World No 1 Novak Djokovic and 13-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal set to meet for spot in semi-finals at Roland Garros on Tuesday evening; Join us for game-by-game coverage with our live blog as two tennis greats collide from 7.30pm BST
Tuesday 31 May 2022 19:40, UK
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal prepare to meet for the 59th time in their storied history at the French Open. But could this be their final clash at Roland Garros?
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 it as the 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."
"I don't have a coin, but it's sort of like flip a coin to see who wins that."
Tuesday will be just the sixth time that Djokovic and Nadal will face off in a quarter-final stage.
This will also be the 17th straight year they are meeting with Djokovic leading the head-to-head record 30-28 overall but Nadal leads 19-8 on clay, including 7-2 at Roland Garros.
Nadal is 109-3 at the French Open, with 13 titles, but two of his three defeats came against Djokovic.
Tennis great John McEnroe feels picking a winner between Djokovic and Nadal is like a coin toss.
"Before the tournament when I picked, who do you pick? Slight edge to Novak I'd said," McEnroe said.
"Rafa has won this 13 times, I wasn't sure about his health. He was hurt, seems like he's okay. But it could obviously go either way and Rafa historically has been much better here.
"Slight edge to Novak but if Rafa won I wouldn't be surprised at all."
He continued: "Does it matter that Novak won in two hours and Rafa played four and a half hours? You would think so. But Rafa is showing he's almost like Superman sometimes. Especially here.
"I don't have a coin, but it's sort of like flip a coin to see who wins that."
"I'm going for Djokovic. I'm not surprised how well and how comfortable he has got through to the quarter-finals. The last thing Rafa wanted was for Djokovic to win so comfortably and for Nadal to win in five - also given Nadal's issues with his foot. The night match definitely plays in Djokovic's hands because it will be slower. I would say Djokovic is a heavy favourite."
The winner between Djokovic and Nadal will meet either 19-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who has wowed everyone with his 14-match winning run, or German third seed Alexander Zverev.
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