Reigning Australian Open champions Sofia Kenin and Novak Djokovic sealed their quarterfinal places at the French Open on a rainy Monday in Paris.
Petra Kvitova was another winner – she makes her first appearance in the last eight at Roland Garros since 2012 – but poor weather postponed the fourth-round clash between Ons Jabeur and Danielle Collins until Tuesday.
Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Grigor Dimitrov to set up a Hamburg final rematch with 13th seed Andrey Rublev, while Djokovic next faces Pablo Carreno Busta.
Emotions run high for Kvitova, Kenin
Seventh seed Kvitova saw off Zhang Shuai 6-2 6-4 under the Court Phillipe Chatrier roof and teared up upon victory.
The Czech, who returned to tennis on the same court in 2017 after suffering severe hand injuries in a knife attack, revealed those comeback memories had flooded back to her.
All the emotions for @Petra_Kvitova ?#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/TGEXuWVFnc
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) October 5, 2020
Kvitova next plays Germany’s Laura Siegemund, who ended the run of Paula Badosa – the Spaniard had earlier eliminated major champions Sloane Stephens and Jelena Ostapenko – to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Another player overcome with emotion was No.4 seed Sofia Kenin, who eliminated French hope Fiona Ferro 2-6 6-2 6-1 and then wept into her towel after reaching her first French quarterfinal.
Kenin, who improves upon last year's fourth-round run in Paris where she beat Serena Williams, will face either Jabeur or Collins.
Djokovic, Rublev extend streaks
Djokovic continued his impressive progress through the draw, eliminating Russian Karen Khachanov in straight sets to notch a 14th French Open quarterfinal.
Khachanov, the No.15 seed, pushed the world No.1 harder than any of Djokovic’s previous opponents this fortnight, but was still only able to collect 10 games as the Serb stretched his winning streak to nine matches.
DRAW: French Open men's singles
Rome champion Djokovic will now face Carreno Busta for the second straight Slam after the Spaniard reeled off nine straight games from 5-2 down in the second set to complete a 6-2 7-5 6-2 win over German qualifier Daniel Altmaier.
Rublev is also on a nine-match winning streak after he recovered from a set and 5-2 down to beat Hungarian Marton Fucsovics in four sets.
Tsitsipas and Rublev at #RG20:
— The Tennis Podcast (@TennisPodcast) October 5, 2020
Day 1: meet in Hamburg final, won by Rublev in three sets, before travelling to Paris.
Day 3: both recover from two sets to love down for the first time in R1.
Day 9: set up QF match against each other.
Really impressive.
The Russian will next face fifth seed Tsitsipas, who saved two set points in the second set to beat an error-prone Grigor Dimitrov 6-3 7-6(9) 6-2.
Stat of the day
Kenin evoked memories of her third-set performance in the AO 2020 final, where she produced a succession of winners when break points down against Garbine Muguruza to run away with the match.
In the third set against Ferro on Monday, those winners were again flowing off her racquet; the American produced 17 while committing just four unforced errors.
DRAW: French Open women's singles
Elevating her game on the biggest stages at crucial moments has been a feature of this season for Kenin, whose Grand Slam record in 2020 is currently identical to that of top-ranked Djokovic.
Quotes of the day
“There was a lot of emotions. I was just super happy that I won. I usually don't play really good on clay. In the past in juniors, I really hated the clay. Last year I started to like it for the first time. I'm just super proud of myself. I feel like I'm playing really well.”
- Sofia Kenin
“It is very important for me to take this opportunity and fight harder this time, maybe do something better. I know, yeah, he's a tough cookie.”
- Stefanos Tsitsipas on Andrey Rublev, who beat the Greek in the Hamburg final less than two weeks ago.
“I feel great with my performance for last couple of weeks, in general with my season. I'm really grateful.”
- Andrey Rublev, who improves to 29-6 in 2020 after reaching both the US Open and French Open quarterfinals.
“I've been playing really good. I think it's been a miracle for me to make the semifinal here in Roland Garros (back in 2012). After eight years to be in the quarterfinal again, it's great. I'm really happy for that, that I'm still able to play on all surfaces.”
- Petra Kvitova
“It's exciting to come so far. It was always my dream to be in the second week of a Slam. That's where I see myself. That's where I want to be. I'm glad I'm making that come true now.”
- Laura Siegemund, who next plays Kvitova for a place in the French Open semifinals.
Tweet of the day
Action. Reaction.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/4wlp2JGfzc
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) October 5, 2020
Day 10: Ones to watch
Court Philippe Chatrier hosts an incredible five matches on a bumper day of French Open action on Tuesday.
The schedule kicks off with Jabeur v Collins – a fourth-round match postponed on Monday due to rain – before the quarterfinal action gets underway when No.3 seed Elina Svitolina looks to end the 12-match winning streak of Argentinian qualifier Nadia Podoroska.
ORDER OF PLAY: French Open Day 10
Following that is an exciting clash between US Open champion Dominic Thiem and 12th seed Diego Schwartzman, which precedes an unlikely women’s quarterfinal between Poland’s Iga Swiatek – conqueror of top seed Simona Halep – and Italian qualifier Martina Trevisan.
The singles action concludes on Chatrier with 12-time champion Rafael Nadal taking on rising Italian star Jannik Sinner, who has already ousted David Goffin and Alexander Zverev.