French Open 2022: 3 things that stood out in Rafael Nadal's 4R win over Felix Auger-Aliassime

Fifth seed Rafael Nadal beat ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the fourth round of the French Open on Sunday. The veteran Spaniard will take on arch-rival Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Nadal once again showed his grit and resolve in overcoming an inspired Auger-Aliassime in a match that went on for more than four hours. Although the Spaniard was far from his best, he managed to grind out a win to move one step closer to a record-extending 14th title in Paris.

Here's a look at three things that stood out in Sunday’s match:

#1 Nadal made an uncharacteristically slow start as unforced errors piled up

Felix Auger-Aliassime's big serve and forehand won him a lot of points in the match

Auger-Aliassime got off to a dream start, breaking Nadal twice to race to a 5-1 lead. However, the Spaniard got a break back and managed to reduce the deficit. The Canadian held his nerve to take the first set 6-3.

Both players struggled for rhythm in the first set and committed 15 unforced errors apiece. However, Auger-Aliassime performed better during the crucial moments as Nadal converted only one of the seven break point opportunities her earned in the set.

The Spaniard also struggled on serve, winning only 54% of the points off his first delivery in the opening set.

#2 Nadal became more disciplined in the second set and took control of the match

Nadal adopted a two-pronged strategy to put the Canadian under pressure at the start of the second set. He added more depth to his shots and also found sharp angles to force the Canadian well outside the tramlines, setting up easy putaways.

As a result, Auger-Aliassime could no longer hit his forehands with the same venom and ended up losing the majority of the longer rallies. Nadal broke twice in the second set and early in the third set to go 2-1 up. The Spaniard also improved his own serve, which meant that Auger-Aliassime could not break him even once during the second and third sets.

Nadal committed only four unforced errors against Auger-Aliassime’s 14 in the second set.

#3 Auger-Aliassime showed grit to force a decider, but Nadal held his nerve

As the match progressed, both players started rushing the net frequently. Auger-Aliassime, in particular, showed exceptional touch and net skills to win quite a few points.

The Canadian broke Nadal to take a 2-0 lead at the start of the fourth set and went on to prevail 6-3. The momentum seemed to have shifted in the Canadian’s favor, but Nadal came back strongly in the deciding set. The Spaniard got a crucial break in the eighth game to lead 5-3 and then serve out the match.

Auger-Aliassime's big serves bailed him out of trouble during crucial moments. He also played quite a few drop shots to drag Nadal forward as the match progressed, but the Spaniard’s exceptional court coverage meant he could chase most of the ball down.

Auger-Aliassime and Nadal finished the match with 50 and 47 winners, respectively. Nadal committed 41 unforced errors against the Canadian’s 54, which ultimately made the difference.