Nadal, Djokovic braced for blockbuster quarterfinal clash

Rafael Nadal set up a French Open quarterfinal against world No 1 Novak Djokovic on Sunday when he defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime in a five-set fourth-round epic and pledged to "fight until the end".

Nadal, the 13-time champion at Roland Garros and holder of a record 21 Grand Slam titles, triumphed over the Canadian 3-6, 6-3,6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in a match which lasted four hours and 21 minutes.

It was only the third time in his 17-year, 112-match career in Paris that Nadal had been stretched to five sets.

Nadal and Djokovic will meet for the 10th time at Roland Garros and 59th overall in a rivalry stretching back to 2006.

"We know each other well, we have a lot of history. The only thing I can say is that I will be focused, try my best and fight until the end," said Nadal on facing the defending champion on Tuesday.

Djokovic has been responsible for two of Nadal's three defeats in Paris－in the quarterfinals in 2015 and last year's semifinals.

Nadal hailed 21-year-old Auger-Aliassime, who has been working with his uncle and former coach Toni since April last year.

"Felix is a great player. He's very young with a lot of power and great mobility," said the 35-year-old Spaniard, who has made the last eight for the 16th time.

Ninth-ranked Auger-Aliassime raced into a 3-1 lead in the first set and battled from three break points down to edge 4-1 ahead.

Nadal retrieved one of the breaks in the seventh game, but the 21-yearold Canadian held his nerve to take the opener.

Two loose forehands at 3-5 in the second set opened the door for Nadal before the third set swung the Spaniard's way in the third game when three rapid defensive scrambles forced an error from his opponent.

Auger-Aliassime then rallied to level the match.

Djokovic also reached the quarterfinals for the 16th time when he eased to a 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 victory against 15th seed Diego Schwartzman of Argentina.

'Huge challenge'

"It's a huge challenge and probably the biggest one that you can have here in Roland Garros. I'm ready for it," said Djokovic on facing Nadal.

Djokovic is yet to drop a set at this year's tournament after cruising through the first week.

He has also won 22 sets in a row, stretching back to his Italian Open title triumph in Rome earlier this month.

Auger-Aliassime said he was happy with his performance.

"He raised his level when he needed to. I did what I had to do. He was dictating, aggressive when he needed to and also defending really well," said the Canadian.

Djokovic or Nadal could face Spanish teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals.

On Sunday, the 19-year-old romped into his first French Open quarterfinal with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win over Russian Karen Khachanov.

"I had a great match from start to finish," said sixth seed Alcaraz, who will face German third seed Alexander Zverev in the last eight.

The teenager defeated Zverev in the Madrid Masters final earlier this month after also knocking out Djokovic and Nadal.

It was a second successive straight-sets win for Alcaraz after saving a match point when winning a second-round thriller against compatriot Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

Alcaraz, who is the youngest man in the last eight since Djokovic in 2006, complained that too many night sessions are inhibiting his ability to recover.

"I'm not saying that it bothers me to play in the evening, but obviously I have less recovery time if I finish very late all the time," he said

Zverev reached the quarterfinals by beating Spanish qualifier Bernabe Zapata Miralles 7-6 (13), 7-5,6-3.

AFP