PARIS, May 29
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 today to set up a mouth-watering quarterfinal with world No. 1 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.
“Of course we know each other well. We have a lot of history together,” Nadal said of Djokovic. “I am going to be focused, I will try my best. I don’t know what will happen but I will fight until the end.”
Novak’s pace
Djokovic showed glimpses of his brilliant best to demolish Schwartzman 6-1 6-3 6-3. The world No. 1’s pace was too much for Argentine Schwartzman, who barely threatened despite enjoying a 3-0 lead in the second set. From then on it was a one-way street for Serbian Djokovic, who won 12 of the remaining 15 games on a chilly Court Suzanne Lenglen.
“I have a lot of respect for him. He’s good guy on and off the court and he’s a claycourt specialist so it’s not easy especially in slow conditions today with a ball that was not bouncing high,” said Djokovic of Schwartzman, a semifinalist at Roland Garros in 2020. “I found the good serves at the right moments.”
The match looked nothing like the 2017 Roland Garros thriller between the pair, when Djokovic had to fight from two sets down to advance to the fourth round.
Djokovic has now reached the last-eight here for the 13th year in a row. — Reuters
COCO in last-8 again
American 18-year-old Coco Gauff advanced to the quarterfinals in Paris for the second straight year with a 6-4 6-0 win over Belgian 31st seed Elise Mertens. Gauff will face Sloane Stephens next. American Stephens, the 2018 finalist, reached the quarterfinals with a commanding 6-2 6-0 win over Swiss 23rd seed Jil Teichmann.
ZVEREV SHAKES OFF STUBBORN ZAPATA
Third seed Alexander Zverev ended Spanish qualifier Bernabe Zapata Miralles’s dream run at Roland Garros with a 7-6(11) 7-5 6-3 win after a topsy-turvy two hours and 45 minutes to advance to the quarterfinals for the fourth time in five years.
FERNANDEZ SEES OFF ANISIMOVA
US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez advanced to the quarterfinals in Paris for the first time after clinching a 6-3 4-6 6-3 win over Amanda Anisimova in just under two hours. Fernandez, 19, will take on Martina Trevisan after the Italian beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 7-6(10) 7-5.
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