Before arriving in Budapest at the end of April for the Gazprom Hungarian Open, Marco Cecchinato had won just five of his first 34 tour-level matches. Little did the Italian know that he would go on to capture his maiden ATP World Tour title on the red clay as a lucky loser.

“Maybe it is a dream,” Cecchinato told ATPWorldTour.com at the time.

Little did he know what would come in the weeks ahead. When the World No. 72 began his Roland Garros campaign, he had never won a Grand Slam main draw match. But after defeating reigning Nitto ATP Finals runner-up David Goffin in four sets on Sunday, Cecchinato advanced to the quarter-finals.

“This is the best moment of my life,” Cecchinato said. “Maybe it’s a dream, because now I’m very, very happy for this match.”

Amazingly, the 25-year-old has quadrupled his tour-level win total this year. And now he has made history, by becoming just the second Italian man to reach a major quarter-final since Davide Sanguinetti did so at Wimbledon in 1998. So what has been the difference for the Cecchinato this season?

“Now I start the match every time focused…. I am more aggressive during the match, and so I stay focused every point,” Cecchinato said. “I feel very good, because every match I’ve played very well. Now I beat David Goffin, who is one of the best players in the world.”

And now, after earning his first win against a player inside the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings, Cecchinato takes on someone who will be competing in his ninth consecutive Roland Garros quarter-final: Novak Djokovic.

“It’s amazing,” Cecchinato said. “It’s a pleasure playing against Novak in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros.”

And while this will be the first match in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, they are plenty familiar with one another.

“I have known of him for many years. I have practised with him many times in Monte-Carlo,” Djokovic said. “He trained a lot where I reside, where I live. We trained a lot on hard court, clay courts. And we actually trained this year before the Monte-Carlo tournament.

“For sure, he’s playing the tennis of his life. He won his first title recently… To pull out a big upset for Marco is quite impressive. Congratulations to him for a great tournament. And even though he’s not a seeded player, he’s still in the quarter-finals. He deserves respect and he’s got nothing to lose in our next match. So I’ll approach it very seriously.”

Cecchinato has nothing to lose — he’s just living a dream.

If you’re going to break through to your first Grand Slam quarter-final, you might as well do it in style, right?

No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev came back from two sets to one down for the third consecutive match on Sunday, defeating Karen Khachanov to set a blockbuster quarter-final against two-time Roland Garros semi-finalist Dominic Thiem. And in doing so, Zverev joined an elite group.

The German 21-year-old is the eighth player in the Open Era to survive three consecutive five-setters in Paris, and the first since Tommy Robredo in 2013. He is also the first to win three five-setters in a row at a major since Sam Querrey at Wimbledon last year.

It was a long time coming for Zverev, who despite having won three ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles out of five finals, had never advanced past the Round of 16 at a Grand Slam in 11 previous appearances.

“I know who I am. It’s not about learning anymore. It’s about trying to find a way and trying to win,” Zverev said. “I’m very happy about being in the quarter-finals here with going the hard way, going the long distance every single time and showing myself, showing everybody that I can play for as long as I need to.”

Players To Win Three Consecutive Five-Setters At Roland Garros (Open Era)

It won’t get any easier for this year’s Madrid and Munich champion, who next faces No. 7 seed Thiem. The Austrian is the only player to beat top seed Rafael Nadal on clay in the past two years, and has lifted trophies this year in Buenos Aires and Lyon, although Zverev did beat him to triumph in Madrid.

“I’m expecting another five-set match,” Zverev said with a smile. “I’ll get myself ready for that.”

FedEx ATP Performance Zone: Fifth-Set Records

And if he should defeat Thiem in five sets, he would become the first player in tennis history to triumph in four straight five-setters at a Grand Slam championship. Only four players have won four non-consecutively at a major, the last being Albert Costa at Roland Garros 15 years ago. The Monaco resident is not worried about the number of long matches adding up — he has spent 11 hours and 56 minutes on court through four rounds. 

“I’m not concerned,” Zverev said. “If you’re mentally fatigued, then something is wrong with you. Physically, obviously it’s not easy to play back-to-back-to-back five-set matches. But I will manage it, somehow. I will do everything I can to recover, as I said after the last match. I will make sure to be ready in two days’ time.”

Zverev, who was 4-5 in five-setters before this tournament, is not content to just break through. Three players in the Open Era have won three five-setters on the Parisian terre battue and gone on to lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires. The German wants to become the fourth.

“I’m happy. But this is not the end,” Zverev said. “This is the quarter-finals. It’s not [championship] Sunday.”

Alexander Zverev reached his maiden Grand Slam quarter-final on Saturday, defeating Russia’s Karen Khachanov 4-6, 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 at Roland Garros.

The 21-year-old won his third consecutive five-set match to defeat the World No. 38 and become the youngest Roland Garros quarter-finalist since Juan Martin del Potro (20) in 2009. Zverev also came from two sets to one down to beat Dusan Lajovic in the second round and recovered from a two-set deficit, saving match point, to beat Damir Dzumhur in the third round.

Zverev fired 63 winners, including 17 aces, to become the seventh German man in the Open Era to reach the last eight at Roland Garros. The German has now won 34 tour-level matches this season (34-8), two more than his nearest rival; Dominic Thiem (32). In his three most recent tournaments before arriving in Paris, Zverev won back-to-back titles at the BMW Open by FWU and the Mutua Madrid Open before falling to Rafael Nadal in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia final.

The World No. 3 will meet Thiem for the seventh time at tour-level, for a place in the semi-finals. Zverev trails Thiem 2-4 in FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings, but won their most recent encounter in May’s Mutua Madrid Open final.

After trading breaks in the opening two games, Khachanov pounced in the 10th game to clinch the first set. The Russian missed out on two set points at 4-5 (15/40) on Zverev’s serve, but converted his third as he moved up the court before forcing an error from his opponent.

Zverev responded well in the second set, breaking to love at 3-3, but was forced into a tie-break after failing to serve the set out with three set points at 5-4.

After dropping the second set in the tie-break, Khachanov quickly re-established his one-set lead with a dominant third-set performance. Khachanov broke in the third and fifth games, and won 86 per cent of points on his second serve to move one set away from a landmark victory.

For the third consecutive match, Zverev knew that he would need to win in five sets to stay alive in the tournament, and he gave himself a lifeline with a break of serve in the sixth game. After saving two break points at 2-2 (15/40), the German capitalised on back-to-back errors from Khachanov to take a 4-2 lead, before taking the match into a fifth set, with his 14th ace, three games later.

Zverev secured an immediate lead in the fifth set, winning consecutive points off his backhand wing to break for 1-0. The German No. 1 maintained that advantage throughout the set, before clinching his place in the quarter-finals with his fifth service break of the match.

Did You Know?
Alexander Zverev (21 years, 51 days) and Karen Khachanov (22 years, 20 days) were competing as the two youngest players remaining in the men’s singles draw at Roland Garros.

Visit Official Roland-Garros Website

Carlos Moya, coach of World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, is breaking down the Spaniard’s performances at Roland Garros for ATPWorldTour.com. Nadal is pursuing his 11th trophy on the Parisian terre battue.

On Saturday, the defending champion defeated Richard Gasquet to advance to the fourth round, where he’ll face German Maximilian Marterer for a place in the quarter-finals. Moya lists five key takeaways from Nadal’s win over the Frenchman.

Nadal’s Best Showing So Far
Nadal was on top of matters from the start. He raised his intensity, he was moving well and he was consistently on the attack. He put Gasquet in compromising situations throughout the match.

Different Year, Different Story
It’s difficult to compare Rafa’s title-defending campaign this year to his championship-run last year. A better point of reference would be last year’s US Open. We’re taking things match by match with the understanding that we’ll improve day by day. It’s clear that everything is coming together. That’s just the way it is with Rafa.

The 16-0 Record Against Gasquet
Gasquet is solid; he’s complete and has no weaknesses. At the same time, he doesn’t have a major weapon to take Rafa out of his comfort zone. His style of play is ideal for Rafa to exploit. And considering his record against Gasquet (Nadal now leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 16-0), Rafa went into this match with a mental advantage.

Nadal Has Shifted Into Fifth Gear
This is where Rafa excels and where he reaches that point where, well, you know how things go when Rafa gets going. Players like Rafa, if they get through the early rounds, they build momentum. It becomes that much harder to defeat a player of that calibre once they get going. We’re still proceeding with caution, but honestly, Rafa gets more and more dangerous with every win.

Fully Focused On Marterer
I’m never concerned when it comes to Rafa’s frame of mind when he steps on the court. He respects every player he faces and he knows not to underestimate an opponent. As a team, we don’t know any other approach. We’re going to analyse videos (of Marterer) and check in with other players for some feedback.

The lawns are trimmed, the lines are painted and the players have arrived. The grass-court season is set to commence on the ATP Challenger Tour. 

The sweet smell of freshly manicured grass is in the air at the Surbiton Racket & Fitness Club, as three weeks of high-octane, fast-paced tennis begins in the London suburb of Surbiton. For the fourth straight year and 15th overall, the Challenger circuit returns to the historic 137-year-old club. The facility was founded in 1881 and hosted the prestigious Surrey Grass Court Championships for 70 editions.

While today’s top players continue to grind on the clay courts of Roland Garros, there is plenty of star power gliding on the pristine laws of the Surbiton Trophy. 

View Draw

The Aussies are out in force, with second seed Jordan Thompson and Thanasi Kokkinakis joining #NextGenATP stars Alex de Minaur and Marc Polmans. Past champion (2015) Matthew Ebden is looking to come through qualifying, while Lleyton Hewitt and Nick Kyrgios are sure to draw crowds in the doubles. Hewitt, playing with Alex Bolt, and Kyrgios, teaming up with Daniel Evans, were given wild cards into the €127,000 event. The former World No. 1 is returning to Surbiton on the 20th anniversary of his first professional grass-court match, which took place at the inaugural edition in 1998.

Top seed Jeremy Chardy is also joined by British teen Jay Clarke, Alexander Bublik, Yuki Bhambri and recent Seoul champ Mackenzie McDonald. Chardy, Thomas Fabbiano and Sergiy Stakhovsky are making quick transitions from clay to grass after registering second-round results at Roland Garros. Taylor Fritz is the top seed in qualifying. 

Past champions in Surbiton include former Top 10 stars Mardy Fish (2006) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2007), with Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Greg Rusedski and Thomas Johansson also competing there. Last year, Japan’s Yuichi Sugita became the first player to win grass-court titles on both the ATP Challenger Tour and ATP World Tour in a single season. After winning in Surbiton, he lifted his maiden tour-level trophy in Antalya.

Following Surbiton, the swing proceeds to northern England for the Nature Valley Open in Nottingham, before concluding at the scenic Ilkley Trophy.