Fifth seed Rafael Nadal survived one of longest matches he has ever played at the French Open after ousting Felix Auger-Aliassime in a five-set epic that lasted more than four hours.
The 21-time Grand Slam winner got off to a shaky start before defeating an inspired Auger-Aliassime 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, in what was a dramatic roller-coaster encounter. Nadal struggled at times to tame his opponents serve which is illustrated by the fact he only managed to convert six out of 22 break point opportunities. It is only the third time he has been taken to five sets in the tournament after John Isner in 2011 and Novak Djokovic in 2013.
“He’s a great player. Without a doubt one of the best players in the world. He’s very young with a lot of power and great ability,” Nadal said of the Canadian.
“He was a very tough opponent for me today. I think he did a lot of things well and has been improving every year.’
“I wish him all the best for the rest of the season. He’s a great player. This has been an important victory for me without a doubt.”
Auger-Aliassime has the benefit of working alongside one of the people who knows Nadal’s game better than anybody else – his uncle Toni. The two formed a coaching agreement in April 2021 and since then the 21-year-old has reached three straight Grand Slam quarter-finals. Toni was present during the match but sat next to Gilles Moretton, the president of the French Tennis Federation.
Coming into the match Nadal had only ever lost to two players in his entire career at the French Open with the most recent being to Djokovic in the final 12 months ago. Despite his dominant record, the 13-time champion came unstuck early on against Auger-Aliassime. In the fourth game back-to-back forehand errors from the Spaniard enabled his opponent to break for a 3-1 lead. To add to Nadal’s woes, he then failed to convert three break point chances in the next game as the Canadian surged to a 5-1 lead. He managed to retrieve one of those breaks but it was not enough to stop the world No.9 who clinched the opener with the help of a 189 mph serve out wide.
The last time Nadal lost the opening set of a match played at Roland Garros was back in 2018 against Diego Schwartzman. On that occasion he came storming back by dropping just seven games en route to victory. Determined to replicate that sort of comeback once again but against Auger-Aliassime, the former world No.1 continued to be under pressure before finding a breakthrough towards the later stage of the second set. Leading 4-3, he worked his way to a break point opportunity which he converted after an Auger-Aliassime forehand shank. Tasked with levelling up the match at one set apiece, Nadal did so with a shot towards the baseline which opened the court up for him to hit a forehand winner.
More than two hours passed before the king of clay managed to have a lead in the match for the very first time. Using his high intensity to wear down Auger-Aliassime, some sublime defensive skills from Nadal forced his rival to hit a smash long and grant him an early break. Two games later he broke once again before closing out the third frame with a love service game.
However, there would be yet another twist to the unpredictable last 16 encounter with yet another Nadal blip paving the way for Auger-Aliassime to steamroll through the fourth set and force a decider. Silencing the crowd once again.
With a place in the last eight of a major at stake, both players matched each other game-by-game in the final set before Nadal struck at the most critical time. Two games away from victory at 4-3, he broke once again with a backhand down the line to close in. Serving for the win, he triumphed on his first match point.
“I didn’t start the match well. I had a lot of opportunities in the first set and I was not able to convert so it was tough for me,” Nadal admits.
“Then after coming back in the next two sets, at the start of the fourth it was very tough. He (Auger-Aliassime) has a huge serve and put a lot of pressure (on me). I was unable to push him back.’
“At the end of the match I felt that I needed to do something else. I was able to play more aggressive and go towards the net more often. That made the difference at the end without a doubt.”
Averting a shock exit from the draw, Nadal now switches his focus to a showdown against Djokovic in what will be a repeat of last year’s final. The upcoming encounter will be the 59th Tour meeting between the two and their tenth at Roland Garros alone.
“I’m glad that I didn’t spend too much time on the court myself up to quarterfinals,” Djokovic said following his win over Schwartzman. “Playing him (Nadal) in Roland Garros is always a physical battle, along with everything else. It’s a huge challenge and probably the biggest one that you can have here.’
“I’m ready for it. I like the way I have been feeling, the way I have been hitting the ball. I will focus on what I need to do. I like my chances.”
Nadal trails Djokovic 28-30 in their head-to-head and the Serbian is the only person who has beaten him multiple times in Paris. He has now won 109 matches at the French Open in his career compared to just three losses.
“We are in Roland Garros. It is my favourite place. I’m going to try my best as always. I don’t know what is going to happen but I can guarantee that I am going to try until the end,” a visibly tired Nadal concluded.
