Third seed Carlos Alcaraz warned his rivals that he is improving with each match after marching into a mouthwatering French Open quarter-final against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Two-time Grand Slam winner Alcaraz dispatched 21st seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets on Sunday, dropping just seven games as he beat the Canadian 6-3 6-3 6-1.
That teed up a last-eight showdown with Tsitsipas on Tuesday, after the Greek ninth seed fought back to beat Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 6-2.
“The most important thing is to believe in myself,” said Alcaraz, whose preparations for the French Open were hampered by a forearm injury.
“It doesn’t matter that I don’t have too many matches on my back and that I didn’t come with a lot of rhythm.
“After every practice and every match I’m getting better and better and that was easy for me. On Philippe Chatrier [court] it is easy for me to play and it is better to get to 100 per cent.”
Play started early on Sunday at Roland Garros after rain delays meant that Novak Djokovic’s five-set win over Lorenzo Musetti didn’t finish until after 3am.
Women’s defending champion Iga Swiatek wasted no time in wrapping up a thrashing of Russian Anastasia Potapova, conceding only 10 points as she won 6-0 6-0 in 40 minutes.
Swiatek will continue her bid for a fourth French Open crown against fifth seed Marketa Vondrousova, who beat Olga Danilovic 6-4 6-2.
Third seed Coco Gauff will meet Ons Jabeur next after they overcame Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Clara Tauson respectively in straight sets.