Away from the limelight of Djokovic vs Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev set up a potential blockbuster quarterfinal of their own.
Carlos Alcaraz pummelled Karen Khachanov 6-1 6-4 6-4 to reach the French Open quarter-finals and stretch his winning run to 14 matches.
The 19-year-old became the youngest male player in 29 years to reach two Grand Slam quarter-finals after also making the U.S. Open last eight.
He needed just 29 minutes to storm through the first set before breaking Khachanov, the world number 25, at 3-3 and never looking back from there.
The pair traded breaks midway through the third set on a chilly and overcast evening in the French capital but it was Alcaraz who pulled ahead.
He wobbled a bit at the end, wasting five match points on Khachanov’s serve, but that only delayed the inevitable by one game, as he sealed victory on his serve minutes later.
World number six Alcaraz now has a 19-1 win-loss record on clay this season after winning back-to-back titles in Barcelona and Madrid.
He will face third seed Alexander Zverev next who beat qualifier Bernabe Zapata Miralles in straight sets.
Zverev recovered from an erratic serve to beat Spain’s Bernabe Zapata Miralles 7-6(11) 7-5 6-3.
The German had to save three set points in the first set, and come back from 4-2 down in the second while also hitting seven double faults in a topsy turvy performance.
The 25-year-old twice broke the 131st-ranked Spaniard, who had never made it past round two in a Grand Slam prior to Paris, to charge 4-1 in front.
Zverev was 4-1, 40-0 up on his own serve but baseliner Zapata Miralles launched a comeback, dragging the rallies out and battling back to break the German twice before wasting three set points in the tiebreak.
Zverev also squandered three of his own before finally winning it on the fourth opportunity, but he was again broken at the start of the second set as he looked for answers from somewhere.
Eventually, he bounced back despite being 5-2 down in the second but his serve, slower due to the chilly temperatures, meant he failed to hold any service game until midway through the third set.
The winner of the Alcaraz, Zverev quarterfinal will go on to face the winner of the Nadal vs Djokovic match in the semifinals of the French Open in what promises to be a thrilling few days for the competition.
