Monday's French Open fourth round brings a clash between Novak Djokovic, fresh off notching his 99th victory at the event, and Cameron Norrie, who seeks a first quarter-final appearance.
The former world No. 8 overcame Jacob Fearnley in an all-British contest to progress to a first Roland Garros fourth-round match in his career, where he will take on the three-time champion in the French capital.
Match preview
© Imago
Norrie entered his third-round match with Fearnley on Saturday confident in his prospects of extending his ongoing impressive record in all-Brit affairs.
The 29-year-old had claimed six wins in seven against such opponents and claimed his seventh in eight with a straight-set 6-3, 7-6(1), 6-2 victory to reach the last 16 in Paris for the first time.
Having reached the third round in 2021, 2022 and 2023, the five-time ATP champion improved to 10-7 in Paris to break new ground at the major and come within two more wins of matching his 2022 Wimbledon performance.
That outcome is contingent on getting the better of Djokovic, whom he has never beaten on the men's tour, underlining the difficulty of the challenge ahead of the British player.
Monday's encounter will be a repeat of their most recent matchup in Geneva, where Norrie took a set off the Serbian in the semi-final but ultimately fell in three en route to the 38-year-old's 100th tour-level crown.
© Imago
That momentum has continued into the second Grand Slam of 2025, with the 24-time majors champion benefitting from a kind draw that has pit him against Mackenzie McDonald, Corentin Moutet and qualifier Filip Misolic.
After suffering early losses in the hard-court events after the Australian Open, Djokovic's Miami Open run to the title match proved to be a false dawn as more setbacks followed in Monte Carlo and Madrid, where he was defeated by Alejandro Tabilo and Matteo Arnaldi respectively.
The world No. 6 never hid that peaking at Roland Garros was the ambition, and the run in Geneva has contributed to his ongoing seven-match winning streak, a run not achieved since last summer when he claimed an elusive Olympic gold in the French capital.
Djokovic's French Open run this year has taken him to 99 victories at the event, level with his tally at the Australian Open, where he is a 10-time champion.
One more victory will take the experienced star to 100 wins in the French capital, placing him 12 behind his greatest rival, Rafael Nadal.
While the 38-year-old 24-time Slam winner is unlikely to reach Nadal's 112 French Open wins, another triumph takes him into the quarters and closer to Grand Slam No. 25.
Tournament so far
Cameron Norrie:
First round: vs. Daniil Medvedev 7-5 6-3 4-6 1-6 7-5
Second round: vs. Federico Agustin Gomez 7-6[7] 6-2 6-1
Third round: vs. Jacob Fearnley 6-3 7-6[1] 6-2
Novak Djokovic:
First round: vs. Mackenzie McDonald 6-3 6-3 6-3
Second round: vs. Corentin Moutet 6-3 6-2 7-6[1]
Third round: vs. Filip Misolic 6-3 6-4 6-2
Head To Head
Geneva (2025) - Semi-final: Djokovic 6-4 6-7(6) 6-1
Davis Cup (2023) - Round Robin: Djokovic 6-4 6-4
Rome Masters (2023) - Round of 16: Djokovic 6-3 6-4
Wimbledon (2022) - Semi-final: Djokovic 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-4
ATP Finals (2021) - Round Robin: Djokovic 6-2 6-1
Djokovic has never lost to Norrie in five meetings on the ATP Tour, and the Serb seeks a sixth straight victory in this matchup.
The Brit forced the 24-time Grand Slam champion to a decider in their recent meeting in Geneva and will carry that encouragement into the Paris meeting.
Norrie also clinched a set in the pair's only encounter at a Major, taking the opener in the Wimbledon semi-final in 2022, but lost the next three sets to the seven-time champion at SW19.
We say: Djokovic to win in three sets
While the former British No. 1 will back himself to notch a set, Djokovic has played clinical tennis in rounds one, two and three and is expected to dispatch Norrie with minimal fuss and advance to another quarter-final in the French capital.
