Rafael Nadal knew this was going to happen. So did his uncle, Toni Nadal, who coached Rafael in most of the 21 men’s Grand Slam titles on his nephew’s record.
Also well aware that this moment would come, of course, was Felix Auger-Aliassime, the promising player who brought on board the man known to many simply as Uncle Toni for extra help last year.
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Once Toni and Rafael ended their professional association, and once Auger-Aliassime hired Toni to work in tandem with full-time coach Frederic Fontang, they all thought that somewhere, at some point, their paths would cross. He will now advance to the fourth round of Roland-Garros: Christmas vs. Auger-Aliassime. Which in some ways is also a Christmas-to-Christmas showdown.
So the 13-time Roland Garros champion was asked, could there be any discomfort? You’re probably not chatting with your uncle before Sunday’s meeting against ninth series boss Auger-Aliassime, a 21-year-old from Canada, right?
Rafael Nadal then confronts his former mentor and uncle. (Getty)
Nadal shook his head and said he had already spoken to Toni directly after beating Botic Van De Zandschulp, 26th seed, 6-3, 6-2 and 6-4 on Friday.
“It simply came to our notice then. He is my uncle. I don’t think he can want to lose, no doubt, but he’s a professional and he’s with another player, “said fifth-seeded Nadal, who has suffered chronic foot pain and a rib injury this season. but also won the Australian Open in January.
“It’s not a story for me. I know how we feel about each other. I know he wants the best for me. Now he’s helping another player, “he said.” But honestly, for me, it’s a zero problem. “
Auger-Aliassime, meanwhile, resolved a bit of intrigue, saying he expected Uncle Toni to sit in a neutral spot in the stands, instead of being forced to choose from the guest table. one player or the other.
As for the kind of information Toni could reveal about his former player to his current one, Auger-Aliassime smiled. There are not too many unknowns about Rafael right now, not at 35, not after so many years of touring.
Christmas with Uncle Toni in 2017. (Getty)
“I know him. I’ve seen him play. I know he’s doing well. We all know that,” said Auger-Aliassime, a 2021 U.S. Open semifinalist who advanced Friday by defeating Filip Krajinovic 7-6 ( 3), 7-6 (2), 7-5.
“But no one, Toni, Fred or I, has the answers,” he said.
On the horizon is the prospect that if Nadal wins, he could find another familiar face in the stadium for the quarterfinals: reigning champion Novak Djokovic.
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Both series leader Djokovic, who beat Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 on Friday and now faces 15th seed Diego Schwartzman, and Nadal have won all nine sets they have played. on red clay. Paris so far. And both have conceded just 23 games in total.
They have already played 58 times, more than two other men in the Open era, and the number 59 could arrive next week. Asked at the beginning of the tournament about that “pretty good left-hander in your draw quarter”, Djokovic went silent and joked, “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
Also in the middle of the classification: number 6 Carlos Alcaraz, a 19-year-old who leads the tour with four titles in 2022 and became, at this month’s Madrid Open, the only player in the story that beat both Djokovic and Nadal. in the same clay event.
Felix Auger-Aliasimus. (AP)
Alcaraz is now the youngest man in the fourth round of the French Open since Djokovic in 2006, achieving this with a demonstration of skillful throwing shots and other great shots in a 6-4, 6-4 victory. , 6-2 over a 21-year-old American. Sebastian Korda under the lights of the Court Philippe Chatrier. Alcaraz now faces No. 21 Karen Khachanov, whose 6-2, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 victory made No. 10 Cameron Norrie the first of the top 12 seeded men to be sent home. Another match on Sunday will be No. 3 Alexander Zverev against Bernabe Zapata Miralles, a qualifier who beat U.S. No. 23 John Isner in five sets.
Three American women reached the fourth round: Coco Gauff, 18, Amanda Anisimova, 20, and the 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens.
Gauff, the youngest player left on the field, won 6-3, 6-4 against the eldest, Kaia Kanepi from Estonia, who is 36 years old. Kanepi won the junior title at the French Open in 2001, three years before Gauff’s birth.
Gauff, No. 18 seed, then plays No. 31 Elise Mertens; other fourth-round matches include No. 27 Amanda Anisimova against U.S. Open 2021 finalist Leylah Fernandez, Stephens vs. No. 23 Jil Teichmann and Martina Trevisan vs. Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
Stephens arrived in Paris with a streak of five straight defeats. But she is 3-0 on this trip.
“I think you never know when it’s going to happen or when it’s going to click. But I’m just trying to make the most of it, honestly,” said Stephens, the 2018 Roland Garros runner-up. I didn’t play in any other tournament, so God bless them. “
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