PARIS — As most had hoped and everybody had expected, there was no altering the collision course.
Rafael Nadal, the nine-time French Open champion, will indeed face Novak Djokovic, the world’s indisputable No. 1 player, in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros.
That heavyweight bout — a final of sorts before the final — is to be fought on Nadal’s 29th birthday, and Nadal, the greatest clay-court player in history, will presumably need to be at or near his very best to keep it a festive occasion.
Nadal advanced out of the fourth round on Monday with a 6-3, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Jack Sock, a young, unseeded American whose power and hustle helped turn a rout into a contest.