Nadal vs Djokovic: French Open 2022 hosts chapter 59 of iconic rivalry

 Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will renew their iconic rivalry in the quarterfinals of the ongoing French Open 2022 on Tuesday. The Serb leads 30-28, although Nadal has a 7-2 advantage in Paris. 

Nadal, dubbed as the King of Clay, defeated No. 9 seed Auger-Aliassime 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 across nearly 4 1/2 hours of even, entertaining tennis in the fourth round Sunday at Court Philippe Chatrier to set up the Djokovic clash. 

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“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. … That’s my situation now. That’s why I am just trying to enjoy as much as possible,” the Spaniard said. 

Nadal has dominated the French Open for years. Overall he is 109-3 here, and two of those defeats came against Djokovic, including in last year’s semifinals in their most recent showdown.

“We have a lot of history together,” Nadal added. 

Novak Djokovic had defeated Nadal in the semi-final last year. He then won the Wimbledon. But losses in the US Open and Olympics prevented the World No 1 from completing an entire calendar. The Serb was deported from the Australian Open and fell into a pit of poor form. He, however, came to the French Open after a win in Italy. 

The Roland Garros is Djokovic’s opportunity to equal Nadal’s 21 Grand Slam record. He beat 15th-seeded Diego Schwartzman 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 earlier Sunday and has won all 12 sets he’s played in the tournament.

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“It’s a huge challenge,” Djokovic said about playing Nadal, “and probably the biggest one that you can have here in Roland Garros. I’m ready for it.”

The other quarterfinal in their half of the men’s bracket is between No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev, the 2020 U.S. Open runner-up, and No. 6 Carlos Alcaraz, the 19-year-old from Spain who leads the tour with four titles this year