"I lost to a great champion yesterday but I’m proud of the fight and the level I showed" - Felix Auger-Aliassime on his loss to Rafael Nadal at French Open

By pushing Rafael Nadal to the limit at the French Open, Felix Auger-Aliassime did the highly improbable. The 21-year-old came very close to becoming the first person to beat Nadal in a five-set match on clay.

Auger-Aliassime won most of the big points in the opening set, clinching it 6-3. He also did not let his guard down after going down two-sets-to-one, making a comeback to win the fourth 6-3. Nadal played some vintage claycourt tennis to break the Canadian's serve in the fifth and served out the match to reach the quarterfinals.

Reflecting on the thrilling five-set match, Auger-Aliassime said he had a lot of positives to take away. In a social media post, Auger-Aliassime lauded the Spaniard for winning the epic encounter. He added that he was proud of his efforts against the 13-time Roland Garros champion and of his level during the entire tournament.

"Thank you Roland Garros. I lost to a great champion yesterday but I’m proud of the fight and the level I showed during the tournament," the ninth seed wrote.

Very few people would have expected this performance from Auger-Aliassime. Rafael Nadal is known to overwhelm opponents on Court Philippe-Chatrier, but Auger-Aliassime was ready for the challenge.

Before the match, there was a lot of conversation about Auger-Aliassime being coached by Nadal's former coach and uncle Toni Nadal. Auger-Aliassime spoke about the same before the match, revealing that he had accepted Toni's request not to lay out a strategy for the youngster to beat his nephew.

It will be difficult for Rafael Nadal to beat Novak Djokovic and then win the title: Felix Auger-Aliassime

Rafael Nadal at the 2022 French Open - Day Eight

Felix Auger-Aliassime believes Nadal has a huge mountain to climb at the 2022 French Open. The Spaniard will need to recover adequately for the quarterfinals against Novak Djokovic after such a long and intense match against the 21-year-old.

Speaking about the road ahead for the Spaniard, the Canadian said that it would be very tough for the 13-time Roland Garros champion to win his 14th title this week.

"I think that he also knows that it's going to be difficult. We played for a long time today and it's still the quarterfinals and afterwards there's still two more matches to win to win the tournament. Rafa is coming here to win the tournament. So as I said, I really wish him the very best, but it will be a monumental effort for him, I think, to win," the Canadian expressed.

The French Open remains the only Grand Slam where Auger-Aliassime is yet to reach the quarterfinals.