Carlos Alcaraz does not believe he should be considered among the favourites to win Wimbledon given his lack of experience playing on grass.
The teenage Spaniard is enjoying a breakout season, having won a pair of ATP Masters 1000 titles in Miami and Madrid and picked up further silverware in Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona.
Alcaraz has been seeded fifth for just his second main-draw appearance at Wimbledon. Last year, he beat Yasutaka Uchiyama in five sets before falling to a straight-sets defeat against Daniil Medvedev.
They are Alcaraz's only ATP Tour-level matches on grass, so his main focus heading to the All England Club is to simply improve his feel for the surface.
"I don't mind being in the spotlight, I don't see it as pressure, but I've seen that I'm considered one of the favourites for Wimbledon. I don't see it that way at all," Alcaraz told the Spanish media.
"There are many players who play better than me on grass. [Novak] Djokovic, Rafa [Rafael Nadal], [Matteo] Berrettini... We are going to try to gain experience on this surface.
"Knowing how to move well on grass is very important. I think it's the key to being able to get good results. We're trying to improve in mobility and the small details that are more important on this surface.
"Being more aggressive, trying to take advantage of the fact that I volley well – those things."
Alcaraz is playing an exhibition tournament at Hurlingham this week and lost his opening match against Frances Tiafoe 6-4 6-2 on Thursday.
The world number seven has been struggling with an elbow issue, but experienced no discomfort during his defeat.
"A week ago, I couldn't train at all," he added. "I came here unsure if I was going to be able to play normally.
"The days I've been able to train I've felt quite well – zero pain in the elbow – and today there was no pain in the match with Tiafoe."
Defending men's champion Novak Djokovic and women's world number one Iga Swiatek head the seedings for Wimbledon, which starts on Monday.
The championships issued its lists of seeds on Tuesday, with Russian and Belarusian players absent from the line-up after they were excluded from the tournament because of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
It means Russia's men's world number one Daniil Medvedev is absent, while Germany's second-ranked Alexander Zverev also misses out, in his case because of an ankle injury.
With Wimbledon sticking to the ATP and WTA rankings, that means world number three Djokovic automatically moves up to the top seeding as he chases a seventh title at the All England Club, and a 21st grand slam win of his career.
Two-time Wimbledon winner Rafael Nadal is the second seed, with the Spaniard having already won the Australian Open and French Open titles this year to nudge two majors ahead of Djokovic and Roger Federer on the all-time men's list. Federer, still battling his way back from knee surgery, will not play Wimbledon this year and turns 41 in August.
Norway's Casper Ruud, fresh from reaching the French Open final, is the third seed, with Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas fourth. Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz is fifth, while Great Britain's Cameron Norrie, ninth on the list, receives his first top-10 seeding at Wimbledon.
Norrie is bumped up from his world ranking of number 12, given world number eight Andrey Rublev, another Russian, is prevented from competing.
The women's reigning champion Ash Barty has retired since capturing the title last July, so her successor as the dominant player on the WTA Tour, Swiatek, assumes the top seeding.
Swiatek has reeled off 35 consecutive match wins, dominating on hardcourts and clay, but she has less of a grass pedigree, albeit the 21-year-old Pole is a former junior Wimbledon champion.
Last year saw Swiatek lose in the fourth round to Tunisian Ons Jabeur, who is the third seed this time. Estonia's Anett Kontaveit is the second seed, with Wimbledon no longer making any allowances for grass-court prowess, as it used to when devising its seeding lists.
Britain's Emma Raducanu, like Norrie, is a Wimbledon top-10 seed for the first time. The shock US Open champion is seeded 10th, one ahead of the American teenager Coco Gauff.
The format means there will be dangerous unseeded players in the draw, notably Nick Kyrgios and two-time champion Andy Murray in the men's singles.
Serena Williams, the seven-time women's champion, is entered on a wildcard and is also unseeded. Williams, 40, has not played singles since abandoning her first-round match at Wimbledon last year due to injury, but entered this week's doubles event at Eastbourne, partnering Jabeur.
Men's top 10: 1. Novak Djokovic, 2. Rafael Nadal, 3. Casper Ruud, 4. Stefanos Tsitsipas, 5. Carlos Alcaraz, 6. Felix Auger-Aliassime, 7. Hubert Hurkacz, 8. Matteo Berrettini, 9. Cameron Norrie, 10. Jannik Sinner
Women's top 10: 1. Iga Swiatek, 2. Anett Kontaveit, 3. Ons Jabeur, 4. Paula Badosa, 5. Maria Sakkari, 6. Karolina Pliskova, 7. Danielle Collins, 8. Jessica Pegula, 9. Garbine Muguruza, 10. Emma Raducanu
Serena Williams' return to Wimbledon represents a "great example" to other players, according to Nick Kyrgios, who said tennis fans should not take her or other fellow greats Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, for granted.
Comparing the quartet to four-time NBA MVP LeBron James, Kyrgios says sports fans should enjoy the legends' "amazing" exploits while they still can.
It was confirmed on Tuesday that Williams – who has not played competitively since losing to Aliaksandra Sasnovich at Wimbledon last year – has been handed a singles wildcard to compete at the year's tournament, which begins later this month.
Williams, now aged 40 and ranked 1,208th in the world, has won seven singles titles at Wimbledon, the last of which came in 2016, and 23 grand slams in total.
Daniil Medvedev has replaced Novak Djokovic as world number one ahead of the start of Wimbledon, where the Russian is banned from featuring.
The ATP and WTA boards decided to remove ranking points from the third grand slam of the year, with Russian and Belarusian players not allowed to compete due to the invasion of Ukraine.
The 26-year-old Medvedev will miss out from the grass-court major, which starts on June 27, alongside Andrey Rublev, Aryna Sabalenka, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Victoria Azarenka.
But that could aid Medvedev's cause at the end of the tournament as Djokovic is the defending champion and therefore would have more ranking points to lose.
Djokovic has dropped to third in the world rankings, with the injured Alexander Zverev – who made the French Open semi-finals before retiring against Rafael Nadal – in second.
That means it is the first time since November 2003 that none of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer or Andy Murray have appeared in the top two rankings spots.
Medvedev, who lost in the final of the Rosmalen Grass Court Championship on Sunday, became the first player other than Djokovic, Nadal, Federer or Murray to top the men's rankings in 18 years when he replaced the Serb as number one in February.
Rafael Nadal can make it three grand slam titles out of three if his body holds up sufficiently well for Wimbledon, says Tim Henman.
After adding the French Open title to the Australian Open that he won in January, Nadal is halfway to a possible calendar grand slam of all four majors.
That was last achieved in men's singles in 1969, when Australian great Rod Laver carried off the full set.
Nadal received injections before every match at Roland Garros to effectively send his troublesome left foot to sleep and curb pain, and he will have radiofrequency treatment in a bid to ensure he can go in search of a third major title of the year at the All England Club.
The 36-year-old Spaniard hopes to be able to be in London when Wimbledon starts on June 27, and having won there in 2008 and 2010, he will believe in his chances of a third slam on grass.
Former world number four Henman told Eurosport: "If Nadal is healthy, which is a big challenge now with this foot injury, can he win Wimbledon? Absolutely. So I think that's incredibly exciting."
Nadal now has 14 French Opens among his 22 grand slams, a men's record, and is two clear of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic who share second place on the all-time majors list.
Federer might be finished as a force at the top level, although he appears ready to give it one more shot later in the year, while Djokovic will likely start as favourite for Wimbledon glory, regardless of Nadal's recent feats.
"In terms of who's going to end up with the most grand slams, a couple of years ago I would have said Djokovic, for sure," said Henman, a perennial British favourite at Wimbledon who reached four semi-finals there. He now sits on the board of the All England Club, the tournament hosts.
"Right now, with that little bit of distance, I think Nadal has got a great chance. It's going to be fascinating to see. You've got another opportunity in three weeks' time, so fingers crossed, I so hope Nadal can be there on grass."
Iga Swiatek ticked off a whole host of accomplishments as her 34-match winning streak carried her into the French Open final on Thursday.
The world number one was in sensational form heading to Roland Garros after winning five consecutive tournaments.
And there has appeared little prospect of Swiatek slowing in Paris, with her 6-2 6-1 defeat of Daria Kasatkina securing a sixth WTA Tour final appearance in a row.
Swiatek is the first player to make six finals in the first six months of the year since Serena Williams reached seven before the halfway mark in 2013.
She has also now matched Williams' best winning run this century, with only Novak Djokovic in 2011 (43), Roger Federer in 2006 (42) and Venus Williams in 2000 (35) enjoying longer sequences across both the ATP and WTA Tours since 2000.
Swiatek's feats are all the more impressive given her age, as she turned 21 just this week.
Now with 20 wins at Roland Garros, the 2020 champion is the youngest female player to that mark since Martina Hingis in 1999.
Only eight women – Evonne Goolagong, Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Hingis, Kim Clijsters and Ana Ivanovic – have reached their second French Open final at a younger age.
Novak Djokovic conceded he went down to the better player on the day, losing to Rafael Nadal in the French Open quarter-finals on Tuesday.
Nadal defeated the world number one 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6 (7-4) and moved to an 8-2 record over 10 matches between the two while also progressing to his 15th semi-final at Roland Garros.
Djokovic has accounted for two of Nadal's three losses over his career at the French Open but looked second best throughout, specifically in the crunch moments.
The first-seeded Serbian did not hide from that fact, praising the 21-time Grand Slam winner on the victory after quickly walking off Court Philippe-Chatrier and to his post-match news conference.
"Congratulations to Nadal. He was a better player I think in important moments," Djokovic said afterwards. "I didn't start so great, 2-6, 0-3, double-break down. I was gaining momentum as I was coming back in the second set, managed to win the second set, and I thought, I'm back in the game.
"I had my chances. I had my chances in the fourth [set]. Served for the set, couple set points. Just one or two shots could have taken me into a fifth. Then it's really anybody's match."
After claiming the third set with a stunning fightback, winning four consecutive games, Djokovic looked in a good spot to take the match to a deciding set.
While Djokovic's unforced error count piled up - coming up with 53 for the match - Nadal dug deep and broke back in the ninth game, displaying incredible defence and point management from the back of the court against a familiar rival.
Having missed his chance, Djokovic failed to regain momentum from there, with Nadal going up five match points in the fourth-set tie-break before closing out.
"I gave my best. I know I could have played better," Djokovic said. "I'm proud of fighting and staying until the last shot. As I said, I lost to a better player today. Had my chances. Didn't use them. That's it. Over four hours' battle and I have to accept this defeat."
"Then he had another two, three fantastic games at the beginning of the third. He was just able to take his tennis to another level in those, particularly moments at the beginning of all sets except the fourth…. he showed why he's a great champion.
"Staying mentally tough and finishing the match the way he did. Congrats to him and his team. No doubt he deserved it."
Rafael Nadal insists he does not know which match will be his last at Roland Garros, but said it is the most important place of his career after defeating Novak Djokovic on Tuesday to reach his 15th French Open semi-final.
The 13-time winner at Roland Garros progressed in spectacular fashion in what was suggested could be his last match on Court Philippe-Chatrier, beating the world number one in four sets 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6 (7-4).
The 35-year-old will now face Alexander Zverev, who defeated teenage Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz earlier on Tuesday.
Nadal made it known how significant Roland Garros has been to him and his career after securing the win, but teased over the prospects of a return.
"Without a doubt, there is no other place like this one for me," Nadal said post-match. "It's the most important court of my tennis career, the most special one.
"For me, to feel the love of everyone here in Paris in the most important place of my career, it means everything to me.
"See you in two days, that's the only thing that I can say."
Nadal was largely in control against the world number one, displaying a unique familiarity with the Serbian's game at critical points.
After Djokovic looked set to push the game to a deciding fifth set, Nadal dug deep and broke back in a monumental ninth game. He had all the momentum in the fourth-set tie-break, holding five match points at one stage before closing out.
The 21-time Grand Slam winner nevertheless asserted how tough an opponent Djokovic is, bringing out his best in what could be a last French Open.
"I've been in a very, very tough match," he said afterwards. "Novak is one of the best players in history, without a doubt, so always playing against him is an amazing challenge.
"All the history that we have together, today was another one and to win against Novak, there is only one way to play - at your best from the first point until the last.
"Tonight had been one of these magic nights for me. An unexpected level, but I'm super happy."
Rafael Nadal spectacularly progressed to a 15th French Open semi-final, defeating Novak Djokovic in four sets 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6 (7-4) on Tuesday.
Nadal had lost to Djokovic on only two of their past nine meetings at Roland Garros, and the 13-time French Open winner raced out the blocks as he twice broke the world number one to claim a 4-1 first-set lead.
The Spaniard swiftly secured the first set on Court Philippe-Chatrier and opened with another break after a mammoth 17-point game, which Nadal eventually won on his seventh break point.
Djokovic faltered again on his next service to fall 3-0 down but immediately made amends by breaking Nadal consecutively to fight back for control.
Nadal had a chance to take the set to 5-5, but was broken after pushing his shot long and the Serbian ultimately triumphed in the second set in an hour and 24 minutes.
Nadal then responded by taking the third set in stunning fashion, seemingly cruising to take it 6-2.
Djokovic regained a semblance of control early in the fourth set but was crucially broken back in the ninth game as the crowd urged on Nadal, who built momentum and started hitting flatter.
It was a critical point in the match and Nadal displayed incredible capacity to turn defence into attack, while unforced errors crept into the first seed's game.
On his third attempt in the game, Nadal finally secured the break with a sumptuous off-forehand, punishing Djokovic who dropped the ball short.
Suggesting this could be his last game at Roland Garros, the 35-year-old played with profound determination and assertiveness, taking the fourth-set tie-break 7-4.
Data slam: The King of Clay reigns over Djokovic
With Tuesday's win in four sets, Nadal moved to an 8-2 record over 10 matches at Roland Garros against the world number one.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Nadal – 57/43
Djokovic – 48/53
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Nadal – 3/4
Djokovic – 5/4
BREAK POINTS WON
Nadal – 7/17
Djokovic – 4/12
Rafael Nadal spectacularly progressed to a 15th French Open semi-final, defeating Novak Djokovic in four sets 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6 (7-4) on Tuesday.
Nadal had lost to Djokovic on only two of their past nine meetings at Roland Garros, and the 13-time French Open winner raced out the blocks as he twice broke the world number one to claim a 4-1 first-set lead.
The Spaniard swiftly secured the first set on Court Philippe-Chatrier and opened with another break after a mammoth 17-point game, which Nadal eventually won on his seventh break point.
Djokovic faltered again on his next service to fall 3-0 down but immediately made amends by breaking Nadal consecutively to fight back for control.
Nadal had a chance to take the set to 5-5, but was broken after pushing his shot long and the Serbian ultimately triumphed in the second set in an hour and 24 minutes.
Nadal then responded by taking the third set in stunning fashion, seemingly cruising to take it 6-2.
Djokovic regained a semblance of control early in the fourth set but was crucially broken back in the ninth game as the crowd urged on Nadal, who built momentum and started hitting flatter.
It was a critical point in the match and Nadal displayed incredible capacity to turn defence into attack, while unforced errors crept into the first seed's game.
On his third attempt in the game, Nadal finally secured the break with a sumptuous off-forehand, punishing Djokovic who dropped the ball short.
Suggesting this could be his last game at Roland Garros, the 35-year-old played with profound determination and assertiveness, taking the fourth-set tie-break 7-4.
Data slam: The King of Clay reigns over Djokovic
With Tuesday's win in four sets, Nadal moved to an 8-2 record over 10 matches at Roland Garros against the world number one.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Nadal – 57/43
Djokovic – 48/53
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Nadal – 3/4
Djokovic – 5/4
BREAK POINTS WON
Nadal – 7/17
Djokovic – 4/12
Iga Swiatek has revealed her low-key 21st birthday plans, saying she simply wants to watch two tennis greats in action at the French Open.
Swiatek progressed to the quarter-finals at Roland Garros by defeating Zheng Qinwen on Monday.
The Pole, who won her maiden grand slam title in Paris two years ago, dropped a set for the first time in more than a month as Zheng took the opener, but she came back to win 6-7 (5-7) 6-0 6-2.
Swiatek has now won 32 matches in a row, with only Venus Williams (35) and Serena Williams (34) now having enjoyed longer streaks this century.
The world number one is also the fifth female player to win 15+ consecutive matches as the number one in the 2000s after Martina Hingis, Serena Williams, Justine Henin and Dinara Safina.
Monday's win provided an early birthday gift for Swiatek, who turned 21 on Tuesday.
And while her main focus will be on a last-eight showdown with Jessica Pegula, she wants to celebrate by watching Novak Djokovic take on 13-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal.
"It is always pretty hard to celebrate when you are in the middle of the tournament, but I hope I'm going to have time on my day off to do something," Swiatek wrote in her column on BBC Sport.
"I never plan things for my own birthday – it's not like I'm going to throw a party in the locker room! I just hope I will get a proper rest. But I heard my team have prepared something fun for me – so we will see.
"As everyone knows I am a Rafael Nadal fan and I would love to watch his match against Novak Djokovic.
"I will be too curious about what will happen not to see it, but I will watch on TV rather than at the stadium. I watched Rafa's last match against Felix Auger-Aliassime, although not the full game because it was so long.
"During the tournament I need to be focused on my own preparations, my rest and my routine. That's why I won't be going to watch the quarter-final in the stadium.
"But, like always, I'll be rooting for Rafa."
Swiatek added that the inspiration she takes from 21-time grand slam champion Nadal only grew after she visited the 35-year-old's academy in his native Mallorca.
"Recently I went to Rafa's academy in Mallorca and saw all his trophies in the museum he has there," she added. "I got more excited about those trophies than the ones I saw when I went to Real Madrid's stadium, although they were impressive too.
"I was really in awe at seeing the grand slam trophies Rafa has won. But I was also amazed at all the others, like the trophies he has won at Barcelona, Monte Carlo and Rome. There are so many!
"It was amazing to see the consistency he has had during his career and seeing all his trophies was really inspiring."
Roland Garros will play host to the latest instalment of one of tennis's greatest rivalries on Tuesday, after Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic set up their 59th career meeting in the French Open quarter-finals.
The duo, who boast 41 career grand slam titles between them, will meet again after Nadal overcame Felix Auger-Aliassime in a marathon four-hour contest on Sunday, with Djokovic having cruised past Diego Schwartzman in the round of 16.
The illustrious duo first met at the same stage of the tournament in 2006, when Djokovic was forced to retire through injury, and the world number one will be determined to achieve a better outcome this time around as he bids to equal Nadal's haul of 21 grand slam titles.
Ahead of their blockbuster encounter, Stats Perform takes a look at the best Opta facts surrounding their rivalry.
16 years on from their first meeting, the duo have certainly become familiar with one another. They have met more often than any other male pair in the open era, with Djokovic triumphing on 30 occasions.
That impressive tally represents the most wins managed by any player against a single opponent in the open era.
The duo have also become accustomed to meeting on the biggest stages; this contest will be their 18th grand slam clash, surpassing Djokovic's record tally of 17 major matches against Roger Federer.
Meanwhile, the duo will face each other for a 10th time at the French Open (Nadal has seven wins, Djokovic two), becoming the first male duo to reach double figures for meetings at a particular grand slam in the open era, and will extend their record for the most encounters on clay courts with a 27th such match (Nadal versus Federer is second with 22).
While top seed Djokovic is bidding to replicate Nadal's record of 21 grand slam wins, a tally the Spaniard reached at this year's Australian Open, his opponent boasts an incredible record on clay.
Nadal's 97.3 per cent win ratio at the French Open is the highest of any player at a single open-era slam (minimum 20 wins), while Djokovic's 85 per cent win rate at Roland Garros is his worst such record at any grand slam – even if it is the third-highest ratio in the tournament's history (Bjorn Borg is second with 96.1 per cent).
Nadal has also reached the most French Open finals, with 13, winning all of them, while Djokovic has managed the second-most final appearances in Paris, with six. Three of those, however, ended with the Serb finishing as runner-up to the king of clay, as he did so in 2012, 2014, and 2020.
But Djokovic will hope to draw inspiration from his two previous victories over the world number five in the French capital.
Having beaten the Spaniard in the 2015 quarter-finals and the 2021 semi-finals, Djokovic is one of just two players to have ever beaten Nadal at the French Open, along with Robin Soderling in 2009's fourth round.
One thing is for certain; their encounter is sure to provide quality. Nadal (88 per cent) and Djokovic (87.7 per cent) have the second- and third-highest grand slam win ratios in open-era history (Bjorn Borg is first with 89.2 per cent, minimum 100 wins).
Sixteen years after they first met in a grand slam Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will do battle in another mouthwatering French Open quarter-final on Tuesday.
Two of the all-time greats have locked horns 58 times in their illustrious careers, but only two of those meetings have been in the last eight of a major.
The first of those was in their first meeting, which happened to be at the same stage at Roland Garros back in 2006.
Nadal progressed to the semi-finals on that occasion as Djokovic retired at 6-4 6-4 down and the legendary Spaniard went on to defend his title and double his tally of major triumphs.
He has gone on to lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires a record 13 times and no man can boast more than his tally of 21 grand slam titles.
Yet Nadal comes into the latest instalment of their rivalry under the lights on Court Philippe-Chatrier in the unfamiliar position of not being a strong favourite to prevail.
While world number one and defending champion Djokovic has not dropped a set in his four matches in Paris, Nadal needed five sets to get the better of Felix Auger-Aliassime on Sunday.
Nadal had to draw on all of his fight, skill and experience to see off the Canadian in an enthralling contest that had spectators on the edge of their seats for four hours and 21 minutes.
Djokovic beat Nadal in four sets the last time they faced each other in this tournament last year and the Serb went on to be crowned French Open champion for the second time.
The top seed from Belgrade would move level with Nadal's haul of major crowns if he triumphs at Roland Garros once again on Sunday.
Djokovic holds a superior record of 30-28 in his head-to-head with Nadal, but the latter has won seven of their nine matches at Roland Garros.
Nadal started his favourite tournament with only five matches on clay under his belt this season after recovering from a foot injury, but he is relishing the challenge of facing one of his biggest rivals.
He said: "I didn't play this kind of matches for the last three months, so it's going to be a big challenge for me. Of course he already won I think nine matches in a row, winning in Rome and now winning here in straight sets every match.
"Probably he will be confident. I know what my situation is, and I accept it well. I am gonna fight for it, that's it."
Djokovic hopes being the fresher of the two will be crucial.
"Nadal is obviously a well-anticipated match I think when the draw came out for a lot of people. I'm glad that I didn't spend too much time on the court up to quarter-finals, knowing that playing him in Roland Garros is always a physical battle, along with everything else," he said.
"It's a huge challenge and probably the biggest one that you can have here in Roland Garros."
While Djokovic did not spend much time on court in the first week in Paris, he could be in for a late night when the two tussle in what could be yet another epic.
Sixteen years after their rivalry began with a Roland Garros quarter-final, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will do battle again in the last eight of the French Open.
Nadal promised he will be "focused" for the big occasion, set to come on Tuesday, while Djokovic said he was ready for "a physical battle, along with everything else".
They could hardly have had more contrasting wins to set up that eagerly awaited match, however, with Djokovic enjoying a 6-1 6-3 6-3 Sunday stroll past Diego Schwartzman, before Nadal was pushed almost to his limit by Felix Auger-Aliassime, scraping a 3-6 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-3 victory in four hours and 21 minutes.
Auger-Aliassime has Nadal's uncle, Toni Nadal, on his coaching team now, but the 21-year-old Canadian played down that factor before the match, and it was a mere sideshow to the spectacle that unfolded.
Now Nadal and Djokovic can prepare for centre stage. The illustrious pair have never collided as early as the quarter-final stage at any other grand slam, but their clash in Paris will be a third such last-eight clash at the French major.
All matches considered, it will be a 59th career meeting, with Djokovic up to now holding a 30-28 lead in the head-to-head.
Nadal leads 10-7 in their grand slam matches, however, and has a 7-2 record in their Roland Garros past encounters, albeit losing the last of those in last year's semi-final.
The very first match between the pair came at Roland Garros in the 2006 quarter-finals, when Djokovic retired at 6-4 6-4 behind, giving up due to a back injury during the first game of the third set.
Nine years later, Djokovic thrashed Nadal 7-5 6-3 6-1 at the same stage to end the Spaniard's five-year all-conquering reign on the French capital's clay courts.
Djokovic called the upcoming reunion "a well-anticipated match", and he was delighted to get the job done quickly against an overwhelmed Schwartzman. The world number one has yet to drop a set in four matches in Paris, and that follows on from his triumph at the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome where he raced to the title without dropping a set either.
Assessing the Nadal prospect, Djokovic said: "I'm glad that I didn't spend too much time on the court myself up to the quarter-finals, knowing that playing him in Roland Garros is always a physical battle, along with everything else."
The "everything else" element of that may mean the feverish backing that Nadal is likely to receive, but Djokovic wants his tennis to do the talking.
"It's a huge challenge and probably the biggest one that you can have here in Roland Garros," said the Serbian. "I'm ready for it. I like the way I have been feeling, the way I have been hitting the ball. I will focus on what I need to do."
This is a first match of the year between Djokovic and Nadal. They have played each other at least once every year since that 2006 first encounter.
After describing Auger-Aliassime as "without a doubt one of the best players in the world", Nadal, who is again battling the foot problem that has plagued his career, turned his focus to the man who surely currently tops that list.
Nadal is nevertheless one ahead of Djokovic on the all-time list of most grand slam titles, having won the Australian Open in January when Djokovic was prevented from competing to move to 21 major successes.
Booing broke out when Djokovic's name was mentioned in Nadal's post-match on-court interview, an early indication that the record 13-time French Open champion will have the crowd's support.
"Of course we know each other well. We have a lot of history together," Nadal said. "He came here after winning Rome, and for me it has been not the ideal situation to arrive here.
"But here we are in Roland Garros, it is my favourite place without a doubt, and the only thing I can tell you is I will be focused. I don't know what will happen, but the only thing I can guarantee is I am going to fight until the end."
The last time Nadal and Djokovic met so early in any tournament was in May 2016 on clay in Rome, when Djokovic beat Nadal in straight sets but went on to lose to Andy Murray in the final.
Since then there have been four semi-finals and five finals between the pair, Nadal edging those matches five wins to four. This is knife-edge tennis, not to be missed.
Novak Djokovic says previous failures at the French Open add "more significance" to his quest for Roland Garros glory.
Djokovic has not dropped a set in each of his last nine matches, dating back to his Internazionali d'Italia win, after cruising to a 6-1 6-3 6-3 victory over Diego Schwartzman on Sunday.
The world number one has reached a record 16 quarter-finals at the Paris major, while only Roger Federer (58) has reached the last eight at grand slams more times than Djokovic (51).
But Djokovic has not always enjoyed success in the French capital, losing three finals against Rafael Nadal (twice in 2012 and 2014) and Stan Wawrinka in 2015 before defeating Andy Murray the next year.
The Serbian added a second French Open crown to his trophy haul in 2021 by edging out Stefanos Tsitsipas.
As Djokovic looks to defend his title, the 35-year-old explained he has an added incentive given his previous struggles in the tournament.
"It took me years and years to win the title here," he told reporters. "Of course I had some big heartbreaks on the court here, many finals lost and semi-finals, thrilling marathon matches, mostly against Rafa prior to 2016.
"It was very special, very emotional to clinch that title in 2016. It was a huge relief more than anything.
"So in the years to come, I was still continuing to play consistently well here then luckily got another title last year, somehow winning a title here is always probably the hardest of any slam for me.
"Last year the second week that I had here was just probably the toughest four matches, toughest seven days I had to win any slam in my career. So it gives it a little bit more of a significance, so to say."
Djokovic also suggested he is having to make adjustments based on the scheduling times, with top seeds either playing in the early afternoon or in the evening session, which can go later into the night.
"As top players, we do have requests, but those requests are not always accepted," he added. "The tournament director, along with TV, broadcasters, I think at the end of the day that's who decides.
"TV, whether they want your match, day or night, you just have to adjust to that. Obviously, depending on who you play, sometimes it's favourable to play night, sometimes day.
"There is no standard or no formula that works always. Even though I historically played very well and won a lot of matches under the lights on different slams, particularly in Australia."
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