Rafael Nadal mounted a brief second set fightback against Diego Schwartzman before a second rain interruption suspended their French Open quarter-final until Thursday.
Nadal came into the match undefeated against the diminutive Argentine from their five previous meetings and was yet to lose a set en route to the last eight stage, while Schwartzman recorded a comeback five-set victory against Kevin Anderson in the fourth round.
But Schwartzman delivered a warning to Nadal in the first game – forcing him to save four break points, before finding a way through on the Spaniard’s following service game.
With his 37-set unbeaten streak at the French Open in jeopardy, Nadal broke back but struggled to cope with his opponent’s powerful shots deep into the court – and dropped his serve twice more, crucially at 4-4, giving Schwartzman a chance to serve for the set he did not pass up.
A more serene start to the second set all changed when Nadal again dropped his serve at 1-1, and just as in the first while he recovered immediately, Schwartzman broke again for 3-2.
A rain delay before the 11th seed could cement the break would turn the set on its head – and after a half-hour break, Nadal won three games in a row, only interrupted when the poor weather returned with the top seed two points from levelling the match.
Defending champion Nadal is the favourite for the title in Paris as he goes in search of a record-extending 11th Roland Garros title, while Schwartzman is enjoying his best ever run at the tournament.
On Suzanne-Lenglen, Marin Cilic’s last-eight tie with Juan-Martin Del Potro failed to burst into life until the ninth game, when the Croatian saved three break points before eventually holding, and did likewise in his next service game before taking the set to a tiebreak – which was locked at 5-5.
