Maria Sharapova will look to move one step closer to her second French Open title when she takes on Garbine Muguruza in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
The second Grand Slam of the year has been all about upsets so far, with the likes of Serena Williams, Li Na, Caroline Woznicaki, Agnieszka Radwanska and Ana Ivanovic, to just name a few, falling by the wayside.
That has left the path to the French Open title wide open for Sharapova, who almost threw her golden chance away in the previous round when she was only three games away from being knocked out before fighting back to down Samantha Stosur.
The 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory over the Australian would have given the Russian a lot of confidence. "I thought Sam played a really good first set," a relieved Sharapova said after the fourth round match on Sunday. "With that said, I had five break points and I didn't convert one of them.
"Against a player who's a very good server and who uses her serve as a weapon to set up points out there, if you don't take advantage of those particular moments, she gains a lot of confidence from that and swings and just keeps serving well too.
"And it was unfortunate that I gave that break back in the second set, because I thought I had a good start, but overall I'm happy with the way I finished. I think that's the most important thing."
Waiting in the wings, desperate to create another big upset, is Muguruza, who stunned world number one and defending champions Serena in the second round. The Spaniard topped Anna Schmiedlova in the third round before comfortably dispatching Pauline Parmentier in round four to set up the clash with Sharapova.
"I feel amazing," Muguruza said after advancing to the quarterfinals. "I didn't expect this. It's a present. I'm very happy with what I have done so far, but I want to continue. I still have more matches, so I'm looking forward to my next round.
"I know it's going to be a tough match. She's [Sharapova] a very, very good player. I have nothing to lose. I'm going to do my best and try to enjoy it as much as I can. I'm going to rise to the challenge. I'll walk onto court with the mindset that will allow me to win, as I always do for all my matches."
The second women's quarterfinal of the day is between talented Canadian youngster Eugenie Bouchard, seeded 18, and Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro. Bouchard continues to show she is the next big thing in tennis, making the quarterfinals of the French Open with an authoritative victory over No. 8 seed Angelique Kerber. The 20-year-old did not allow Kerber to settle, thumping her German opponent 6-1, 6-2 in just 52 minutes.
"I felt good out there," Bouchard said after her crushing win. "I think I executed my game plan really well, so I'm pretty happy with that.
"I'm confident and I really believe in my skills. I believe I can play with the best girls out there. There are always things to improve though. I'll try to do even better for my next match."
Suarez Navarro also got through to the quarters with a comfortable 6-3, 6-3 victory over Croatia's Ajla Tomljanovic. The No.14 seed, though, will know she will have to be at her best to stop Bouchard from storming into the semifinals.
Where to Watch Live:
Sharapova vs Muguruza is scheduled to be played at Philippe Chatrier while Suarez Navarro vs Bouchard is to be held at the Suzanne Lenglen. Both quarterfinals are scheduled for a 2 pm local time (5.30 pm IST) start with live coverage on Neo Sports and Neo Prime in India. International viewers, including India, can catch the action via live streaming HERE or HERE. Listen to the action HERE. Viewers in the US can live stream the matches HERE or HERE, while South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa viewers can catch the action HERE. The matches can be live streamed by UK viewers HERE.
