Rafael Nadal a set down to Diego Schwartzman in French Open quarter-final as play is cancelled due to rain

The remainder of Rafael Nadal's quarter-final with Diego Schwartzman will be the first match on Court Philippe Chatrier on Thursday ahead of the women's semi-finals on the same court.

Meanwhile, Marin Cilic's quarter-final with Juan Martín del Potro which was also suspended earlier, will get proceedings under way on Court Suzanne-Lenglen ahead of some mixed and men's doubles action . . .

It has just been announced that all play at Roland Garros has been cancelled for the day with play resuming on Thursday morning. Shame that for all the fans who had paid their money and were hoping, perhaps, to see yet another upset on the Parisian clay – and what an upset it would have been – and, of course, for all of you our lovely readers. Anyway, Telegraph Sport will bring you the rest of the action tomorrow morning so be sure to come back then, though as yet there is no order of play. Adieu, et à demain.

Well, 6.15pm and come and gone and there's still no word about whether we will see any more action from the French Open quarter-final between Rafael Nadal and Diego Schwartzman. In the meantime Eurosport are treating us with a re-run of Novak Djokovic's shock exit at the hands of Marco Cecchinato on Tuesday when it really was a case of down and out in Paris for the powerful – but fragile – Serb.

If, like me, you were left asking yourself:  Cecchinato who? then you should probably brush up on the Italian right here.

The covers at Court Philippe Chatrier are still very much on.

The word from Paris – the French Open official Twitter feed, to be precise – is that play may resume shortly, though as yet there is no further news on this front. However, some are saying that the clouds above Roland Garros appear to be clearing and a third period of play in this evenly poised contest may break out soon. Stay tuned folks!

That's not to say of course that play will resume then, but fingers crossed. 

Anyway, thanks for your company today. I'm off and will leave you in the capable hands of my colleague John MacLeary. 

The rain continues to fall, and the umbrellas are up. There are another 2/3 of hours of daylight in Paris  so this could still finish tonight, but we will keep you posted as soon as we have any updates. 

Nadal leads 30-15 this game when the bucketing rain becomes too much and the players are forced to leave the court. what a time for this to happen, with Nadal two points away from levelling the match at one-set all. 

So, the court is covered with the score at: Nadal* 4-6, 5-3 (30-15) Schwartzman 

He was saved by the rain in Rome against Sascha Zverev, and the weather seems to have given Nadal a mighty boost here. He's suddenly skipping along the baseline and firing away winners, while Schwartzman can barely get a ball in court. 

Nadal breaks to love and will serve for the second set. 

Blessed relief for Nadal, who claims a straightforward hold for only the second time today. A Schwartzman forehand sails long, and Nadal holds to 15. 

Nadal is pumped up at the resumption, and after motoring to 0-30 he earns himself a break point at 30-40 when Schwartzman nets a forehand. What a response though from Schwartzman, who saves it with a forehand winner up the line on the run. Schwartzman then misses a game point and fluffs the simplest of volleys to fall down break point again. What a dreadful error. And Nadal makes him pay by drawing a missed forehand on the next point and snaring the break back! 

We're level again in the second set. How much will Schwartzman ​end up regretting that missed volley?

We're back under way at Roland Garros. Schwartzman is serving up a set and a break. 

So we should be resuming shortly. 

Hopefully play will be back under way shortly. 

It's still raining in Paris. We'll keep you posted with any changes. 

While we wait, here's one of the two men to have beaten him at Roland Garros on how to pull off tennis's mission impossible. 

Some key stats from our friend Craig O'Shannessy at Brain Game Tennis. 

Nadal and Schwartzman have been sent to the locker room for what we anticipate will be a short delay. The courts are being swept but not covered. 

Er, that tide I mentioned - for now at least - seems to be staying very much with Schwartzman. He races to 0-40 and breaks to 15 with another pounding forehand. What a crazy match this has been. 

I do find it utterly bonkers that in 2018 we can still have grand slam quarter-finals stopped by the rain. It looks as though that's what's about to happen here, but for now we carry on. 

Schwartzman appears to be on his way to a simple hold at 40-0, but he tightens up badly and allows Nadal into the game at deuce. A double fault then gifts Rafa a break point, but superb backhand hitting from Schwartzman fends it off. No matter, Nadal forces another one moments later - and he takes this one when Schwartzman pushes a backhand well wide. What a bonus break for Nadal, who didn't really have to do a lot that game. 

Schwartzman is fidgeting and complaining to his box. Is the tide about to turn?

Nadal definitely looks off colour. His serve speeds are a few MPH down on his tournament average, and he's just missed an overhead that you'd normally expect him to make with his eyes closed. An ace takes Nadal to 40-15, but Schwartzman battles his way back to deuce, and he's up break point when Rafa inexplicably misses a simple forehand. This is bizarre. And things get even stranger, as Nadal misses another regulation forehand to hand over the break!

The 10-time French Open champion trails by a set and a break. 

The rain is starting to fall, and you get the feeling this could be a pivotal game. Schwartzman grinds his way to a hold after being taken to deuce from 40-30. 

Schwartzman hit 20 winners in the first set to Nadal's four, and is hitting both his forehand and backhand far harder than the Spaniard. In short, Nadal took an absolute pounding.

But at last he gets through a service game without facing a break point, holding to 15 despite some unbelievable defence from Schwartzman. 

Nadal wanted a medical time out at the change of ends, but he waited too long to ask and so will have to soldier on. Schwartzman meanwhile keeps his focus and races to 30-0 with a service winner and an angled drop volley. A missed Nadal backhand then has Schwartzman up 40-15 - two set points. A missed forehand sees the first go begging, and then would you believe it, a Nadal drop shot out from of nowhere seems to stop in mid air but just lands over the net to save the second. Moments later, a missed Schwartzman forehand gives Nadal a break point, but he can't take it after a strong serve from the Argentine. Schwartzman then nails an overhead to earn a third set point but after missing the first serve someone collapses in the crowd and needs to be attended to so there's a break in play. The expression 'it's all happening' is overused in sport, but blimey it's all happening here! What a time for this to happen. The tournament referee is out, both players are pacing around the court trying to keep warm. Where are the paramedics? On strike, presumably (wahey!). At last the medical staff arrive, and the spectator is helped out. Schwartzman gets a first serve because of the delay. Here we go. And he's done it! Schwartzman nails a forehand winner up the line, and he has the first set after an epic 69 minutes. 

That's the first set Nadal has lost at the French Open since 2015. And he's getting his wrist taped up at the end of the set. We're not about to witness the mother of all upsets are we?

Nadal's winning less than half of the points on his first serve, which is pretty much unheard of. Schwartzman nails a couple more forehands for 15-30 - the second of which nearly knocks Nadal off his feet - and he's up break point again (as he has been in every single returning game) at 30-40 when Rafa miscues a forehand that sails well wide. Another fizzing forehand winner seals the break for Schwartzman, who will serve for the first set. Nadal looks shellshocked. He's getting beaten up out there. 

Unsurprisingly for someone of his height, Schwartzman does not possess a great serve. He struggles again here, and is broken right back to 15. Nadal didn't do anything spectacularly there, just kept on asking questions and drew the errors. Now can Nadal finally have a simple service game?

Schwartzman is absolutely ripping into Nadal's serve, and for the fourth straight returning game he bullies his way to 15-40. This time he makes no mistake, sealing the break with a simple volley put-away after dismantling Nadal from the baseline. 

This is immense from the 5ft 7in Schwartzman. He's hit 14 winners to Nadal's two!

A love hold is just what the doctor ordered for Schwartzman. The highlight of which is a glorious lob that leaves Nadal completely stranded at the net. 

This is just sensational! Schwartzman is moving Nadal all over the court, and he gets to 15-40 again after hitting a spinning drop shot that clips the tape and dies on the other side of the net. Nadal saves them both though, with Schwartzman just a little over-eager once more. A couple more errors follow, and Nadal holds.  

You worry Schwartzman will tire himself out eventually, but for the moment let's just sit back and enjoy the fearless way he's trying to take Nadal on. Rafa looks agitated at the change of ends, worrying even more than usual about his various tics and superstitions. 

This is great. Schwartzman's playing so aggressively that it's forcing Nadal to lift his level and fight fire with fire. The velocity and spin both players are putting on the ball in mindblowing. Unfortunately for Schwartzman, he just puts a little too much on a few of his groundstrokes this game and is broken back to 15. But my word, even if he loses today he's going to go down fighting. 

Schwartzman hits an inside-in forehand winner that's a good few feet inside the baseline but is so good that Nadal doesn't even try to retrieve it. Very rare you see that. It takes Schwartzman to 15-30, before a well-disguised forehand winner earns him two more break points at 15-40. And this time he takes the chance at the first attempt - battering away another forehand winner to claim the early break!

 It's taken 23 minutes to play three games. Bruising tennis out there. 

Schwartzman looks as though he's employing the Simone Bolelli tactic of absolutely bludgeoning the ball at every opportunity. Let's hope he continues with the strategy as it's bloody good fun to watch. Superb defence from Nadal takes him to 15-40 and two break points, before Schwartzman gives the Spaniard a taste of his own medicine by saving both of them (the second with a backhand ripper down the line). Schwartzman eventually holds on, helped on his way by a delicate drop volley. He's playing out of his skin at the moment, superb stuff.  The question is: how long can he sustain this level?

Interesting point from Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim incidentally...

So nearly the dream start for Schwartzman, but from 15-40 he wastes two break points with a couple of groundstrokes that fly long. A double fault then hands the Argentine a third chance, but he snatches at it and sprays a forehand well long. Moments later a bulleted forehand earns Schwartzman a fourth chance; this time he's outdone by a swinging wide serve that he can't get back in play. Eventually Nadal says "enough is enough" and slams the door shut with a forehand winner to wrap up a hold. 

A marathon first game finally ends after 10 minutes of ferocious hitting from both men. 

Nadal will serve first to get us under way. 

And thankfully the sun is out! Nadal and Schwartzman are knocking up, and we'll be under way shortly. 

I said this last week but I still find it staggering that Nadal has not so much as dropped a set at Roland Garros since he was beaten by Novak Djokovic three years ago. The way Nadal was beaten up that day was painful to watch, and I don't think anyone saw this renaissance coming. Certainly not to this incredible extent.  

Schwartzman, who has lost all five of his matches against Nadal, is facing tennis's ultimate test today. 

Muguruza has just thumped Sharapova 7-5, 6-1 so taking to Court Philippe Chatrier shortly will be Rafael Nadal and Diego Schwartzman. 

Morning all, weather permitting we're expecting Nadal and Schwartzman on court at about 3pm (though it depends on how long Sharapova v Muguruza, which starts at 1pm, takes). You can stay across that match with our separate live blog here. 

Once Nadal and Schwartzman do take to the court, we should be in for an exhibition of power-hitting from the greatest clay-courter of all time against a player who despite standing at just 5ft 7in packs a mighty punch from the baseline.

Schwartzman's supporters will be hoping he won't be too exhausted from his heroic five-set win over the giant South African Kevin Anderson on Monday and has the self-belief to overcome a 0-5 head-to-head record against Nadal. 

A glimmer of hope can be found in the pair's very entertaining fourth-round meeting at the Australian Open in January which went to four sets and was close and competitive throughout. On the flipside that set won in Melbourne is the only one Schwartzman has ever claimed against Nadal so doesn't point to a huge pedigree. 

Nadal has also not dropped a set at the French Open since 2015 - that's a barely believable 37 sets in a row. So, yeah clearly the omens are not great for li'l Diego. 

The winner of this incidentally will play Juan Martin del Potro or Marin Cilic in the semi-finals in what is the battle of the one-slam wonders over on Court Suzanne Lenglen. Should Nadal and Del Potro win then that would make for a potentially very intriguing semi-final. Nadal would of course be the favourite but Del Potro has a game big enough to unsettle even the 10-time champion if he has a good day. 

Anyway, we are of course getting ahead of ourselves. Nadal, with his frenzied intensity will only be thinking about this afternoon's match against Schwartzman (and probably genuinely thinking of himself as the underdog). 

It's become a bit of a pointless exercise predicting Nadal's results at Roland Garros, but for what it's worth I think he'll win in straight sets today - with one of the sets being a 7-5 or 7-6.