Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic get huge French Open boost as Daniil Medvedev crashes out

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were handed a huge boost to their French Open chances as their main rival for the trophy was knocked out of the competition. Daniil Medvedev was among the favourites to win in Paris, but suffered a straight sets defeat at the hands of Marin Cilic on Monday night.

The Russian was powerless to resist as his opponent cruised into a two-set lead, barely having to break a sweat as he did so. The result was put almost beyond all doubt as the Croatian broke the number two seed twice in quick succession at the start of the third set.

Medvedev finally offered some resistance while 4-0 down, serving as quickly as he could and looking like he was determined to offer one final piece of resistance. He won that game to hold his serve, but it wasn't enough to spark an unlikely comeback and the excellent Cilic finished the job to seal his place in the last eight of the competition.

The exit of the second seed clears a path for one of Nadal and Djokovic, who are among the other favourites to take the Roland Garros title. That pair, who boast 41 Grand Slam titles between them, face each other on Philippe-Chatrier in a huge quarter-final clash on Tuesday in a match which may decide who wins the whole tournament.

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While Cilic was certainly deserving of his lead, secured in swift fashion, he was helped to do so by some sloppy play from his opponent. That was typified by the point which handed the first set to the Croatian, as Medvedev double-faulted to give it away without Cilic having to do anything.

There wasn't much more resistance offered in the second set either, as the Russian left himself with a mountain to climb. He had