The No. 1 seed at Roland Garros got us thinking about some other ambitious crossovers.

Ruud paid homage to his childhood idol while looking ahead to an opportunity-filled draw, the first not to feature the 14-time champion in almost two decades.

The Norwegian made a run to the final of last year's tournament, and his draw paves the way for more magic.

Is the clay-court Grand Slam really as wide open as we think? We break down the bracket.

"It's a great win for me. J.J. is an aggressive, tough player," said Ruud, who will face Nicolas Jarry in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

The American and Norwegian had breakthrough runs in Paris 12 months ago, but the road to Roland Garros has been bumpier this year.

There’s a reason a statue of Rafael Nadal stands outside Court Philippe Chatrier on the southwest outskirts of Paris.

Both of these guys detest losing, and they both want to win their first clay-court Masters 1000 title.

On the men's and women's sides, news from Rome points towards Roland Garros.

The 20-year-old Dane advanced to his third clay-court final of the year courtesy of a 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-2 victory on Saturday.