Joao Fonseca continued the teenage takeover at the French Open by joining Rafael Jodar in the quarter-finals.
Two days after his stunning victory over Novak Djokovic, the electrifying young Brazilian was at it again on Court Philippe Chatrier, this time beating another experienced campaigner in three-time grand slam finalist Casper Ruud.
Fonseca displayed his spectacular brand of fearless tennis once more, powering forehands into the corners and seizing the big moments in a 7-5 7-6 (8) 5-7 6-2 victory completed well after midnight.
The 19-year-old is only the fourth Brazilian man in the open era to reach the last eight at Roland Garros after Thomaz Koch, Fernando Meligeni and three-time champion Gustavo Kuerten, who was watching from the stand in Paris.
Fonseca said: "It was tough, Casper plays good here, he's a very experienced guy. I played really good in the important moments in the first and second set and I was very happy because of that. I just try to be me.
"I feel tired. It’s a new experience for me, getting through to the second week of a grand slam. But it’s all heart."
On the presence of Kuerten, Fonseca added: "It’s an idol for our sport, for our country, for his charisma, for the way that he is, how humble he is. He was here for my first time at Roland Garros, my first match as a junior. It’s a pleasure to have him here."
Next up for Fonseca is another young gun in Czech Jakub Mensik, who lay stricken on the court with cramp after his second-round victory and continues to do things the hard way, this time seeing off Andrey Rublev 6-3 7-6 (6) 4-6 2-6 6-3 in the latest five-setter at this most gruelling of tournaments.
Jodar, meanwhile, has title favourite Alexander Zverev in his sights.
The 19-year-old has been the breakout star on clay this spring and has lived up to the hype brilliantly at Roland Garros, defeating fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta to make his first grand slam quarter-final.
It appeared his race may have been run when he lost the opening two sets to 34-year-old Carreno Busta, but Jodar stormed back to win 4-6 4-6 6-1 6-2 6-2.
The Madrid youngster was ranked 707th a year ago and 165th at the start of the year, and he is not allowing himself to reflect on his rapid rise yet.
"I’m trying to enjoy the moment," said Jodar. "I was talking to my friends and to my family before the match. It’s a gift, to play a fourth round in a French Open. So my goal was to enjoy it.
"Obviously you always want to win and to give your best tennis, and that’s what I did. I think I did a great job, accepting the things how it came to me today."
Having also gone the distance against American Alex Michelsen in the third round, Jodar is now only one short of equalling Rafael Nadal’s tally of five-set matches at Roland Garros in his first tournament.
In a wide open draw, it is not inconceivable that Jodar could match Nadal’s achievement by lifting the trophy on his debut, and he insisted his lengthy matches have not yet taken a physical toll.
If Zverev is feeling the pressure of what is a glorious opportunity to win a first major title, he is not showing it – nor is he willing to talk about it.
The German has reached three grand slam finals and seven other semi-finals, while this is the sixth year in a row he has made the last eight here after beating lucky loser Jesper de Jong 7-6 (3) 6-4 6-1.
After losing the first three games, Zverev dominated the contest, and he gave short shrift to a question about his status as favourite.
"I will give the same answer I gave two days ago," said the second seed. "I will focus on the matches that are ahead of me. This is the only thing that I can control."
