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The dream quarter-final between world number one Novak Djokovic and nine-time champion Rafael Nadal is another step closer to eventuating, after both players won their respective second-round ties of the French Open.
The pair were followed into the third round by Andy Murray, whose solid clay court campaign continued, while Thanasi Kokkinakis edged out Bernard Tomic in a thrilling five-set All-Australian second-round match to also progress.
Just as he did at the Australian Open, Djokovic defeated Gilles Muller in straight sets, but this time had it much easier, losing five games fewer than in the fourth round at Melbourne Park.
The world number one, who only needs to win the French Open to complete his Grand Slam set, now goes on to face Kokkinakis, who came from two sets to love down to upset his more-fancied compatriot Tomic.
Kokkinakis is the first teenager to get this far since 2008, and the experience of having faced then-world number one Rafael Nadal at last year’s Australian Open will have him steeled for his showdown with the Djoker.
The South Australian will be one of two Australian men in action on Saturday, with Nick Kyrgios to face Andy Murray in a rematch of their Australian Open quarter-final showdown which was won by the Scot in straight sets.
Murray, for his part, defeated Portugal’s Joao Sousa for a third time (and second at a Grand Slam tournament) this year in four sets to once again reach the third round as he seeks to reach the French Open final for the first time.
Kyrgios, meanwhile, will enter the match refreshed having not played since Monday after his second round opponent, Kyle Edmund, withdrew due to a stomach injury.
Nadal continues to prove that he is anything but a spent force, as his poor clay court form this year had suggested, thrashing fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro for the loss of just eight games to move through to the third round for the 11th consecutive year.
He will face Russian Andrey Kuznetsov for a fourth round berth, and is two wins away from potentially facing Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals. The Spaniard will not have to face any more seeds until then, so there are no excuses.
Reigning US Open champion Marin Cilic and seventh seed David Ferrer also progressed, but 16th seed John Isner went down to local favourite Jeremy Chardy in the only notable upset among the men on Day 5.
Japan’s Kei Nishikori received a walkover into the fourth round after his scheduled third round opponent, Benjamin Becker, withdrew due to injury. The German outlasted Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in the second round in five thrilling sets.
Meanwhile, there were more casualties in the women’s draw, with former world number one Caroline Wozniacki joining Simona Halep and Eugenie Bouchard as fellow first-week losers, but there were no such problems for world number one Serena Williams or defending Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.
Wozniacki, a quarter-finalist in 2010, crashed out in a straight-sets loss to Germany’s Julia Goerges, while fellow seeds Svetlana Kuznetsova and Karolina Pliskova were also on the wrong end of second round upsets.
Her defeat opens up the path for either Andrea Petkovic or Sara Errani, both of whom met in the quarter-finals last year, to once again get this far. They will clash for a fourth round berth on Saturday night (AEST).
Kuznetsova, the 2009 champion, crashed to her earliest French Open exit since 2003 when she lost a three-set thriller to 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone. The Russian had served for the match four times but each time the Italian was able to break back before winning 10-8 in the final set.
With fellow seeds Zarina Diyas and Karolina Pliskova also departing, the draw has been blown wide open for reigning Wimbledon champion Kvitova to make the semi-finals for the first time since 2012.
The Czech’s up-and-down French Open campaign continued when she again required three sets to defeat Spaniard Silvia Soler Espinosa. She will now face Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu for a place in the last 16.
However, the match to watch this Saturday will be the one between reigning world number one Williams and two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka, whose comeback from an injury-plagued 2014 season is gaining momentum.
Williams, the 2002 and 2013 champion, flirted with disaster when she dropped the first set to Germany’s Anna-Lena Friedsam before recovering to win in three sets. Azarenka, however, had it much easier, defeating Lucie Hradecka in straight sets.
It will be the first time since the 2013 US Open final that the two players have met at Grand Slam level, and the second time this year after Williams saved three match points to defeat her Belarusian rival in Madrid.
Local favourite Kristina Mladenovic, the first round victor over Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard, former Australian Open semi-finalists Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens, and former Wimbledon semi-finalist Tsvetana Pironkova also advanced.
The big matches have well and truly started forming at the French Open. Will we eventually see Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal square off in the quarter-finals? Can Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios upstage their more experienced rivals? And will Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova face off for the title?
All that is set to be answered, and more, as the French Open moves into the second week.
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