The 2015 French Open has moved into the business end of the competition and easy outings are going to be a rarity now.
There are a host of top stars, who are going to be on action in Roland Garros Day 8 on Sunday with players such as Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori in the men's singles fourth round. While in the women's circuit, Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic will be the big stars to watch out for.
The second seed Federer has progressed into the fourth round after a comprehensive display defeating Damir Džumhur from Bosnia with the score reading 6-4, 6-3 and 6-2.
Federer has not lost a single set in the competition and will be eager to maintain that record when he faces Frenchman Gael Monfils, who has had to sweat it out in his last two matches against Pablo Gabriel Cuevas and Diego Schwartzman, as he was stretched to three sets on both occasions.
Hence, it is not going to be an easy outing against Roger Federer, who has looked in sublime form.
But, it is not only Federer, but another Swiss in the form of Stan Wawrinka, who has been in good form of late and seems to be hungry to even go all the way. Wawrinka has only dropped a single set in the competition and is striking the ball well with both the backhand as well as his forehand, which makes him a difficult opponent.
Wawrinka's toughest test will lie against the 12th seed Gilles Simon, who was made to struggle in his third round match against Nicolas Mahut as the game lasted for a marathon time of three hours and 45 minutes.
Wawrinka will have better legs when these two players meet as he brushed off competition from Steve Johnson in the third round with the score reading 6-4, 6-3 and 6-2. But, Wawrinka is aware of the tough task, which Simon can bring to the table on Sunday.
"Gilles is always a tough player; he's difficult to handle," ATP official website quoted Wawrinka as saying. "You have to be aggressive and really catch opportunities when they're there."
In the women's singles, Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic will be the star attraction.
Maria Sharapova has looked in superb form thrashing opponents with ease. She has not lost a single set in the competition and even the 26th seed, Samantha Stosur, was helpless against Sharapova, who defeated her 6-3 and 6-4.
Hence, the Russian has set up a date with Lucie Šafářová, who undoubtedly will prove her biggest opponent so far in the fourth round. Safarova, who might have not lost a single set, but has been made to fight hard in her previous matches, has been seeded 13th in the competition.
Second seed Sharapova will be eager to defend the title, which she won last year.
Another top player, Ana Ivanovic, has not had a cruising time in the competition after having suffered a scare in the first and second round, where she had to come from one set down, but in the third round, she showed her class and defeated Donna Vekic in straight sets to face a tough ninth seed, Ekaterina Makarova.
The match between the two has all the ingredients to come up with match of the day.
Where to Watch Live
French Open 2015 Day 8 will start at 11am local time (2:30pm IST, 10:30am BST, 5:30am ET) with live coverage in India on Neo Sports and Neo Prime. Audience in the UK can catch the matches live on ITV, while the live streaming option is on ITV Player. Viewers in Europe can watch it live on Eurosport and Eurosport Player.
US viewers can watch it live on NBC and ESPN with live streaming option on NBC Live Extra and Watch ESPN.
Viewers in Australia can watch it on Fox Sports with live streaming option on Foxtel.
