Matteo Berrettini is hoping to be the man to seize his moment at a wide open French Open after years of injury heartbreak.
The former Wimbledon finalist is playing at Roland Garros for the first time in five years and, following Jannik Sinner's shock loss and a number of other upsets, finds himself as the only man in the top half of the draw to have previously reached a grand slam decider.
Berrettini almost saw his hopes ended in the third round but survived a thriller against Francisco Comesana, saving two match points in a 7-6 (3) 5-7 6-7 (4) 6-4 7-6 (15/13) victory after five hours and 13 minutes.
The 30-year-old could not hold back the tears as he celebrated with his team and, asked what was going through his mind, he said: "So many things, but maybe the best one was the fact that I doubt myself a little bit too much, I think, in the last months and years.
"Even though I had unbelievable support from my family, from my friends, from my team, and everybody kept telling me that I still had it in me, sometimes I just have to confess that I thought that I couldn’t come back, I couldn’t feel good on court again.
"And that’s why I basically was emotional, because I proved to myself one more time that I can do this, I can do it well, I can fight, I can enjoy my time on court."
Berrettini’s experience could yet prove crucial as the remaining men try to navigate the next week knowing what a glorious opportunity has opened up.
"It definitely can help," said the Italian, who is currently ranked down at 105.
"I know what it takes to go deep in a slam but, at the same time, it’s also true that I haven’t been deep in a slam for a long time.
"Of course, coming into the tournament, I didn’t have the confidence like I had a couple of years ago but I feel like I built this confidence up.
"So I feel confident and I’m in the fourth round, second week of Paris, means that I can go deep. I’m playing well. Today was, I think, a high-level match. My weapons are working, physically I’m there, and fingers crossed."
Berrettini next faces Sinner’s conqueror Juan Manuel Cerundolo, who followed up the win of his life by beating young Spaniard Martin Landaluce in another five-set epic lasting five hours and 58 minutes – the third longest match in tournament history.
While Sinner’s hopes are over, an Italian winner is still very much a possibility, with Berrettini joined in the last 16 by 10th seed Flavio Cobolli, who beat Learner Tien 6-2 6-2 6-3.
Cobolli admitted not getting ahead of himself is proving difficult, saying: "It’s not easy because for sure you see the draw. You see all the matches.
"For now, the only thing that I know is that I won three matches, and I have to play the fourth. So, for now, I want to think about this."
The run of 17-year-old Frenchman Moise Kouame came to an end in the third round as he lost to Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo.
In the late games, Felix Auger-Aliassime beat Brandon Nakashima 3-1, while Frances Tiafoe saw off Jaime Faria in five sets.
