French Open | Nadal to face Djokovic in quarterfinal after five-set victory

Rafael Nadal got through a serious test in the French Open’s fourth round by edging Felix Auger-Aliassime 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to set up a record 59th matchup against Novak Djokovic

By the end of only the third five-setter Rafael Nadal has played in 112 career matches at Roland Garros, as the sun and temperature descended and the chants of “Ra-fa! Ra-fa!” filled the evening air, the man known as the King of Clay showed precisely what this meant to him.

With every sprint-slide-and-stretch to reach a seemingly unreachable shot off the yellow racket of his opponent, Felix Auger-Aliassime; with every right-to-a-corner winner; with every well-struck volley, Nadal would hop or throw an uppercut or scream “Vamos!” — and, often, all of the above.

Nadal got through his first serious test of this French Open by edging 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 on Sunday at Court Philippe Chatrier.

“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," said Nadal, who turns 36 on Friday. “That's why I am just trying to enjoy as much as possible.”

And the reward for coming through this one? A tantalizing matchup against rival Novak Djokovic in Tuesday's quarterfinals.

Nadal improved to 3-0 in five-set matches at the clay-court tournament he has dominated the way no one ever has dominated any Grand Slam event. 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.

The significance of the rivalry: Tuesday's meeting will be their 59th, more than any other two men have played each other in the sport's professional era. Djokovic leads 30-28, although Nadal has a 7-2 advantage at the French Open.