No. 7 of '22: Rafael Nadal, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and tennis of the highest and most engrossing order

HIGHLIGHTS: Rafael Nadal d. Felix Auger-Aliassime 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, Roland Garros fourth round

“Rafael Nadal’s 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win over Felix Auger-Aliassime at Roland Garros on Sunday may or may not go down as the best match of the year. But as far as pure sporting entertainment goes, it will be hard to top, inside or outside of tennis, in 2022.”

That’s how I started my recap of this match soon after its four hours and 21 minutes were over in June. It didn’t—quite—turn out to be the best match of the year. Maybe if it had happened in a Grand Slam final, or if Auger-Aliassime had pulled off the upset, it could have. But like I said at the time, it was still a tennis performance of the highest and most engrossing order.

That’s because the then-35-year-old Spaniard and the then-21-year-old Canadian offered us the most satisfying of storylines: An upstart challenging an aging all-time great on his home turf, and the all-time great responding by lifting his game to a level that no one has ever been able to match on a clay court.

Nadal finished with his 109th victory roar in Paris. Auger-Aliassime finished with a crooked smile of appreciation—for his opponent, for the moment, and hopefully for himself—as he walked to the net to shake Rafa’s hand.

This five-setter played out in five acts, as the two players traded the momentum back and forth every 10 games or so.

The first act was dominated by Auger-Aliassime. He broke Nadal in the third game and used his serve—especially the wide one in the deuce court—his forehand, his drop shot, and his net game to win the first set. FAA played above-the-net tennis, while Nadal was mired behind the baseline.

The second act began when Auger-Aliassime, perhaps inevitably, fell back to earth. He did it by missing two crucial forehands in the second set. The first came when he had a break point at 1-1; with a good look at a down-the-line winner, he fired the ball just wide, and Nadal held. FAA’s second crucial miss came when he was serving at 3-4; after saving two break points, he sent another makable putaway forehand wide at game point. It seemed like a small error at the time, but it gave Nadal a second bite at the break, and this time he took it.

The third act, which lasted from 5-3 in the second set to 0-1 in the fourth, was all Nadal. This was freight-train time, that period in seemingly every match he plays on clay when he sends his opponent scrambling from side to side with dive-bombing, corner-finding forehands.

When I played well, I won the match. When I played not that well, I had a lot of troubles, no? Rafael Nadal

It was a movie we had seen dozens of times at Roland Garros, but credit Auger-Aliassime for writing a late twist into that familiar plot. Despite getting steamrolled in the third set, he didn’t show a hint of negativity. He broke Nadal twice in the fourth, and held the upper hand all the way to the middle of the fifth, as he ran Nadal up and back with drop shots that Rafa often failed to chase down. Had age finally caught up with the King of Clay in Paris?

Once again, Nadal managed to stay one sliding stride of Father Time. Instead of grinding Rafa down physically, Auger-Aliassime inspired him to raise his playing level to its peak. The last two games were the final act of the match, and a fitting pinnacle. Here’s what Rafa did in them:

• With FAA serving at 3-4, Nadal started by hitting a big forehand and finishing the point with a smash for 0-15. He hit another big forehand approach for 0-30, put a short-hop forehand pass on the baseline for 15-40, and broke serve with a running backhand pass.
• Serving for the match at 5-3, Nadal hit a second-serve winner down the T that fooled Auger Aliassime; a forehand-volley winner for 30-15; a down-the-line forehand winner for 40-15; and a crosscourt forehand winner for the victory.

“He raised his level when he needed to,” Auger-Aliassime said. “I think he took it even higher, one step further, from 4-3. Honestly, I didn’t play a bad game. I did what I had to do. He was dictating, aggressive when he needed to, and also defending really well.”

“When I played well, I won the match,” Nadal said. “When I played not that well, I had a lot of troubles, no? Most important thing that I played again a good fifth set, and especially the last three, four games with the right dimensions, so very happy for that.”

Playing “with the right dimensions” was a bit of an understatement for how Nadal handled the last two games. But he knew there was more tennis to be played at Roland Garros—and as usual, he played it well, finishing with his 14th title there. But if his win over Auger-Aliassime didn’t earn him the championship, it had the most fitting dramatic arc: The best found his best, when he needed it most.