Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic Win At French Open, Now One Round From 59th Meeting

SportsMoney Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic Win At French Open, Now One Round From 59th Meeting Adam Zagoria Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I’m a basketball and tennis insider May 27, 2022, 12:15pm EDT | Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin 2018 French Open Tennis Tournament – Rafael Nadal of Spain and Novak Djokovic of Serbia while . .

. [+] playing a tie break doubles exhibition match against Simone Halep of Romania and Alexander Zverev of Germany on Court Philippe Chatrier during a packed Children’s Day at Roland Garros before the start of the 2018 French Open Tennis Tournament at Roland Garros on May 26th 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images) Corbis via Getty Images Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic each advanced in straight sets on Friday at Roland Garros, and are now one round from meeting for the 59th time in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

World No. 1 and defending champion Djokovic dispatched Slovenian Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 to move into a fourth-round encounter with No. 15 Diego Schwartzman on Sunday.

The Serb is 6-0 all-time against the Argentine. No. 5 seed Nadal then knocked off No.

26 Botic van de Zandschulp, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, to set up a meeting with No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime. Nadal, now 26-3 in 2022, won his only match against the 21-year-old Canadian.

“When we talk about favorites for Roland Garros and the clay, Nadal has to be right up there,” Djokovic said Friday. Said Nadal of potentially being the favorite: “For sure not, because the results say that I am not. But you never know what can happen.

” Ironically, Toni Nadal, Rafael’s uncle and former coach, is now on Auger-Aliassime’s team but said he won’t attend Sunday’s match. MORE FOR YOU WWE Extreme Rules 2021 Results: Winners, News And Notes As Roman Reigns Beats The Demon The World’s Highest-Paid Soccer Players 2021: Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo Reclaims Top Spot From PSG’s Lionel Messi The Good, Bad And Ugly From The Green Bay Packers’ Win Over The San Francisco 49ers “I already told Felix I won’t give him any suggestion on how to beat my nephew,” he said. Nadal has won Roland Garros 13 times but was seeded No.

5 this year because of his ranking. One could make an argument that the Spaniard should not be seeded any lower than 2 at his favorite tournament. Because of his seeding, he was drawn to meet Djokovic in the quarters, with the winner potentially facing 19-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alacraz in the semifinals.

Alcaraz, the No. 6 seed, was set to face No. 27 American Sebastian Korda, at 3 p.

m. ET Friday. Korda is the only man to beat Djokovic on clay this season.

Djokovic beat Nadal in an epic semifinal last year before coming from two sets down to top Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final for his 19th major. He then won Wimbledon for his 20th major title. The Serb is seeking to tie Nadal at 21 major titles after his rival won the Australian Open in January after Djokovic was deported for not being vaccinated against Covid-19.

Jim Courier, the four-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1, said on Tennis Channel of Djokovic: “I think he’s perfectly primed [for Roland Garros]. He’s erased the questions that are now all of sudden firmly in front of Rafa Nadal.

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