It took four hours and 21 minutes before Félix Auger-Aliassime lost to Rafael Nadal in the round of 16 at Roland-Garros on Sunday.
The final score for Nadal was 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6 and 6-3.
It is therefore the 35-year-old Spaniard who will face the favorite Novak Djokovic in the next round, and not the 21-year-old Quebecer.
Nadal ended the debate on his first match point, after a clever exchange of volleys.
“It’s always nice for me to play on the Philippe-Chatrier court,” Nadal said during the post-match interview on the pitch. The atmosphere is incomparable. Thank you very much everyone. »
Roland-Garros champion in 13 occasions, Nadal had the advantage 6-4 for breakage.
Auger-Aliassime committed 54 unforced errors, 13 more than his rival.
Indicator of the quality of the match, the Canadian however had the upper hand for winning shots, 50-47.
“Felix is a fabulous player, there’s no doubt about it,” Nadal said. He has a lot of power and mobility. He is a very tough opponent, who improves every year. I wish him all the best for the rest of the season. »
Auger-Aliassime led 5-1 in the first set. On his first break, for 3-1, he took advantage of Nadal missing a semi-smash. In the next game two aces from his total of seven helped him take a 4-1 lead.
The Mallorcan was quick in the second set, earning it shortly after a break that gave him a 5-3 cushion.
Early in the third set, Nadal took a 2-1 lead on a break via a missed spike from his rival, who had had the point at his fingertips for at least two strikes. The Spaniard added a break for 5-2 and quickly took a priority set.
Auger-Aliassime regained momentum in the fourth set, leading 3-1 thanks to a second break in this set. In the seventh game he almost squandered a 40-0 lead, but a point scored on a powerful serve put him back in the game and he held his serve. He sealed the set at zero, with a brilliant ace, hit, drop and volley sequence.
In the last set, the mystery thickened when the score went to 3-3; once again, the Quebecer held serve after losing a 40-0 lead in the sixth game.
In the key game, where Nadal took a 5-3 lead with a break, the crucial ball was that pass that the Spaniard lodged on the baseline.
Nadal’s overall record in Paris is 109-3, including two losses against Djokovic. The latter leads their confrontations 30-28, but Nadal has won seven of their nine games at Roland-Garros.
The Serb beat 15th seed Diego Schwartzman 6-1, 6-3, 6-3, thanks in part to six breaks.
Schwartzman committed 45 unforced errors and five double faults.
Djokovic had 24 points in 29 nets.
Djokovic is 16-0 in the round of 16 at the French Grand Slam stage.
Third seed Alexander Zverev won 7-6 (11), 7-5, 6-3 over Bernabe Zapata Miralles.
Fernandez reaches the next round
Earlier Sunday, Quebecer Leylah Fernandez reached the quarter-finals of Roland-Garros beating Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 4-6 and 6-3.
Finalist in New York last year, the 19-year-old Lavallois had 35 winning shots and was limited to 17 unforced errors.
She got six breaks, bringing her total to 23 in four games, on clay in Paris.
The Canadian won the junior title at Roland-Garros in 2019.
Fernandez enjoyed a great start to the match, taking a 5-1 lead in the first set.
“It was a very complicated game,” Fernandez said on the pitch, as quoted by the tournament website.
“Thank you very much to the public for coming to support me. Even before my victory among the juniors, I wanted to play on the Philippe-Chatrier court, in front of you. I’m very happy to be here and to play another game. »
Fernandez was beaten by Emma Raducanu in the US Open final last year.
Seeded number 17 in Paris, her next opponent will be Martina Trevisan of Italy. They have never crossed swords.
The 59th-ranked player won the last four games of her match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich, winning 7-6 (10), 7-5.
Trevisan just won his first WTA title in Rabat, Morocco.
She is now on nine consecutive victories, including eight in two sets.
In women’s doubles, Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and Mexico’s Giulana Olmos lost 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko.