Court 4 caught fire, metaphorically-speaking, on Monday when 15-year-old Darwin Blanch pulled off the upset of the day, beating new junior world No.1 Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez in straight sets, 6-2 7-5.

Blanch's easy power drew the crowd in quickly and he managed to maintain the pace throughout. Pacheco Mendez fought to get a break back in the second set but could do nothing in the end against the speed and depth of the American’s left paw.

The American was on a high after this stunning performance.

“Obviously it feels great as he’s No.1 in the world and a great player, but most importantly, I played really well and believed in myself from the moment I stepped on the court which is very important when you’re the underdog," said Blanch. "A bit of nerves in the last game but overall I really played great.”

Blanch, whose tennis idol is Novak Djokovic, displayed such a mature game out there that it was easy to forget he is just 15.

“Since he was making a lot of balls, I was thinking to myself ‘be aggressive but patient” because if I would have rushed I would have probably lost the match,” he said.

The younger brother of pro player Ulises Blanch, Darwin is currently training in Spain at Juan Carlo Ferrero’s academy. Regularly being around Carlos Alcaraz has sped up his understanding of the game. I see Carlos Alcaraz sometimes and we practice together sometimes too. It obviously helps you to get used to the way he hits the ball, it’s really professional. And you can see how he works on and off the court. It helps me to improve myself.”

It has also helped him get along better with clay.

“I’m getting more time on clay but honestly I prefer hard courts over clay, but I’m playing really well on clay now and slowly getting better,” he added.

While he listens more to his coaches than to his family regarding his tennis these days, Blanch still has his family to thank for his passion for the game.

“I actually don’t know why my Dad chose tennis but I have two brothers and a sister and we all ended up playing tennis," he said. "My brothers also played French Open Juniors so I’ve always wanted to be here. It’s a dream to be here and especially winning a round, especially by beating the top seed, is amazing.”

If Blanch was swinging freely out there, it wasn’t the case for one of the outsiders for the title, Iliyan Radulov. The Bulgarian spoke about how he feels the weight of expectation at this event after beating Danil Panarin in three sets 6-7(3) 6-4 6-1 in his opening round.

“There’s a lot of pressure," he said. "In my country, they expect me to do something big here so it’s always a very big pressure. I feel it all the time, especially in the first set where I was really tight but also it’s always tough in the first match. But it was gone after the second set.”

Radulov won his first professional title a couple of weeks ago on the ITF World Tennis Tour - at M15 Pazardzhik - but he still cares a lot about doing well in juniors.

“Every single match is very important for me, doesn’t matter if it’s a Grand Slam or a J1," he admitted. "I was watching Roland-Garros every time when I was a kid. I like to watch Musetti, Alcaraz, Korda, and Sinner. By the way, I was at the match between Alcaraz and Musetti here and that was an amazing battle.”

For Radulov too, tennis runs in the family.

“I started when I was 3 years old," he revealed. "My grandfather was a coach, my uncle too, my parents play tennis so we’re a tennis family! My sister also plays! No choice!” (he laughs).

Radulov is having a great year on the court and has benefitted from being part of the Grand Slam Player Development Programme for their Tour of Europe. All the signs are pointing in the right direction.

“I won my first 15K two weeks ago, it was amazing. It showed me that I am ready, even if maybe my serve needs to be improved a bit for the men’s Tour, but I’m working on it. Also, the Player Development Programme helped me very much and I thank them for that. I’m very happy they chose me for the team now and also for Wimbledon.”

Australian Open champion Alexander Blockx had a much easier second round than his first as he took out Reda Bennani 6-0 6-1. Even so, the Belgian feels he has a target on his back at this year's event.

“I prepared for a tough battle, I didn’t feel very well after cramping after my first match so that bothered me a bit. But I played very well today, everything worked out," he said. "Everyone is playing free against me because they have nothing to lose as I’m the favorite to win here. I just try to enjoy the matches and that’s the key to perform and win.”

He also tries to enjoy the clay, which doesn't come naturally to him.

“I had to learn to like it because I always preferred hard court over clay, but I feel like this is the first year that I really feel good on clay. I got a bit taller, physically I got a bit stronger and my shots are doing more pain to the opponents.”

Sounds like a pretty solid plan.