Day 9 Diary: Tsitsipas vows payback against teens

Tsitsipas has now fallen to both younger rivals this season.

Alcaraz backed up last year’s US Open upset of the 23-year-old en route to titles in Miami and Barcelona this season.

“I mean it has to come at some point, it came for everyone, right? I'm not worried. I know my tennis, I know my game,” Tsitsipas said.

“These kids are going to want to beat me badly because obviously they are chasing.

“I'm chasing too, but I'm at a different kind of position than they are. I'm hungry to beat them too. Now that they have beaten me I want payback.”

Rune's victory sets an all-Scandinavian showdown with eighth seed Casper Ruud.

Dasha puts pedal to the metal

Daria Kasatkina is navigating the chicanes of a wide-open bottom half of the women’s draw quicker than any of her peers through the opening four rounds.

No player has conceded fewer games to reach the second week at Roland-Garros this year and on Monday, she continued her journey in the fast lane in an 80-minute, straight-sets routing of Camila Giorgi.

Kasatkina admitted while she became hooked on the behind-the-scenes take on Formula 1 racing in the Netflix series, Drive to Survive, she was not the thrill-seeking type herself, more at home behind the baseline than behind the wheel.

“Well, I have no driver licence, so I don't think I would be a good driver,” said the 25-year-old. “And I'm not this kind of person who likes, you know, these fast, dangerous things.

“I am not even going to roller coasters. So that's not my thing for sure. But to watch, I like it. I mean, considering the Netflix stuff, Drive to Survive, I'm enjoying how they open the personalities of each driver.

“It's so interesting to see the thoughts, like how they practise, how they're thinking and I can see many connections to the tennis and for sure all other sports. This is interesting.”

Zheng leaves with head held high

Iga Swiatek was forced to scrap to dig her way back against Chinese 19-year-old Zheng Qinwen on Monday to extend her winning streak to 32 matches.

When word of Zheng becoming the first player to take a set off the Pole in 10 matches reached Jessica Pegula, she was on high alert should she have had to meet the unseeded teenager in the quarter-finals.

One of only two of the top 16 seeds to reach the second week in Paris this fortnight, Pegula ensured three American women reached the quarter-finals with victory over Irina-Camelia Begu.

"I think she's really good and I think she's going to be a future top player, very soon, if not today," Pegula said.

"I know that she definitely hits a really good ball. She seems like she has a good attitude, that she's very positive and has a really, really good game and a dangerous game where she can be aggressive and move you around the court."

Tweets of the day

French favourite Caroline Garcia’s singles campaign may have ended at the hands of Madison Keys in the second round but she has successfully reunited with compatriot Kristina Mladenovic to book a doubles quarter-final return.

With a win in the bag on Sunday, the 28-year-old didn’t have far to wander to show her support for her beloved Olympique Lyonnais women’s football team.

The Lyon team defeated Paris Saint Germain 1-0 to claim a 15th French championship at Stade Jean Bouin after which Garcia tweeted her congratulations.

Ahead of Novak Djokovic v Rafael Nadal episode 59 on Tuesday, Tennis Channel dug deep into the archives to fetch footage of the pair taking viewers through their respective bag checks.

From a flip camera, to iPods, teeth aligners and “relaxing shoes”, take a look.

Meanwhile, the unseeded 19-year-old Rune crashed the all-seeds and he knows it.

Quote of the day

Q. How would you summarise your game today, because I think you made something like 37 unforced errors.

Giorgi: (Laughing) "This is me."

Stat of the day