French Open: Nadal and Djokovic to battle for the 59th time
Djokovic, 35, had the benefit of watching Nadal last night with his feet up
The 59th episode of Rafael Nadal v Novak Djokovic is set, but only just. Nadal survived an almighty scare in the fourth round at Roland Garros , taken to five sets for only the third time in his career before prevailing against an opponent awkwardly coached by his uncle Toni.
Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, ranked No 9, threw everything he had at the 13-times French Open champion, but still it was not enough. In front of a feverish capacity crowd of 15,000 on Court Philippe-Chatrier, Nadal dug deep for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory over four hours and 22 minutes.
The tension even became too much for Toni, who left the stadium before the start of the fifth set and requested that a tournament car take him for a drive off site. Last year he took up a new coaching role with Auger-Aliassime, four years after splitting with his nephew on good terms. On Monday he chose to sit in a neutral position in the front row of the presidential tribune for the first four sets before he decided it was best for all involved if he left the scene of this tumultuous battle.
Bizarrely, Toni returned afterwards and admitted during an interview on France Télévisions that he did not want Auger-Aliassime to succeed. “Felix is Felix, but my nephew is my nephew,” Toni said. “I wanted him to win. For us this tournament will always be special.”
Now an intriguing pre-match battle between Nadal and Djokovic will commence off the court. Nadal is eager for tomorrow’s encounter to be scheduled during the afternoon, after admitting that his spin-heavy groundstrokes are not well suited to night sessions on clay.
“I don’t like to play on clay at night because the humidity is higher, the ball is slower, and it can be very heavy conditions, especially when it’s cold,” Nadal said. “That makes a big difference.”
Djokovic, on the other hand, would prefer to play against Nadal at night because his shots, with a flatter trajectory, pack more of a punch in the slower conditions. Ultimately the decision will be made by the tournament director, Amélie Mauresmo, although she will be pressured by various stakeholders, the most significant of which will be the broadcasters. Amazon Prime will lobby for the night session after paying about £12 million a year for the exclusive rights, but the ratings will be considerably higher if the match is shown on free-to-air France Télévisions during the day.
“As top players, we do have requests, but those requests are not always accepted,” Djokovic said. “The tournament director, along with the broadcasters, that’s who decides. You just have to adjust to that.
“Obviously it depends on who you play. Sometimes it’s favourable to play at night, sometimes during the day. There is no standard or no formula that works always, even though I historically played very well and won a lot of matches under the lights at different slams, particularly in Australia.”
Djokovic, 35, had the benefit of watching Nadal last night with his feet up. Earlier in the day the world No 1 had cruised through his fourth-round match, defeating Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 in two hours and 15 minutes. He has now won 22 sets in a row, stretching back to his first match at the Italian Open in Rome three weeks ago.
“Obviously playing Nadal was a well-anticipated match when the draw came out for a lot of people,” Djokovic said. “I’m glad that I didn’t spend too much time on the court up to the quarter- finals, knowing that playing him at Roland Garros is always a physical battle. 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.”
By contrast, Nadal was well below par in the first set, perhaps still a little sluggish after attending the Stade de France the night before to watch his beloved Real Madrid win the Champions League. He got into his stride to take the second and third sets, before Auger-Aliassime stepped up his level of play to force a decider.
Nadal, who turns 36 on Friday, has made no secret of the issues he had with chronic pain in his left foot during the build-up to the tournament, but he managed to hold on in an enthralling decider for a staggering 109th win in 112 matches here. Afterwards there was a sombre reminder that he is very much in the twilight phase of his career.
“I can’t complain much,” Nadal said. “I am in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros. Two weeks and a half ago, even if I had positive hopes after Rome, I didn’t even know if I would be able to be here. I am just enjoying the fact that I am here for one more year. Being honest, every match that I play here, I don’t know if it is going to be my last match in Roland Garros in my tennis career. That’s my situation now.
“I am just trying to fight as much as I can to keep living the dream that is playing tennis and being back in a very advanced round of Roland Garros, playing against the world No 1. I hope to give myself a chance to play at the highest level possible and then let’s see.”
Carlos Alcaraz could await Nadal or Djokovic in the semi-finals. The 19-year-old Spaniard comfortably defeated Karen Khachanov 6-1, 6-4, 6-4, and next faces Germany’s Alexander Zverev on Tuesday.
