When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Sign up forfor news on the biggest players and tournaments In the first meeting between the two players, Nadal's experience and quality on the day was too much for Auger-Aliassime as he won 6-3 6-3 on Court Manolo Santana. Nadal needed six match points to beat Auger-Aliassime after being broken when serving for the match. But the win will be a relief to Nadal after suffering from a stomach virus in the build-up. And speaking after the match, the 32-year-old was delighted to get through a difficult opponent.<doc-sep>Rafael Nadal beat Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3 6-3 FREE for news on the biggest players and tournaments SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up forfor news on the biggest players and tournaments When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. After a stomach virus hampered him early in the week, Nadal showed little sign of those issues as he started strongly and his clay court style soon gave Auger-Aliassime problems. And the Spaniard broke Auger-Aliassime to lead 5-3 and served out the net in 41 minutes. Auger-Aliassime then made the worst possible start to the second set when he was broken in the opening game and more brilliance from Nadal allowed him to break again to lead 5-2. Nadal was broken as he served for the match but he bounced back to break Auger-Aliassime on his sixth match point and book his spot in the third round and a match against American Francis Tiafoe. RAFAEL NADAL VS FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME LIVE SECOND SET Nadal 6-3 6-3 Auger-Aliassime* FAA mis-hit on the forehand, 0-30. Three match points for Nadal after FAA nets a forehand. FAA saves the first with a big wide serve. Then Nadal nets a backhand return. And FAA saves all three after a Nadal backhand goes wide. Fourth match point for Nadal as FAA puts a forehand long. But Nadal nets a nervous forehand. A fifth match point comes and goes as Nadal nets a backhand. Shocking error from Nadal as he nets a very simple drop shot. FAA double fault, deuce. SIXTH match point after FAA's forehand flies long. GAME. SET. MATCH Nadal as FAA goes long again. *Nadal 6-3 5-3 Auger-Aliassime Nadal forehand wide, 0-15. Nadal forehand winner earns mistake from FAA, 15-15. Nadal forehand winner, 30-15. Nadal forehand long, 30-30. FAA forehand winner, break point. Nadal double fault. First break of the match for FAA. Game on? Nadal 6-3 5-2 Auger-Aliassime* Problems for FAA now as Nadal rifles a forehand winner down the line and gets two break points. And at the first opportunity, Nadal whips a backhand winner past FAA. Brilliant. Nadal will serve for the match next. Rafael Nadal prepares to serve against Felix Auger-Aliassime *Nadal 6-3 4-2 Auger-Aliassime Vintage Nadal play on clay as he sends FAA left and right and draws the error from the teenager. FAA is struggling to apply any pressure to Nadal. Nadal 6-3 3-2 Auger-Aliassime* More evidence of FAA’s qualities at the net as he deftly finishes with a volley after a series of heavy groundstrokes, 40-15. And he stays in touch with Nadal when the world No 2 nets a backhand. *Nadal 6-3 3-1 Auger-Aliassime One way traffic in Nadal’s service games continues. He’s won 29 of the points from the baseline and hit two aces. Nadal 6-3 2-1 Auger-Aliassime* Great backhand from FAA forces Nadal to miss a volley, 30-15. And he gets on the scoreboard when Nadal puts a return wide. *Nadal 6-3 2-0 Auger-Aliassime Double fault from Nadal to open the game but he responds to lead 40-15. FAA then puts a backhand in the tramlines again. Nadal has won 16 of the last 20 points. Nadal 6-3 1-0 Auger-Aliassime* Chance for Nadal as he gets the error from FAA after firing a forehand down the line. Double fault FAA, 15-40. He saves the first when Nadal goes wide with a forehand. But Nadal extracts another error from FAA to make the ideal start to the set. Felix Auger Aliassime in action during his second round match against Rafael Nadal FIRST SET *Nadal 6-3 Auger-Aliassime Nadal backhand winner, 15-0. FAA backhand long, 30-0. Nadal forehand into the net, 30-15. Two set points Nadal after FAA can’t reach a volley. And Nadal wins the opening set in 41 minutes. Too many errors from FAA costing him dearly. Nadal 5-3 Auger-Aliassime* A couple of loose forehands from FAA takes the game to deuce. Incredible defence from Nadal and he gets an error from FAA, break point. And another unforced error on his forehand gifts Nadal the crucial break. Nadal will serve for the set next. *Nadal 4-3 Auger-Aliassime FAA is playing very deep to cope with the spin and power that Nadal puts on the ball. But it is not helping him to win points on Nadal’s serve. Nadal holds to love. Nadal 3-3 Auger-Aliassime* Another show of FAA’s willingness to attack the net as he serve and volleys and comes out on top, 40-0. Nadal then goes long on the return to level the set. Rafael Nadal in action during his second round match against Felix Auger-Aliassime<doc-sep>Rafael Nadal faces Felix Auger-Aliassime at the Madrid Open FREE for news on the biggest players and tournaments SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up forfor news on the biggest players and tournaments When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. This afternoon, Auger-Aliassime will face Nadal in the second round of the Madrid Open in an intriguing match up between two players at opposite ends of their career. Auger-Aliassime has enjoyed a breakthrough season on the ATP Tour, rising to a career-high 30 in the rankings, a semi-final in Miami and runner-up in Rio. But at just 18-year-old, Auger-Aliassime will have grown up idolising the likes of Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. And Shapovalov, who Auger-Aliassime beat in the Madrid Open first round, has revealed that two years ago he saw just how much his friend liked Nadal. “The funny thing about it is that he had a Rafa poster in his house,” Shapovalov told ATP Uncovered. “I kind of took it down as a joke. I told him, ‘We got to take it down.’ “After that he legitimately took the poster down. He’s like, ‘Nah brother, the poster’s gone. Now I’ve got to put one of you.’ “It was a great moment.” Rafael Nadal is hoping to bounce back from Barcelona disappointment Felix Auger-Aliassime had a poster of Rafael Nadal on his bedroom wall as a youngster Auger-Aliassime’s rise has been one of the main storylines of the season and the teenager says he has been surprised by how well he’s done. “I never expected that I was going to be here this early. That was always my dream and I’m still following it,” Auger-Aliassime said. “Even just a few months ago, I was trying to break into the Top 100 and maybe thinking about Top 50 at the end of the year. [It's great] being in the Top 30, but there was also a lot of work put behind it. I’m just enjoying myself now.” Nadal is the favourite going into the match with Auger-Aliassime but the Spaniard acknowledged the young Canadian will be dangerous. Rafael Nadal beat Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3 in the first set Madrid Open: Rafael Nadal trains ahead of Auger-Aliassime match<doc-sep>
An 18-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime has claimed the 17th triumph in 2019 and the 11th at Masters 1000 series overall (the youngest player with that many wins), beating the fellow Canadian Denis Shapovalov 6-2, 7-6 in an hour and 49 minutes. It wasn't the best match we could have got, with more unforced errors than winners, and it was Felix who managed to tame his shots more effectively, hitting a lot of service winners and forging the gap in the shortest range up to four strokes. The younger Canadian saved two out of three break points and Denis couldn't stay on that pace, suffering three breaks from nine chance given to Felix for the fourth straight loss, the third on clay after Monte Carlo and Barcelona. Shapovalov saved two break points in the first game of the match to avoid an early setback before another loose service game that pushed Auger-Aliassime 2-1 up when Denis' forehand landed long. Felix broke again in game seven with a deep return and sealed the opener with a service winner a few minutes later for a commanding lead and one step closer to the finish line. The second set was more competitive, with back-to-back-breaks in games five and six before a tie break where Auger-Aliassime converted the fourth match point at 8-7 after a huge forehand mistake from Denis to book the place in the second round against world no. 2 Rafael Nadal. The German Jan-Lennard Struff secured the 19th Masters 1000 victory after a 7-6, 6-4 win over Nick Kyrgios in swift 65 minutes, losing just eight points on serve in the entire match! Nick drew one break of serve from that and needed more for a positive result, giving serve away twice and producing his usual show on the court that kept the crowd entertained on Court 1 at Caja Magica. Firing 37 winners and just ten unforced errors, Struff controlled the pace in the points and had a clear advantage in the shortest and mid-range rallies to leave Kyrgios behind and move into the second round. Despite a tie break, the opening set lasted only 37 minutes and Struff grabbed it 6-4 after a backhand error from Nick, building the confidence before set number two. There, Kyrgios broke in the opening game to seize the lead, keeping it until game four when Jan-Lennard broke back at love with a volley winner to level the score at 2-2 and gain the momentum before the rest of the set. Serving to stay in the match at 4-5, Nick got broken at 15 following a volley winner from the German who will now face Marin Cilic or Martin Klizan. In the qualifying round, Pierre-Hugues Herbert ousted Robin Haase 5-7, 6-3, 7-6, overcoming a 5-2 deficit in the deciding set and saving two match points on the return at 3-5 before prevailing 7-5 in the tie break to find himself in the main draw. Casper Ruud led 6-2, 5-2 against the struggling Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas and wasting a match point in the tenth game of the second set in a 2-6, 7-6, 6-1 loss, missing a great chance to compete in the main draw. Hubert Hurkacz defeated Roberto Carballes Baena while Reilly Opelka and Taylor Fritz toppled Juan Ignacio Londero and Marius Copil to join the main action as well.