Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem, quarterfinals, men's singles, French Open 2017
Novak Djokovic will look to continue his dominance over Dominic ThiemReuters

Novak Djokovic vs Dominic Thiem – the defending champion vs the youngster, who has had a wonderful clay-court season. This is a French Open 2017 quarterfinal that has written "blockbuster" all over it.

Both these players are the second favourites to win the title at Roland Garros this year, after Rafael Nadal, and it will be interesting to see how this battle pans out.

The last time Djokovic played Thiem, the world number two absolutely crushed the Austrian 6-1, 6-0 in the semifinals of the Rome Masters last month.

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Thiem has never beaten Djokovic in five previous meetings, with the Serbian also beating the No.6 seed in the French Open last year, when Thiem had no answer in a straight set loss in the semifinals.

"Against Novak, it's really tough for me to play, I mean, because he doesn't give me any time," Thiem said after that loss in Rome. "I don't really like to play against him, because he has a game style which doesn't fit me at all."

Djokovic is most players' least favourite opponent, such is his prowess on the tennis court. And while his form might have dipped over the last 12 months, there is no denying that the defending champion will start this French Open quarterfinal as the favourite.

Dominic Thiem, Novak Djokovic, head-to-head, French Open 2017, quarterfinals
Dominic Thiem will need to come up with a new gameplan to beat Novak Djokovic for the first timeReuters

If Thiem can step up his game and solve the Djokovic puzzle remains to be seen.

"Obviously never losing to a player always helps mentally a little bit, but I don't think it's going to play too big of a role," Djokovic said after his win over Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the fourth round. "I think he will really step it up and try to do something special.

"I'm sure he's going to be as motivated as ever, so I expect him to come out and really play his best. I'm going to be ready for that. I have obviously played him in last year's semis here, played a really good match, played an incredible match against him in Rome.

"But it is different conditions, it's best of five, it's a Grand Slam. Knowing that I have beaten him a couple of times on clay gives me that confidence, and hopefully I'll be able to do the same."

Where to watch live

After rain disrupted play on Tuesday, Novak Djokovic vs Dominic Thiem has been moved to Wednesday, with the quarterfinal set to begin at 11am CET, 10am BST, 5am ET, 2.30pm IST. TV and live streaming information of the quarterfinals is below.

India: TV: Star Sports Select HD2. Live Streaming: Hotstar.

 

Europe: TV: EuroSport. Live Streaming: EuroSport Player.

 

UK: TV: ITV. Live Streaming: ITV Hub.

 

Canada: TV: TSN. Live Streaming: TSN TV.

 

USA: TV: Tennis TV and NBC Sports. Live Streaming: NBC Sports Live.

 

Australia: TV: Fox Sports. Live Streaming: Foxtel.

 

Middle East: TV: Bein Sports Arabia. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect.