Perhaps it was Saturday’s practice session with main draw semi-finalist and fellow countryman Diego Schwartzman. Whatever the catalyst, however, Argentina’s Juan Bautista Torres is thriving at the Roland Garros Junior Championships.

Bautista Torres had never before progressed beyond the second round at a Junior Grand Slam but victory over No. 14 seed Gustavo Heide of Brazil means a quarter-final tussle against Frenchman Lilian Marmousez awaits.

Should the 18-year-old require any additional inspiration he does not have far to look, with Schwartzman in the men’s draw and qualifier Nadia Podoroska in the women’s both within touching distance of a maiden Grand Slam title.

But it is the time he spent with Schwartzman at the weekend which has seemingly given Bautista Torres the impetus to reach the latter stages of the competition and force his way into silverware contention.

“I was training on Saturday with Diego and he is a big inspiration. We trained for about an hour and he missed only three balls in that time,” Bautista Torres told itftennis.com. “It was very difficult to play with him but I enjoyed it so much.

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t watch his quarter-final match against Dominic Thiem as I was playing doubles but he and Nadia have done so well and had a fantastic tournament. Both Diego and Nadia are a big inspiration for me.”

Seeing Schwartzman and Podoroska shine on the clay of Paris did not do another Argentinian, Alex Barrena, any harm either as he took his place in the last eight following a 7-6(3) 7-5 victory over France’s Martin Breysach.

With the competition now at its business end, Bautista Torres, like Barrena, has an opportunity to claim a little bit of history for his nation and become the first Junior Grand Slam champion since Agustin Velotti at Roland Garros in 2010.

“Being in the quarter-finals here, I am very happy for that and I am looking forward to playing a good match tomorrow,” said Bautista Torres, who believes his game bears similarities to that of world No. 19 Cristian Garin of Chile.

“But, wow, 10 years since an Argentinian won a Junior Grand Slam. I am going to do my best to be in the semi-finals, then the final and then be champion but now I must focus on my match tomorrow and speak with my coach.

“It is really amazing to be in the quarter-finals but now I have to concentrate on what I have to do to beat my next opponent.”

Barrena now faces a showdown with No. 8 Leandro Riedi of Switzerland, who overcame Great Britain’s Felix Gill, while another Swiss, Dominic Stricker,also reached the quarter-finals following victory over Arthur Fery, also of Great Britain.

The major upset of the day came on Court No. 14 where Guy den Ouden of the Netherlands dispatched No. 2 seed and Australian Open boys’ finalist Arthur Cazaux. The 18-year-old now faces his third successive French opponent in Sean Cuenin for a place in the semi-finals.

Seconds after stepping off court, Den Ouden told itftennis.com: “I still have quite a lot of adrenaline but I am really happy. He [Cazaux] is a great player and has been playing Grand Slams for a while, so I’m really happy to get such a big win at my first Roland Garros.

“I have been training really hard the last couple of months and I’m just so happy. I’m almost speechless. But this win definitely gives me confidence for the next round. I played really well today but will need to do so again against another very good opponent.”

Cuenin emerged from the all-French showdown with Arthur Fils, while the day’s other result saw Austria’s Lukas Neumayer account for Hamad Medjedovic of Serbia. Of the 16 seeded boys who started the competition, only two – Reidi and Stricker – remain.

In the girls’ draw, Alexandra Eala of the Philippines, France’s Elsa Jacquemot and Russia’s Polina Kudermetova, who are the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 seeds respectively, all progressed. Kudermetova advanced at the expense of fellow seed Matilda Mutavdzic of Great Britain.

Eala, who represented her nation at the 2019 ITF World Junior Tennis Finals in Prostejov, had previously failed to go beyond the third round at a Junior Grand Slam but did so courtesy of 6-1 4-6 6-1 victory over Spain’s Leyre Romero Gormaz. Czech Linda Noskova awaits in the quarter-finals.

“I am a lot less nervous now the match is over,” Eala told itftennis.com. “I am so excited. This is the best result I have had so far in terms of Junior Grand Slams and I am just going to try my best to go all the way.

“I have tried to focus and work on certain areas of my game and I have seen improvements but this is only my second tournament since March so I am really proud of how things have turned out.”

Russia’s Alina Charaeva and Germany’s No. 9 seed Alexandra Vecic will go head-to-head for a place in the semi-finals following victories over Italy’s Matilde Paoletti and No. 8 seed Oksana Selekhmeteva of Russia respectively.

Elsewhere Kristina Dmitruk of Belarus overpowered Czech Republic’s Darja Vidmanova and will now play Jacquemot, who finished third at last year’s ITF Junior Finals in Chengdu. France’s Oceane Babel, meanwhile, defeated Russia’s Julia Avdeeva to fix a meeting with Kudermetova.