Rafael Nadal swept past Leonardo Mayer to maintain his record of reaching the fourth round in all of his French Open appearances.
The world number one beat his Argentinian opponent 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 in two hours and 17 minutes on the Philippe Chatrier court on Saturday.
But eight-time French Open champion Nadal did admit that he had suffered with a slight back issue during the third-round encounter.
“I felt a little bit my back so that’s why I slowed down my service a little bit,” said Nadal. “I had the problem in Australia. It’s real but during my career I have had a few problems.”
He will now face world number 83 Dusan Lajovic and the Serb could not hide is excitement at facing the eight-time champion in his first main draw appearance at the tournament.
“I can’t be more happy than this,” the 23-year old said. “Maybe to play Rafa on Chatrier is one of the biggest dreams and biggest challenges, so for sure it’s not going to be easy. ”
“You need to have a lot of tips and confidence to beat [Nadal], but I hope to enjoy the match if he wins and to give my best.”
Meanwhile, home favourite Gaels Monfils was thrilled to beat Italian 14th seed Fabio Fognini 5-7 6-2 6-4 0-6 6-2.
“For me it’s always a pleasure, new experience,” said Monfils. “The crowd is always different. Today was again amazing.”