Nadal edges Auger-Aliassime thriller to book Djokovic date

Rafa Nadal overcame a sluggish start and a stiff challenge from Canadian ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime with an enthralling 3-6 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-3 win on Sunday to set up a mouth-watering quarterfinal with world number one Novak Djokovic.

This was only the third time in his 112 matches that Nadal was taken to the fifth set at Roland Garros and he ensured he kept his blemish-free record intact, wrapping up the win in four hours and 21 minutes to wild applause from the crowd.

Nadal will hope he can recover in time from the gruelling contest for his next outing, where the reigning champion awaits for their 59th career showdown. The Spaniard, who will turn 36 on Friday, has lifted the Musketeers' Cup a record 13 times but was ousted in the semifinals last year by Djokovic.

Djokovic completed his victory against Diego Schwartzman on Court Suzanne Lenglen shortly before his long-time rival started his match and the Serb is yet to lose a set in his four rounds.

“We know each other well,” Nadal said of Djokovic. “We have a lot of history together. He came here after winning in Rome. For me, it was not an ideal situation to arrive here. But here we are. We are at Roland Garros, it is my favourite place without a doubt.

“The only thing I can tell you is I am going to be focused and try my best. The only thing I can guarantee is that I am going to fight until the end,” added the Spaniard who converted only six of his 22 breakpoint chances in the match.

The clash on Court Philippe Chatrier was the second meeting between Nadal and Auger-Aliassime but the first since Toni Nadal began working with the Canadian in 2021. 'Uncle Toni' was part of Nadal's team for the majority of his record 21 Grand Slam singles titles, and the build-up to the contest was dominated by talk of the 61-year-old coaching Auger-Aliassime against his nephew.

Toni Nadal did not sit in the Canadian's box and chose a neutral seat and he would have been pleased with Auger-Aliassime's performance in the opening set. The 21-year-old showed immense grit and incredible athleticism to win the opening set, earning applause from Nadal on one point when he jumped to make a backhand overhead volley.

Nadal wasted six breakpoint opportunities in the first set but cut down on his errors in the second and made his chance count in the eighth game to break his opponent and level the contest at 1-1.

Nadal got the early break of serve in the third when Auger-Aliassime missed a couple of overhead volleys and another break in the seventh sealed the set and a 2-1 lead for the left-hander.

But the Canadian refused to go away. After an early trade of service breaks, Auger-Aliassime broke Nadal's delivery a second time to take the contest to a deciding fifth set.

The last time Nadal played a five-setter at Roland Garros was in the 2013 semifinal, when he beat Djokovic. The Spaniard still had enough left in his tank to clinch the deciding break against Auger-Aliassime in the eighth game and then held his serve, sealing the contest on his first match point with a winner.

Carlos Alcaraz pummelled Karen Khachanov into submission in a 6-1 6-4 6-4 victory on Sunday to reach the French Open quarterfinals and stretch his winning run to 14 matches.

The 19-year-old, who has taken the tennis world by storm this year, became the youngest male player in 29 years to reach two Grand Slam quarter finals after also making the US Open last eight.

Teenager Coco Gauff reached the French Open quarterfinals for the second year in a row when she destroyed Belgian Elise Mertens 6-4 6-0 in the fourth round on Sunday.

The American needed a set to adjust before steamrollering the 31st seed with aggressive returns to set up a meeting with compatriot Sloane Stephens.

The 18-year-old Gauff, who clinched her maiden clay court title at the Emilia-Romagna Open last year, has been growing fond of playing on the slow surface.

“I definitely feel confident on the court. I feel like it really suits my game,” the 18th seed said.

“And I feel like in the previous tournaments this clay season I had some good wins but it wasn't really any outstanding results.

“I feel like it gave me a lot to learn from, and I think I'm taking those tough matches that I lost this season and really learning from them and I guess showing that I'm doing better.”

With several top players, including third seed Paula Badosa, having already been knocked out, Gauff has a unique opportunity to make it to the last four of a Grand Slam for the first time.

Gauff will face Stephens after the 2018 finalist defeated 23rd seed Jil Teichmann 6-2 6-0.