Rafael Nadal brushed aside Sebastian Korda and will now meet Jannik Sinner in the last eight, who rewarded Sporting Life followers by shocking Alexander Zverev.
The record 12-times winner, and defending champion, Nadal showed no mercy against Korda to win 6-1 6-1 6-2 on Court Philippe Chatrier - a rude awakening for the young American, who idolised the Spaniard so much he named his cat after him.
The 20-year-old briefly threatened to make a match of it at the start of the third set, when he led 2-0 only for Nadal to reel off six games in a row.
Nadal has lost just 23 games in four matches, and the concerns about the conditions making life tough for him seem a long time ago.
The second seed said: “I’m in the quarter-finals without losing a set and having very positive scores.
“So I can’t complain at all. I am quite happy about the way that I am playing and the practices I am feeling every time a little bit better and better.”
Next up for Nadal is 19-year-old Jannik Sinner, who became the youngest grand slam men’s quarter-finalist since Novak Djokovic 14 years ago with a brilliant performance against Alexander Zverev.
Tipped at 33/20 by Andy Schooler to beat the US Open finalist, the Italian teenager never looked like losing.
He swept past the German 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-3 to complete a straightforward victory.
Jannik Sinner: that is special. 👏@janniksin #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/gJGigJQ9jf
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 4, 2020
Dominic Thiem survived a brave fightback from French wild card Hugo Gaston to reach the quarter-finals.
US Open champion Thiem looked to be sailing through to the last eight when he led Gaston, ranked 239, by two sets to love but the 20-year-old Frenchman battled back to force a decider.
Thiem, who had not dropped a set in his first three matches, began to look both physically and mentally weary as Gaston, who defeated Stan Wawrinka in the third round, dragged him to the net time and again with drop shots.
But Thiem held his nerve in the fifth set as his opponent showed his inexperience at crucial moments, the Austrian eventually winning 6-4 6-4 5-7 3-6 6-3 after three hours and 32 minutes.
The 27-year-old said: “I think it was an amazing match for both of us, such good fighting qualities for him. I haven’t seen for a very long time a player with such a big touch in his hands. His drop shots were from another planet.
“I was losing a little bit of energy, he was playing amazing. In the fifth set I found somehow new energy. It was a great fight to the end and I’m very lucky I made it through today.”
In the last eight, Thiem will face 12th seed Diego Schwartzman, who has been in great form in Paris and beat Lorenzo Sonego 6-1 6-3 6-4.
