PARIS (Reuters) - Dominic Thiem takes on second seed Alexander Zverev in the French Open quarter-finals on Tuesday, a clash between two top contenders capable of denying world number one Rafa Nadal a record-extending 11th Roland Garros title.
Seventh seed Thiem, who has won eight claycourt titles in his career including two this year, warmed up for the tournament by winning the Lyon Open and has a 4-2 head to head advantage over the 21-year-old Zverev.
However, Zverev won their last meeting in last month's Madrid Open final and will be high on confidence going into the match on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Former world number one Novak Djokovic, looking to get back to winning ways after elbow surgery, headlines the action on Court Suzanne Lenglen as the 12-times Grand Slam champion takes on Italy's Marco Cecchinato.
U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens faces Daria Kasatkina, who has dropped only one set in getting to the last eight, and Stephens's fellow American Madison Keys meets Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva.
Order of play on the main showcourts (quarter-finals, times GMT, prefix numbers denote seeding):
Court Philippe Chatrier (play starts at 1200)
7-Dominic Thiem (Austria) v 2-Alexander Zverev (Germany)
10-Sloane Stephens (U.S.) vs 14-Daria Kasatkina (Russia)
Court Suzanne Lenglen (play starts at 1200)
Yulia Putintseva (Kazakhstan) v 13-Madison Keys (U.S.)
Marco Cecchinato (Italy) vs 20-Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)