For all of the tumult in the French Open women's draw and the unfamiliar names filling the quarterfinal slots, the men's tournament has been much more about the usual suspects: Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka and, of course, Rafael Nadal.
The No 1-seeded Murray, a three-time major champion and last year's runner-up at Roland Garros, and No 3 Wawrinka, whose own trio of Grand Slam trophies includes the 2015 French Open, moved into the quarters with ho-hum, straight-set victories Monday.
While three of the winners in women's fourth-round action Monday — No 2 Karolina Pliskova, No 3 Simona Halep and No 5 Elina Svitolina — are highly seeded, none of the eight players left in that field has ever won a Grand Slam tournament. And they're all well aware.
"Everyone knows who remains in the draw," said Svitolina, who was two points from losing before coming back to beat 290th-ranked Petra Martic 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. "It's a big opportunity."
There's a lot more experience and hardware among the remaining men.
There's Murray and Wawrinka on the top half of the bracket. On the bottom half, No 2 Djokovic, the defending champion, and No 4 Nadal, seeking a record-extending 10th title in Paris, would set up a showdown in the semifinals with one victory apiece Tuesday.
Sure looks that way at the moment. Murray was barely tested in the fourth round, beating 21-year-old Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. Wawrinka had only a bit more trouble, eliminating the last Frenchman, No 15 Gael Monfils, 7-5, 7-6 (7), 6-2. Next for Murray is a match against No 8 Kei Nishikori, who got past a slow start to defeat Fernando Verdasco 0-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-0. Murray's head-to-head record against Nishikori is 8-2. Wawrinka, meanwhile, is 11-2 against quarterfinal opponent No 7 Marin Cilic, who was leading 6-3, 3-0 when Kevin Anderson stopped because of an injured left hamstring.
"It's a huge bonus for me, looking to the rest of the tournament," Cilic said, "knowing that, mentally and physically, I haven't spent any energy at all."
Murray did not arrive in Paris at the height of his powers. But he appears to have found his form. Dealing quite well with a swirling wind that other players complained about.
Svitolina dealt with sudden pain in her back about a half-hour before her match and said she panicked. But after trailing 5-2 in the third set, and love-30 while serving, she switched to what she jokingly called Svitolina Mode and barely a missed a shot the rest of the way. She plays 2014 runner-up Halep, who defeated No 21 Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1, 6-1. In another quarterfinal, Pliskova meets No. 28 Caroline Garcia, a 6-2, 6-4 winner against Alize Cornet in a match between two Frenchwomen.
So what, exactly, is Svitolina ModeIJ "I just try to find myself into this zone where I don't do much unforced errors," the Ukrainian said, "and still play aggressive."