Rafael Nadal entered the French Open semi-finals for the 14th time on Wednesday, opening the way for a potential showdown with Novak Djokovic, while Maria Sakkari startled defending champion Iga Swiatek.

Nadal, pursuing his 14th championship in Paris and a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam, defeated Argentina's Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, brushing off the end of his tournament winning streak of 36 straight sets.

The world number three will confront Djokovic in his 35th Grand Slam semi-final if the top seed defeats Italian ninth seed Matteo Berrettini later Wednesday.

As he proceeded to his 35th Grand Slam semi-final, Nadal increased his French Open record to 105 victories and two defeats.

Nadal has now beat Schwartzman in 11 of their 12 games, including the 2020 Paris semi-finals.

Djokovic, the 2016 champion and an 18-time Grand Slam champion, would be only the third player in history to win all four majors twice if he lifts the trophy on Sunday. If he defeats Berrettini, he would reach his 40th Grand Slam semi-final.

The Italian would be fresher than Djokovic, having received a walkover into the last eight after Roger Federer withdrew from the event.

Djokovic, had to come back from two sets down in the fourth round to upset Italian youngster Lorenzo Musetti.

Sakkari overcame Swiatek to be the first Greek woman to reach a Grand Slam semi-final.

Sakkari won 6-4, 6-4 against the eighth seed from Poland and therefore will face 33rd-ranked Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic in the final.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the 31st seed from Russia, will face unseeded Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia in the second semi-final on Thursday.

For maybe the first time in Open history, the French Open semi-finals will showcase four women who have never advanced this far in a Slam.

Swiatek entered the match having won 22 straight sets at the French Open, but her challenge was thwarted by a right thigh injury that necessitated taping throughout a medical stoppage early in the second set. Her defeat implies that Justine Henin is now the only player to have successfully defended the women's championship in Paris in 2007.

This year, Greece would have two players in the semi-finals as Stefanos Tsitsipas advanced to the last four on Tuesday.

“I had much more pressure this year, but I also did well since I think quarter-final is a wonderful job,” Swiatek said.

“I'm consistent, but times like these occur. Last year, I didn't have a day like that.”

Krejcikova defeated American 17-year-old Coco Gauff 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 after saving five set points in the first set and needed six match points to win.

Gauff, the tournament's 24th seed and the youngest quarter-finalist in 15 years was defeated by seven double faults and 41 unforced errors.

“I never thought I'd be standing here one day on this court, particularly in singles, and being able to win,” said Krejcikova, who had been paralyzed by dread before her last 16 triumphs over Sloane Stephens that she locked herself in a stadium office and sobbed.

Krejcikova is now on a 10-match winning run and has a big week ahead of her. She is in the women's doubles semi-finals.

Meanwhile, the current relaxation of Covid-19 limits in France, effective Wednesday, and a later curfew of 11 p.m., increased the number of viewers at Roland Garros.

During the first time, spectators will be allowed to watch the Djokovic-Berrettini quarter-final in the tournament's last nighttime session, with 5,000 eligible to do so.