The all-to-early but highly-anticipated Roland Garros quarterfinal between the two title favorites is upon us. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and nine-time champion Rafael Nadal will collide on Wednesday.

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will be facing each other for the 44th time in their careers when they meet in the quarterfinals of the French Open on Wednesday.

Nadal is leading the head-to-head series 23-20, including 14-5 on clay. His clay-court dominance, however, once stood at a commanding 9-0 over Djokovic. They are an even 5-5 against one another on the slow stuff dating back to the start of the 2011 campaign. In even more convincing evidence of a turning tide, Djokovic has won five of their last six encounters overall. The Serb most recently cruised 6-3, 6-3 earlier this spring in the Monte-Carlo semis.

Interestingly, their first-ever showdown also came in the quarters at Roland Garros. Nadal was cruising…