Nine-time champion Rafael Nadal surged into the French Open quarter-finals for a record-equalling 11th time on Sunday, while Caroline Wozniacki reached the last eight after ousting 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Nadal continued his ruthless form at Roland Garros by dispatching Spanish 17th seed Roberto Bautista Agut 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 to match Roger Federer's mark of last-eight appearances in Paris.
The 14-time major winner is yet to drop a set, conceding just six games in the last two rounds as he strives to become the first man to win 10 titles at a single Grand Slam.
"I'm happy because Roberto is a very good player. It's very important for me to be in the quarter-finals one more time," said Nadal, who turned 31 on Saturday.
Japan's Kei Nishikori fought off a fierce five-set challenge from rising South Korean talent Hyeon Chung to clinch a place in the last 16.
Eighth seed Nishikori led two sets to one but trailed by a double break at 3-0 down in the fourth set when rain halted play on Saturday.
Chung forced the contest into a deciding set as play resumed on Sunday, but the world number 67 double faulted on match point to gift Nishikori a 7-5, 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 0-6, 6-4 victory.
"I think the rain helps me a lot, because I was really down in the fourth set and mentally I wasn't ready," admitted Nishikori. "I knew I had to change something to beat him today, so I think I made some adjustments to make little better than yesterday."
all past champs out
There will be a first-time Grand Slam champion at the French Open. And there's a week left in the tournament to figure out which of the 12 women still around that will be.
Venus Williams was the last of the past major title winners in the draw, and she lost in the fourth round to 30th-seeded Timea Bacsinszky 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 at Court Philippe Chatrier on Sunday. That happened less than an hour after defending champion Garbine Muguruza was beaten 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 by 13th-seeded Kristina Mladenovic at Court Suzanne lenglen.
The only other two women with a Grand Slam trophy on their resumes who made it to the fourth round — Svetlana Kuznetsova and Samantha Stosur — lost earlier Sunday to women without one.
Kuznetsova, who won the 2009 French Open and 2004 U.S. Open, was ousted by two-time major finalist Caroline Wozniacki 6-1, 4-6, 6-2, while 2011 U.S. Open champion Stosur was eliminated by 19-year-old Jelena Ostapenko of latvia 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Mladenovic will face Bacsinszky next, and Wozniacki meets Ostapenko. Plus, all eight women who play for quarterfinal berths Monday are seeking a first major title.
Heading into this French Open, many figured the women's draw was wide open, because of the absences of Williams' sister, Serena, and Maria Sharapova. How right those folks were.
This was Muguruza's first attempt at defending a Grand Slam championship, and she ran into a determined Mladenovic, who was backed by a vocal crowd of countrymen who chanted her nickname, Kiki, throughout the match.
Mladenovic often played to the fans, waving her arms to ask for more noise. And as Muguruza walked to the locker room after her defeat, she wagged a finger toward the stands as if to say, "Tsk, tsk!"
A year after showing so much resolve while winning the French Open, Muguruza fell apart down the stretch.
The 24-year-old Mladenovic never had been past the third round at her home major — and has never made it beyond the quarterfinals at any other.
But she managed to pull off the biggest victory of her career despite 16 double-faults, seven in each of the last two sets on a windy day with the temperature in the 60s (teens Celsius).