winner by a 3-6 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-3 scoreline in four hours and 21 minutes of dramatic duelling on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Those inside the stadium court roared with the fervour of football supporters as Nadal crossed the winning line, a day after watching his beloved Real Madrid beat Liverpool in the Champions League final at the Stade de France.

If defending champion Djokovic watched this, he would have observed chinks in the Nadal armour, but the great Spaniard's commitment to his craft remains resolute. He hates losing, could not abide the thought of tumbling out in the fourth round, and duly pulled out every stop to avoid that happening.

Looking ahead to the tussle with Djokovic, Nadal said afterwards: "I don't know what will happen, but the only thing I can guarantee is I am going to fight until the end."

Nadal dropped serve in the fourth game of the match and again in the sixth to trail 5-1, and he began the recovery from there, snatching a break back.

Although he had been unable to retrieve the opening set, Nadal was suddenly dialled in. At 35, coming up for 36 in the coming week, he is 14 years Auger-Aliassime's senior and has a dodgy foot, but Nadal's movement was somehow still that of a young man.

From 3-3 in the second set, Nadal won six of the next seven games to take command, soon snatching a second break in set three as he accelerated away from a player who until this year had never won a match at Roland Garros.

Making it to the fourth round signifies progress on Auger-Aliassime's part but facing the master of these courts was always a tall order. It was to the ninth seed's enormous credit that he gave the match a fresh twist by breaking twice early in the fourth set and forcing the decider.

At 4-3 in the fifth, on serve, Nadal had a break-point opportunity and his tiring legs carried him to stunning heights when he moved Auger-Aliassime into trouble at the net with a delicious, dipping backhand, and then dashed towards the net to dink a winner out of his opponent's reach.

This time Auger-Aliassime did not come back. On match point in the next game, Nadal sent a forehand into an open court after manoeuvring Auger-Aliassime out of position once more, and it brought the house down. He now has 109 wins from 112 singles matches at this tournament.

Data slam: Nadal goes the distance, finds a way

Only three times has Nadal played a fifth set at the French Open, and he has won them all, defeating John Isner in the 2011 first round and Djokovic in the 2013 semi-finals, and now Auger-Aliassime.

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Nadal – 47/41
Auger-Aliassime – 50/54

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Nadal – 3/4
Auger-Aliassime – 7/4

BREAK POINTS WON
Nadal – 6/22
Auger-Aliassime – 4/9

Rafael Nadal lost a first set at Roland Garros for the first time since 2018 as he went behind to Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Canadian Auger-Aliassime took the opening set of the pair's fourth-round match at the French Open 6-3.

It put Nadal, a 13-time champion at Roland Garros, on the back foot as he hunted a win that will tee up a quarter-final tie against Novak Djokovic, who defeated Diego Schwartzman earlier on Sunday.

And, according to ATP Media, it was the first time Nadal has lost an opening set at the French Open in four years, when he went behind to Schwartzman in the quarter-finals.

Nadal came back to win that match 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-2 en route to clinching his 11th Roland Garros success, and the second of four on the bounce.

Like in 2018, Nadal hit back to win the second set 6-3 against Auger-Aliassime, hauling himself level after a disappointing start.

Toni Nadal's loyalties will be split between nephew Rafael and current charge Felix Auger-Aliassime after the French Open served up a delicious last-16 clash.

Known popularly on the tour as Uncle Toni, the man who was at superstar Nadal's side for so many of his greatest triumphs signed up to coach Canadian Auger-Aliassime last year.

Nadal and 21-year-old Auger-Aliassime have had just one past competitive meeting, three years ago on clay in Madrid, but they will go head to head in Paris in the fourth round, and the prospect could hardly be more appetising.

According to Rafael Nadal, who says he has "zero problem" with the scenario, Uncle Toni "wants the best for me".

But Toni Nadal has been hired by Auger-Aliassime, so in theory, he should want the best for the man who grew up in Quebec, too.

Auger-Aliassime earned a hard-fought 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2) 7-5 win over Serbian Filip Krajinovic on Friday, while Nadal fended off Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp for the loss of only nine games.

There is seemingly no prospect of the Nadals staying away from one another ahead of the tussle.

"I already talked with Toni after my match," said Rafael Nadal after sinking the hopes of Van de Zandschulp.

"For me, it's very simple. He's my uncle. I don't think he will be able to want me to lose, without a doubt, but he's a professional and he's with another player.

"I don't know what's gonna happen, if he's gonna stay in the box or not, but I don't care. I have zero problem with that. So it's not a story at all for me. I know what the feelings are that we have between each other. I know he wants the best for me."

Nadal said he had no issue with Uncle Toni working for another player, adding: "He's old enough to make his own decisions, no?

"I can't thank him enough for all the things that he did for me during so many years. I don't have any problem with any position that he's making. I want the best for him, and he wants the best for me. We are family more than anything else.

"Not only family; we are a family that stay together all the time. We are in the same village. We spend time in the academy together. We lived incredible emotions together. So he's not only an uncle. He's more than that."

All of which may have made for interesting listening for Auger-Aliassime, who has joined Nadal in the world's top 10 since their meeting three years ago, with the Canadian at a career-high ninth in the rankings.

Auger-Aliassime's clay-court form has been patchy this season, and it would be a major surprise if he took the scalp of the 13-time French Open champion, who is defying ongoing foot pain to keep his career going.

Toni Nadal joined Frederic Fontang in Auger-Aliassime's coaching set-up, and it may be the latter who does much of the tactical planning for the next match.

"I don't know if I need insight on how Rafa plays, to be honest," said Auger-Aliassime. "I think we all know what he does well.

"It was black and white from the first time we started working together. We knew it was a possibility that eventually I would play Rafa when I'm working with Toni. And actually now he's present here in this grand slam. But I think Toni will watch from a neutral place and enjoy the match.

"From my part it's another match, another opportunity to try to play a good match and win, but of course it's very difficult. I don't know how Toni feels. Maybe we should ask him, but he hasn't talked to me about it."

Auger-Aliassime called for observers to consider the "bigger picture", and what Toni and his nephew, the record-holding 21-time men's grand slam winner, achieved together.

"It's one match, let's play, but his career and everything is much bigger than this," said the Canadian.

Felix Auger-Aliassime proved no match for Novak Djokovic, who looks well set to claim his first title of 2022.

It has been a frustrating season to date for the Serbian, who reached a final in Belgrade last month before being beaten by rising star Carlos Alcaraz in Madrid earlier in May.

Yet with Rafael Nadal out of the picture, Djokovic is the clear favourite heading into the Internazionali d'Italia semi-finals, after he beat Auger-Aliassime 7-5 7-6 (7-1) on Friday.

The win not only tees up a semi-final against Casper Ruud, who saw off Nadal's conqueror Denis Shapovalov 7-6 (9-7) 7-5, but also ensures Djokovic will spend a 370th week at the top of the ATP rankings, after he slipped below Daniil Medvedev in the live standings.

Djokovic will add 360 points to his total for reaching the last four, and he now has a milestone 1,000th Tour-level win in his sights when he takes on Ruud for a place in the final. The 34-year-old has won a record 37 Masters 1000 titles so far in his career, including five in Rome.

"I thought it was high-level tennis," Djokovic said. "[Auger-Aliassime] did ask me to raise the level and I had to play consistently well.

"I thought I could have finished the job earlier, but credit to him for fighting back. 

"I know Felix well. He's been around the top of the men's game for quite a few years. He's got a lethal serve, honestly. He's hitting his spots in the box incredibly well with the serve, and it was not easy for me at all to return.

"He's also returning well, he's moving well. He's a very complete player."

The other semi-final will see second seed Alexander Zverev, who beat Cristian Garin 7-5 6-2, take on Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Greek Tsitsipas overcame Jannik Sinner 7-6 (7-5) 6-2, becoming the first player to reach 30 wins on the ATP Tour in 2022.

"We have similar game styles but he is one of the most difficult players to play against on the Tour," Tsitsipas said, previewing his clash with Zverev.

"I have a lot of respect for him. He has achieved a lot so far and I try and look up to him with the things he has achieved."

Rafael Nadal suffered his earliest Internazionali d'Italia exit since 2008 at the hands of Denis Shapovalov on Thursday, but Novak Djokovic advanced to the quarter-finals. 

'King of Clay' Nadal fell to a 1-6 7-5 6-2 defeat to Shapovalov in the third round in Rome, with the Canadian surging to victory after winning 12 straight points from 2-2 in the deciding set. 

The legendary Spaniard stormed through the first set thanks to a series of brilliant returns, but his opponent dominated at the net in the second to take the match the distance. 

Shapovalov then flipped the narrative on its head by winning 14 of a possible 22 return points to set up a quarter-final meeting with Casper Ruud, who beat Jenson Brooksby 6-3 6-4. 

Djokovic is one win away from retaining his status as world number one after taking just 75 minutes to see off three-time grand slam winner Stan Wawrinka 6-2 6-2. 

After a lengthy spell out injured, Wawrinka ended a 15-month wait for an ATP Tour victory at Foro Italico before the Serbian brought his run to an end. 

"It is great to see Stan back and winning. He won two tough matches. You can see he is still not physically where he wants to be. But, nevertheless, he is Stan Wawrinka and he can hurt you if you give him time," Djokovic said. 

"I managed to do well from the beginning. I really moved him around the court and held my serve comfortably except for that loss of my serve in the second set." 

Felix Auger-Aliassime stands between Djokovic and the number one spot after overcoming lucky loser Marcos Giron 6-3 6-2. 

In the other half of the draw, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Jannik Sinner will play out an entertaining quarter-final after they beat Karen Khachano and Filip Krajinovic respectively. 

Alexander Zverev, the defeated finalist in Madrid last week, beat Alex De Minaur 6-3 7-6 (7-5) and will battle Cristian Garin for a place in the final four.