Rafael Nadal produced another stellar effort to take down Botic van de Zandshulp in straight sets and move on at
Roland Garros.
In a rare appearance outside of Court Philippe Chatrier, where he's lifted the Roland Garros
men's singles title 13 times, Nadal put in the sort of performance the
Paris crowd has come to expect. After dropping serve in the opening game
of the match, Nadal settled in on Lenglen and quickly found an
untouchable gear.
He said:
"Today has been a very good test and very positive test, because I was able to play my best match of the tournament so far, without any doubt. For two sets and a half I was playing at a very positive level."
The win pits Nadal against Felix Auger-Aliassime who has been coached by his uncle and former coach Toni Nadal since last year. Asked about that, Nadal said:
"I already talked with Toni after my match. For me it's very simple. He's my uncle. I don't think he will be able to want me to lose, without a doubt, but he's a professional and he's with another player. I don't know what's going to happen, if he's going to stay in the box or not, but I don't care. I have zero problem with that. So it's not a story at all for me."
He finished off with:
"I know the feelings that we have between each other. I know he wants the best for me. Now he's helping another player. But honestly, for me, it's zero problem, and I know he wants the best for me."