Rafael Nadal celebrates after defeating Augger-Aliassime.
Rafael Nadal showed once again why he is one of the greatest tennis players of all time as the King of Clay dispatched Felix Auger-Aliassime 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the fourth round of the French Open.
In what was an exhilarating five-setter, Nadal, playing in his 112th match at the Roland Garros, didn't show any signs of wear and tear in a match that lasted nearly four and half hours.
“Being honest, every match that I play here, I don't know if it's going to be my last match here in Roland Garros. That's my situation now," said Nadal.
“That's why I am just trying to enjoy as much as possible,'' he added.
The victory means Nadal will face another great - Novak Djokovic in Tuesday's quarterfinals.
It will be the 59th time when Nadal will face Djokovic and the Spaniard will remember that he has been defeated by Djokovic in last year's semifinals. Overall he is 109-3 at the Roland Garros but faces a major challenge in Djokovic.
“We have a lot of history together,” said Nadal.
The currently No. 1-ranked Djokovic, twice the title winner at the French Open, is just one behind Nadal in the total Slam count, tied with Roger Federer at 20.
Djokovic beat 15th-seeded Diego Schwartzman 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 earlier Sunday and has won all 12 sets he's played in the tournament.
“It's a huge challenge and probably the biggest one that you can have here in Roland Garros. I'm ready for it," Djokovic said about playing Nadal.
The other quarterfinal in their half of the men's bracket is between No.3 seed Alexander Zverev, the 2020 U.S.Open runner-up, and No. 6 Carlos Alcaraz, the 19-year-old from Spain who leads the tour with four titles this year.
Zverev beat 131st-ranked qualifier Bernabe Zapata Miralles 7-6 (11), 7-5, 6-3, and Alcaraz displayed a back-to-the-net, between-the-legs lob while wrapping up the day's schedule with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 victory over No.21 Karen Khachanov.
(Inputs AP)
