As the second week of the French Open approaches, here is a preview of some of the mens’ Round of 16 matches to watch out for.

Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber (16)
Head-to-head: Djokovic 2-1
Last meeting: Djokovic 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3), third round, 2010 Indian Wells Masters.

So far, so good for World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who has yet to drop a set in his bid to win a maiden French Open title.

But come Monday, Djokovic will face a man who defeated him in the third round four years ago – that defeat marked the last time the Serbian failed to reach the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament.

Philipp Kohlschreiber is one of the journeymen of mens’ tennis – his quarter-final at Wimbledon last year, where he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, being his only venture past the early rounds of Grand Slam tournaments.

He had pulled through a section ravaged by the early defeat of Rafael Nadal – but since then he hasn’t been able to repeat that run in two subsequent Major tournaments.

But if there is any chance that he has of reaching a second Grand Slam quarter-final, he need not look back to as far as the 2009 French Open, when he sent Djokovic packing in the third round, before being beaten by Tommy Robredo in the fourth round.

At the time, Novak Djokovic was a different player back then, still struggling in Major tournaments and had only reached the semi-finals at that level since his then-only title at the 2008 Australian Open.

Today, Djokovic is a much different player, and has since added five more Major titles and having not missed a Major quarter-final since. He is on a streak of 15 consecutive Major quarter-finals, the last 11 in a row of which he has reached at least the semi-finals.

Since the first round, the Serbian has not conceded more than three games in a row, and given the patchy ride that his projected semi-final opponent, Rafael Nadal, is enduring at the moment, you’d think that the time would finally come for Djokovic to knock him off the throne in Paris.

Key: Can Novak Djokovic keep up his good form in Paris before the quarter-finals?

Tip: Djokovic in straight sets.

Tommy Haas (12) vs. Mikhail Youzhny (29)
Head-to-head: Youzhny 4-3
Last meeting: Youzhny 6-4, 6-3, first round, 2013 Rome Masters.

For either man, an improbable quarter-final beckons.

Tommy Haas has come back from the dead when many thought that his career was over. Last year’s comeback player of the year (the second time he has won this honour) has had an impressive season so far, having knocked off Novak Djokovic in Miami and returning to the Top 15.

However, standing in his way will be another veteran in the form of Russian Mikhail Youzhny. Like Haas, the Russian has also experienced somewhat of a revival, having reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon last year.

Youzhny progress at the French Open hasn’t been smooth sailing, having been pushed to four sets in his first two matches before surprisingly defeating Janko Tipsarevic in straight sets in the third round.

Haas, on the other hand, was forced to endure a five set marathon against the king of marathons, John Isner, being taken to 10-8 in the final set. That could be a telling factor if Haas falls behind early in this match.

The German only needs to reach the quarter-finals in Paris to complete his set of having reached the final eight at every Major, and given his impressive revival over the last 12 months, you can bet on this happening.

Key: Who will prevail in the battle of the two veterans?

Tip: Haas in four sets.

Rafael Nadal (3) vs. Kei Nishikori (13)
Head-to-head: Nadal 4-0
Last meeting: Nadal 6-4, 6-4, fourth round, 2012 Miami Masters.

On paper, it appears to be the mismatch of the round, but Kei Nishikori can prove anything but.

Rafael Nadal’s progress in Paris has not been smooth sailing, having been pushed to four sets in his first two matches before defeating Fabio Fognini with some relative ease in the third round.

The Spaniard has had the comeback of all comebacks, winning all bar two of his competitive matches since returning from a knee injury which wiped him out of the Olympics and US Open last year, as well as this year’s Australian Open.

This rampaging run has also seen the Spaniard pick up six out of a possible eight titles, with all but one of them coming on his favourite surface, clay.

However, come Monday and he will have met his match. Or will he?

He faces up to Japan’s Kei Nishikori, against whom Nadal has a 4-0 head-to-head record against, however, Nishikori should not be written off.

The Japanese reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open and defeated David Ferrer at the Olympics last year, and very recently upset Roger Federer in Madrid.

Nishikori’s poor record against Nadal does not make for good reading – he has only ever won one set against him, and that was in their first meeting back in 2008.

Key: If Nishikori is to reverse his poor record against Nadal, then he’ll need to take a leaf out of Robin Soderling’s book. I don’t see this happening.

Tip: Nadal in straight sets.

Stanislas Wawrinka (9) vs. Richard Gasquet (7)
Head-to-head: Gasquet 1-0
Last meeting: Gasquet 7-5, 6-1, second round, 2006 Paris Masters.

If there is anything that will arise from this match, it’s that a first-time French Open quarter-finalist is guaranteed from the battle of two former junior winners of this event, a decade on.

As well as this, either man will try to end long Major quarter-final droughts: Wawrinka has not reached the final eight of a Major since the 2011 Australian Open, whilst Gasquet has not gone past the fourth round of a Major since Wimbledon in 2007.

Stanislas Wawrinka has been one man to watch this year. He almost upset Novak Djokovic at this year’s Australian Open, with the final set in that match stretching to 12-10.

His clay form this year has also been exceptional, defeating Andy Murray in Monte Carlo and also reaching the final in Madrid, taking out Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Tomas Berdych along the way.

His opponent this Monday, Richard Gasquet, has been very consistent at Grand Slam tournaments since being exonerated over drug use in 2009, but hasn’t been able to shake off that fourth round virus which sometimes plagues former top players.

Nevertheless, he has reached the fourth round of seven of the last eight Grand Slam tournaments, but regularly finds himself running into top players.

At the Australian Open earlier this year, he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets. Twice last year, he ran into David Ferrer (Australian and US Opens), once into Andy Murray (at the French Open) and at Wimbledon last year he ran into Florian Mayer who would ultimately reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final in eight years.

Given he won their only meeting thus far, you can bet that he can finally reach his first quarter-final in Paris. With the crowd expected to be behind him, you can bet on this happening.

Key: For the second year in a row, Wawrinka will have the crowd against him as the Parisians try to cheer Gasquet into his first quarter-final in Paris. Last year, Wawrinka lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in five sets.

Tip: Wawrinka in five sets.

Tommy Robredo (32) vs. Nicolas Almagro (11)
Head-to-head: Almagro 5-0
Last meeting: Almagro 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), Acapulco, 2013.

The battle of two Spaniards sees Tommy Robredo, the comeback player, come up against Nicolas Almagro, who for the past few years has been playing third fiddle to Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer.

Robredo has experienced a huge comeback after injuries sent his ranking plummeting to 471 last year. He has done enough to re-enter the Top 40, and along the way pick up a small title in Casablanca, thus ending a two-year title drought.

However, if he is to reach a fifth quarter-final in Paris, he’ll have to overcome a 0-5 head-to-head record against Nicolas Almagro, himself a multiple-quarter-finalist in Paris (he also reached the quarter-finals in Australia earlier this year).

He’ll also have to back up from two draining five-setters, both of which he came from two sets down to win, including his most recent episode which saw him save four match points against French hope Gael Monfils.

Almagro’s run has been smooth sailing, having won nine straight sets since dropping the first set in his first round match against lucky loser Andreas Haider-Maurer. His last match against Italian Andreas Seppi saw him triumph in straight sets.

Given his consistent season overall, you can bet on Almagro reaching the final eight in Paris for a fourth time. But if he is to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final, he’ll very likely have to defeat David Ferrer, who came from two sets down to beat him in Australia earlier this year, in the quarter-finals.

Key: The last two five-setters could be a telling story if Tommy Robredo loses this one.

Tip: Almagro in straight sets.

Kevin Anderson (23) vs. David Ferrer (4)
Head-to-head: 1-all
Last meeting: Anderson 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, second round, 2013 Indian Wells Masters.

A South African journeyman comes up against the tough Spanish wall that is David Ferrer in this intriguing fourth round match.

Kevin Anderson has made a name for himself this year, featuring in the Hopman Cup earlier this year with Chanelle Scheepers, reaching the final in Sydney where he lost to Bernard Tomic in three sets, knocking out Fernando Verdasco at the Australian Open earlier this year en route to reaching the fourth round and notably winning his last meeting against David Ferrer at Indian Wells back in March, en route to reaching the quarter-finals.

However, if he is to convert his equal-best Grand Slam performance into a first quarter-final at this level, he’ll have to face up to the Spaniard who has not dropped a set so far and is looking the goods as he seeks a maiden Grand Slam final.

Ferrer has been one of the most consistent men over the last 12 months, and this is illustrated by the fact that he won more matches than any other man or woman last year, and also picked up seven titles, including the prestigious Paris Masters late in the year.

This year, he has performed admirably well, defending his Auckland title as well as reaching the semi-finals in Australia for a second time in three years. He also came very close to becoming the first Spaniard to ever win the Miami Masters, but a challenge ruled in Andy Murray’s favour and Ferrer eventually lost the championship match in a final set tiebreak.

Ferrer is on a streak of five consecutive Grand Slam quarter-finals (three of the last four he has reached the semi-finals) and given his impressive form this year, this streak does not look like ending.

Key: Can Kevin Anderson repeat his stunning victory from earlier this year, or will Ferrer stand up?

Tip: Ferrer in four sets.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (6) vs. Viktor Troicki
Head-to-head: 3-all
Last meeting: Tsonga 7-6 (8-6), 6-3, second round, 2013 Miami Masters

There are few players who are able to play with the expectation of the home crowd and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is one of them.

But last year’s first quarter-final in Paris could bring back haunting memories, as he wasted four match points in the fourth set against eventual finalist Novak Djokovic before capitulating in five sets.

Tsonga will have learnt from the experience and there is no doubt that he will once again feature at the business end of the French Open this year. Here, he faces up to Serbia’s Viktor Troicki, who caused somewhat of an upset when he put out Marin Cilic in the previous round.

At age 27, Troicki might sound like a journeyman, but he has achieved a lot of things in his relatively low-profile career. In 2010, he won the deciding rubber as Serbia won the Davis Cup, and as well as this he reached the fourth round at Wimbledon last year, losing only to his more higher-profile compatriot Novak Djokovic.

With this being his third Round of 16 at a Grand Slam tournament, Troicki will be hoping that it’s third time lucky as he seeks a first quarter-final at this level. But he’ll have the crowd against him as they try to cheer Tsonga into another quarter-final at the French Open.

Key: Once again, can Jo-Wilfried Tsonga perform in front of what is expected to be a big crowd, with the lure of a quarter-final against Roger Federer also playing in his mind?

Tip: Tsonga in straight sets.

Gilles Simon (15) vs. Roger Federer (2)
Head-to-head: Federer 3-2
Last meeting: Federer 6-1, 6-2, third round, 2013 Rome Masters.

Matches do not get any bigger than this one. France’s third biggest hope behind Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet, Gilles Simon, enters the fourth round hoping to reach only his second Grand Slam quarter-final, and first in Paris.

To do that, he’ll have to face up to Roger Federer, who recently defeated him in Rome and also won a five-set thriller between the two at the Australian Open two years ago.

Federer hasn’t been enjoying a great season by his standards, having only reached his first final of the season in Rome a few weeks ago, losing to Rafael Nadal. However, the run in Rome could suggest that he is in for a big run here in Paris – he has also yet to drop a set as he seeks a second title in the French capital.

The French Open has been Federer’s least successful Grand Slam – apart from his solitary title in 2009, the 2004 edition also saw him not make the quarter-finals – the last time that Federer’s name was missing from the final eight of a Major tournament.

Simon has historically given him some tough times as well – the Frenchman won their first two meetings, and also stretched him to five sets in the aforementioned Australian Open match in 2011.

So Federer could be in for a tough time here – but expect him to pull through to the quarter-finals, where another Frenchman in the form of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga could await.

Key: Gilles Simon will have to do everything in his powers to stop Federer – and I don’t see this happening.

Tip: Federer in four sets.