Familiar foe for Nadal in fourth round
Opponent coached by Rafa’s uncle
PARIS — Rafael Nadal knew this was bound to happen. So, too, did his uncle, Toni Nadal, who coached Rafael to most of the nephew’s men’s-record 21 Grand Slam titles.
Once Toni and Rafael ended their professional partnership, and once Felix Auger-aliassime hired Toni, they all figured that somewhere, sometime, their paths would cross. Now it’ll happen in the French Open’s fourth round: Nadal vs. Auger-aliassime, after Nadal beat 26th-seeded Botic Van De Zandschulp 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 on Friday.
“It’s not a story at all for me. I know what the feelings are that we have between each other. I know he wants the best for me. Now he’s helping another player,” Nadal said. “But honestly, for me, it’s zero problem.”
As for what sort of insights Toni might reveal about his former player to his current one, Auger-aliassime smiled.
“I know him. I’ve seen him play. I know what he does well. We all know,” said Auger-aliassime, who advanced Friday by defeating Filip Krajinovic 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2), 7-5.
On the horizon is the prospect that if Nadal wins, he could find yet another familiar face in the stadium for the quarterfinals: defending champion Novak Djokovic.
Both the top-seeded Djokovic, who beat Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 on Friday and now takes on 15th-seeded Diego Schwartzman, and Nadal have won all nine sets they’ve played so far.
Also on their half of the bracket : No. 6 Carlos Alcaraz, at 19, now the youngest man in French Open’s fourth round since Djokovic in 2006, getting there with a display of deft drop shots and other slick strokes in a 6-4, 6-4,
6-2 victory over 21-year-old American Sebastian Korda. Alcaraz now goes up against No. 21 Karen Khachanov, whose 6-2, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 win made No. 10 Cameron Norrie the first of the top 12 men’s seeds to be sent home.
Three American women reached the fourth round: 18-year-old Coco Gauff, 20-year-old Amanda Anisimova and 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens.
Gauff, the youngest player left in the field, was a 6-3, 6-4 winner against the oldest, Kaia Kanepi of Estonia, who at 36 is twice her age.