Sailing into the quarterfinals of his beloved Grand Slam, the French Open, the King of Clay, Rafael Nadal, is looking comfortable on the red dirt.
The Spanish World Number 2 looked out of sorts in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid before lifting the trophy in the Italian Open. The crushing defeat he handed to Novak Djokovic in the finals in Italy helped re-establish his dominance and Nadal is now in pursuit of a record-extending 12th French Open title.
Nadal ousted Juan Ignacio Londero in the fourth round to set up a date with Japanese No. 1, Kei Nishikori, in the quarterfinals.
Nadal and Nishikori have not met very often on the court in recent years. However, the Spaniard boasts of a 10-2 head to head lead over the Japanese and is in ruthless form currently.
Nishikori, on the other hand, has had a couple of grueling five-set wins, coming through in matches that could have gone either way. Known for taking his matches the distance, Nishikori has scored a whopping 132 victories out of the 177 deciding sets he has played.
Nadal, though, is a formidable force on clay and Nishikori has a tough task ahead of him. He ousted French favorite Benoit Paire in his fourth-round encounter, but the going won't get any smoother for the Japanese 7th seed.
With Nadal stepping into the match as the clear favorite, boasting of a 90-2 win-loss record at the French Open, it will be interesting to see if Nishikori can put a dent in the Spaniard's armor.
Here is all you need to know about the French Open 2019:
Tournament name: Roland Garros 2019
Date: May 27-June 9, 2019
Category: Grand Slam
Location: Paris
Surface: Clay
Time: (2) Rafael Nadal v (7) Kei Nishikori at approx 6:25 p.m IST on Court Philippe-Chatrier on June 4, 2019
Where to watch the French Open 2019 in the USA?
Tennis Channel and NBC Sports will show the French Open 2019 live in the USA.
Where to watch the French Open 2019 in the UK & Europe?
ITV4 will show the French Open 2019 live in the UK.
Where to watch the French Open 2019 in India?
The French Open India telecast 2019 will be live on Star Sports Select 1/Select 1 HD and Select 2/Select 2 HD.
Live Stream Details and Info for the French Open 2019
French Open 2019 Live Stream is available on Tennis TV (a subscription is needed for the service).
It will also be shown live on hotstar.com.
What is the foot injury that has troubled Rafael Nadal over the years? Check here