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From the 128 men that started in the field at Roland Garros, only four remain.
Tonight’s (AEST) semi-finals will see Dominic Thiem face Italian surprise packet Marco Cecchinato, and world number one Rafael Nadal square off against former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro.
Novak Djokovic’s quarter-final elimination at the hands of 72nd-ranked Cecchinato means for the second time in the past three Majors, and first at the French Open since 2013, there will be a first-time Grand Slam finalist.
Thiem starts the favourite, after twice previously reaching the semi-finals at Roland Garros, losing to Djokovic in 2016 and Nadal last year.
The Austrian has also been in good touch over the clay court season, defeating Nadal in the quarter-finals of the Madrid Masters, to go with his win over the Spaniard in Rome last year.
In between, Nadal did not drop a set on his beloved surface en route to last year’s French Open title, as well as those in Monte Carlo and Barcelona this year, while he also took out the Rome Masters last month.
But should Thiem reach the final, he could face what has proven to be tennis’ equivalent of conquering Mount Everest – facing Nadal in a French Open final.
Cecchinato, on the other hand, will be attempting to become the first unseeded man to reach a Major final since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the 2008 Australian Open, and first at Roland Garros since Mariano Puerta lost to Rafael Nadal, who won the first of his 16 Majors, in 2005.
To reach the final would be an amazing achievement for the Italian, who had never previously won a match at Grand Slam level and broke his duck by coming from two sets to love down against Marius Copil in the first round.
He also arrived in Paris weeks after winning his first career title in Budapest, where he defeated Australian John Millman in the final.
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The other semi-final will see Nadal attempt to reach his 11th final at Roland Garros, while del Potro is in his second French Open semi-final, nine years after his first.
After having his quarter-final match against Diego Schwartzman suspended due to bad weather, the Spaniard overcame the loss of the first set to prevail in four and keep alive his bid for a 17th Major crown.
The signs are good for the 32-year-old – each time he has reached a Grand Slam semi-final in Europe (this is his 16th, if you also include five at Wimbledon), he has reached the final.
As for the Argentine, he defeated fellow former US Open champion Marin Cilic to return to the last four at Roland Garros for the first time since 2009.
The 2009 US Open champion is aiming to reach just his second Grand Slam final, after his success in New York nearly a decade ago.
The 29-year-old handed Nadal the most lopsided defeat of his Grand Slam career on his way to that title – losing just six games, two in each set. However, the Spaniard won their most recent Grand Slam meeting at last year’s US Open, and also won their only previous meeting at the French Open way back in the first round in 2007, when the Argentine was only 17.
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