Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will meet for the 59th time in their storied history at the French Open quarter-final later today
Nadal took his time but eventually kept his side of the bargain to set up the quarter-final showdown that will probably define this year’s Grand Slam in Paris.
Nadal, a 13-time champion at Roland Garros, overcame the determined Felix Auger-Aliassime across five enthralling sets over four hours and 21 minutes.
It was a match in sharp contrast to Djokovic’s, the Serb taking just two and a quarter hours to dispatch Diego Schwartzman.
So now the scene is set for the gilded duo to take to Court Philippe Chatrier with Djokovic winning the first battle before a ball is even struck after Roland Garros chiefs predictably chose night match under the lights, whereas Nadal wanted to play in the day.
The match will also be shown free-to-air in France at 9pm local time – keeping everyone happy except Nadal, of course.
Nadal turns 36 on Friday; Djokovic turned 35 on May 22. It will be their first meeting since last year’s French Open semi-final, which the world No 1 won.
“I haven’t played in these kind of matches for the last three months, so it’s going to be a big challenge for me,” admitted Nadal.
“He’s already won I think the last nine matches in a row, winning in Rome and now winning here in straight sets every match. He will be confident. I’m going to fight for it.
“I am in quarter-finals of Roland Garros. Two and a half weeks ago I didn’t even know if I would be able to be here. So 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’s going to be my last match here in Roland Garros in my tennis career.”
Defending champion Djokovic, on the other hand, heads into the contest full of confidence having not lost a set on his way to the last eight.
“I’m glad that I didn’t spend too much time on the court myself up to quarter-finals, knowing that playing him in Roland-Garros is always a physical battle, along with everything else,” he said.
“It happens. It’s a huge challenge and probably the biggest one that you can have here in Roland-Garros. I’m ready for it. I like my chances.”
