Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are only a game away from the 59th meeting as they eye for the quarterfinal clash of the French Open. They will face their respective opponents in the fourth-round final game on Sunday.

world number 5 Nadal, who has 13 Roland Garros titles to his name, will take on Canadian ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime coached by Toni Nadal, the Spanish star’s uncle and ex-coach.

“For me, it’s very simple,” said Nadal.

“He is my uncle. He will not want me to lose. He wants the best for me and I want the best for him. But he’s a professional and with another player now. It’s zero problem.”

Auger-Aliassime has been under Toni’s guidance since April 2021.

Toni started coaching him four years after stepping down from coaching him after nearly 27 years.

“We knew it was a possibility that eventually I would play Rafa when I’m working with Toni,” said Auger-Aliassime, who made his first Grand Slam semi-final at the US Open in September.

“I think Toni will watch from a neutral place and enjoy the match. From my part it’s another match.

“Rafa’s career and what he did with Toni is much bigger than the match on Sunday.”

Nadal has registered 108 wins against only three defeats in the French Open history.

He has reached the quarterfinals for at least 15 of his 17 visits to Paris. The Spanish star lost to Robin Soderling in the fourth round in 2009 and called off his 2016 campaign before the start of the third round amid wrist injury.

With the win against Auger-Aliassime, he would go straight to the top eights where he eyes clash with world number 1.

In his previous six meetings with the Argentinian 15th seed Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Novak Djokovic has not lost a single time. This streak includes a five-set win in the third round at the 2017’s Roland Garros.

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