Cape Town - South Africa’s Kevin Anderson threw away a golden opportunity to reach the quarter-finals for the first time at Roland Garros against Diego Schwartzman on Monday.

Anderson started like a house on fire, quickly winning the first two sets for the loss of only three games.

He looked set for an easy victory when serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set, before faltering to allow the diminutive Argentine to reel off three straight games to steal the set.

The 6-foot-8 South African regained his composure in the fourth set by claiming an early break.

However, he again faltered when serving for the match at 5-4 and Schwartzman would eventually win the fourth set in a tie-break.

The fifth set started with four breaks of serve before the 11th-seeded Schwartzman again took control, clinching the decider for a 1-6, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/0), 6-2 win.

Schwartzman will face either world No 1 Rafael Nadal or undeeded German Maximilian Marterer in the quarter-finals.