French Open 2022 live: Rafael Nadal vs Felix Auger-Aliassime score and latest updates

Auger-Aliassime surprises himself by playing a straightforward forehand way out of play, but playing an in-form Nadal on clay can make surprises the norm. Nadal sends a ball too long, which favours Auger-Aliassime, and he keeps up the sea-change with a springy forehand which bypasses Nadal, protecting his serve 40-30. 

He holds his serve, in a composed show of skill. 

Nadal picks Auger-Aliassime's shot out of the sky and knocks it down decisively. He speeds to 40 love, then wins the set in what feels like the fastest game of the match so far. 

Nadal is two sets to one up, and it's a dangerous place for him to be in, in Auger-Aliassime's eyes. 

Nadal sends a forehand flying past Auger-Aliassime, a picture-perfect example of his long-held dominance on clay, and forcing Auger-Aliassime to defend heavily. His next effort is bullied down the line, hitting the advertising board at the back of the court with a thwack. 

Auger-Aliassime is outplayed, and a fault sent out at the sideline heralds the breaking of his serve as Nadal takes a break before serving for the third set. 

Nadal goes to outwit Auger-Aliassime at the net, but Auger-Aliassime returns, then he returns again. He goes for an unbelievable third response, but sadly it is beyond the realm of possibility, and puts points on the scoreboard for Nadal. An enormous serve for Nadal which Auger-Aliassime returns too easily for him sets Nadal up to win the game. 

The court is troubled with a creeping shadow, and it's getting a little windier: we'll keep an eye on its impact. 

Auger-Aliassime is keeping afloat in the face of a resurgent Nadal, forcing him to play out, and find the net. Level at 30-30, then 40-40, his defensive play gives him a little breathing to win flashy points, like smashing a forehand cross-court to leave Nadal stuttering. 

He wins the advantage, then the game, after Nadal nets.  

Auger-Aliassime draws first blood in the fourth game, pushing Nadal to end the rally past the sidelines, but Nadal springs back quickly, pinging a neat backhand cross-court past his opponent. 

40-15 down, Auger-Aliassime sends a shot past the baseline and Nadal holds onto his serve. 

Nadal keeps up the pressure on Auger-Aliassime and looks to break his serve by pummelling the Canadian with cross-court balls. Auger-Aliassime does very well to retun them, and in the end, Nadal is the one to fall and send the ball out. Nadal gets another opportunity for break point, and this time, Auger-Aliassime misjudges the weight of his smashed reurn, sending it way out. 

Nadal goes ahead, having broken through Auger-Aliassime's service. 

Nadal opens his serving with a statement of intent, smacking the ball to Auger-Aliassime, before sending his return deep across court to leave his opponent without. He quickly goes 40 love up, until Auger-Aliassime benefits from a net ball which sends Nadal's effort out of play. 

But Nadal keeps up his dominance, and wins the game with the next point. 

Nadal has the opportunity to break Auger-Aliassime's serve, and he will want to take it. After nipping 15-40 ahead, Auger-Aliassime attempts to stop him in his tracks with a simple cross-court forehand which Nadal can't get to. They draw level at deuce, and Auger-Aliassime gains the advantage with a stunning serve and pitch-perfect return. 

Auger-Aliassime closes down Nadal's threat with a final, looping straight shot to keep hold of his serve. 

After flunking the end of the first rally, Nadal pulls out a down-the-line forehand which sends Auger-Aliassime's head spinning. Then, Auger-Aliassime calls Nadal up to the net, but sends his shot whipping past him cross court. 

But Nadal's shots are faster in this second set, and Auger-Aliassime struggles to respond to each of them. Nadal wins his serve, and the set, to make things equal again at Philippe-Chatrier. 

Auger-Aliassime wrongfoots Nadal with a quick cross court forehand as the Spainard was heading to meet a return on the other side of court. But Nadal is adding unrelenting pressure and Auger-Aliassime spins his return way out of play. Nadal is presented with two break points, but loses the first when a well-placed shot from Auger-Aliassime twists oddly off the clay and Nadal's delivery ends up in the net. The next ends up in the net too, played weakly from the back of the court. 

Auger-Aliassime catches Nadal out with a backhand volley at the net, but faults on his advantage. Nadal has no such hesitancy, and wins the game on his. 

Nadal delivers an almighty smash to put an end to a dominate Auger-Aliassime rallying performance. Auger-Aliassime stays manfully in a second rally, but the final shot from Nadal ends with a light, bouncing forehand too short for the Canadian to meet. 

Auger-Aliassime takes the next shot too long, and Nadal wins another game to love. 

I'm not sure how Nadal does it, but he does: he finds the unreturnable smash at the very back of the court and smacks it back, leaving Auger-Aliassime to flounder at the net, sending the ball out to the crowds. 

Auger-Aliassime keeps serving consistently well, winning his fourth ace, then his fifth, to close off the game. 

Nadal wins his first ace, to Auger-Aliassime's three, and his next serve spooks the Canadian into sending it long. He wins the game to love, settling into the second set nicely and holding his service. 

A ferocious battle at the net, the players barely an inch from each other as they tap the ball over the net like a shuttlecock. Auger-Aliassime breaks to see if he can trick Nadal, but Nadal returns - but it goes just out!

Auger-Aliassime keeps his serve and wins the game. 

Auger-Aliassime guides a shot gently over the net with the intention of catching Nadal out, but the Spainard is placed perfectly to power the ball past him cross-court. Next, he has Auger-Aliassime skipping deep into the sidelines at pace to catch a backhand, but it's too well-timed. His next attempt at crowd-pleasing, however, is less likely, and hitting from behind at the very back of the court, the ball hits the net, and Auger-Aliassime goes up 30-40.

 Nadal gains an advantage after Auger-Aliassime underpowers a forehand, but he equalises again with a razor-thin backhand cross-court and only just over the net. 

This game runs long, as deuce and advantage are passed back and forth, but Nadal clings on and holds his serve. It was touch and go, however, because Auger-Aliassime is playing miraculously. 

 Watch every match from Roland-Garros live and exclusive on discovery+ and Eurosport

Auger-Aliassime's serve is commanding, and he breezes through his service keeping the Spainard surprisingly subdued. 

He holds his serve with Nadal only gaining a point. 

Watch every match from Roland-Garros live and exclusive on discovery+ and Eurosport 

Nadal plucks a high dropshot out of the air and smashes it, once to be returned, then again up and out over Auger-Aliassime's head. After an impressive rally, Nadal's force is just enough to nudge Auger-Aliassime into finding the net, and he keeps control of the game to start his comeback in the second set. 

Auger-Aliassime unleashes lethal, precise serving which Nadal struggles to return, racing ahead to gain three set points. A final serve goes the same way other the others, glancing into the air off Nadal's racket with little purpose. 

Auger-Aliassime takes the game, and the set. 

Nadal finds better rhythym in this game, and dispatches Auger-Aliassime, who overpowers at least two shots to send them out, quickly. 

Nadal wins the game. 

The crowd roars as Nadal wins the opening point by sending a stinger down the well, past a stationary Auger-Aliassime. So far, every game save for Nadal's opener has gone to deuce, but like life, tennis isn't fair. Nadal sends a shot out to bring the players level on 30 all. 

Auger-Aliassime is playing with composure, but stumbles with a shot sent long to give Nadal break point. He double faults, and Nadal has broken back to win the game. 

Auger-Aliassime opens the points, but Nadal, mostly on his second serve, stems his advance, but sends his next return long to level them at 30 all. He has played better tennis, which might have made him more secure, and now he double faults. The crowd buoy him up, clapping for him as he prepares to serve, but in the rally that follows, Auger-Aliassime reaches behind himself to leap up a shoot the ball cross court and out of reach. 

Auger-Aliassime breaks Nadal again, after Nadal sends a shot into the net. 

Since 2015, Nadal has been able to break back nearly 50% of the time after he is broken at Roland Garros, which is quite the challenge to meet. He goes up 0-30, Auger-Aliassime attempts to lock him out with a shot by the net, which Nadal sends in a looping volley behind Auger-Aliassime. Somehow, he manages to run back and take it, then return it at the net, before Nadal smacks it across court. 

Auger-Aliassime delivers his second ace of the match to stop Nadal from making good on his break point. His strong serve carries him to an advantage, but a trick shot stutters at the net to reset to deuce. Nadal's last shot at a second advantage goes flying out. 

Auger-Aliassime holds his serve, and his nerve. 

Nadal's movement on clay is so, so good. The timings he can draw out of his shots can leave opponents baffled, and he sets up Auger-Aliassime to miss a well-weighted, considered shot. Nadal faults, and Auger-Aliassime has the chance, as his opponent did, to break his serve. He sends another fault into the sideline, and Auger-Aliassime has another attempt to break from advantage. 

Nadal goes long, very long, and Auger-Aliassime wins the game, and the race to break first. 

Auger-Aliassime's big serve can get him into trouble, and his second serves inspire less fear. Nadal returns easily, and wins a point firing a shot down the line with the smallest effort to go 0-30 up. Nadal forces errors from Auger-Aliassime with the force of his rallying shorts, and looks close to breaking Auger-Aliassime early on. 

But Nadal can be bested, and a well-placed shot glances the wrong way, leaving Nadal unable to run for it. They meet at deuce, and Auger-Aliassime gains advantage with a deep, spinning shot just past a too-high Nadal. The Spainard's last shot is mis-hit and finds the net. 

Auger-Aliassime wins the game and holds his serve. 

Nadal begins sycthing through his serve, sending pin-pointed shots to the areas of the court Auger-Aliassime simply can't reach. Auger-Aliassime is forced to hit long, and Nadal takes the game with ease. 

Having won the coin toss, Auger-Aliassime choose to open service. He wins the first point, but double faults. Auger-Aliassime is able to send the ball wider than Nadal, and then aces him with a super-quick serve to stroll into the lead 40-15. Nadal's responds with impeccable reading, and brings them to deuce.  

Auger-Aliassime takes the game as Nadal's final effort goes long, and holds onto his serve. 

As a side note, Toni Nadal is in the arena, which will delight body-language experts. 

The crowd, predictably, goes wild for the 13-time champion, but there will be a lot of home support for the Francophonic Auger-Aliassime. 

They start warming up, Nadal in zingy neon yellow-green and turquoise shorts, Auger-Aliassime in all black with striking white details. 

He didn't attend Auger-Aliassime's practice this morning, and is unlikely to watch the match from the player's box at Court Philippe-Chatrier. 

Whether or not Grand Slam record-holder Nadal has a 14th French Open win in mind, he couldn't have asked for a stronger start, beating Jordan Thompson, Corentin Moutet and Botic van de Zandschlup in straight sets. Against van de Zandschlup, he only dropped nine games. 

World number 9 Auger-Aliassime managed straight sets against Filip Krajinovic and Camilo Ugo Carabelli, but struggled in the first round against Juan Pablo Varillas, coming back from 6-2, 6-2 down to win the final three sets 6-1, 6-3, 6-3. 

The presence of Toni Nadal in the coaching team of Felix Auger-Aliassime will not be a distraction in today's French Open fourth round clash with 13-time champion Rafael Nadal, the players said.

Toni Nadal masterminded nephew Rafa's incredible career from well before he broke into the big time by winning the French Open as a teenager in 2005, steering him towards a record 21 Grand Slam victories.

The 61-year-old stepped down as Rafa's coach in 2017 and concentrated on running the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca before agreeing to work with world number nine Auger-Aliassime last year.

"From the first time we started working together we knew it was a possibility that eventually I would play Rafa when I'm working with Toni," Canadian Auger-Aliassime said on Friday evening following the third round victory that confirmed he would play Nadal.

But fans will not be seeing Toni in Auger-Aliassime's box during the match, with the Canadian saying he thought his coach would watch from a "neutral place and enjoy the match".

"I don't know how Toni feels...But I think also you have to remember...for me Rafa's career and what he did with Toni is much bigger than the match tomorrow."

For 13-time French Open champion Nadal the presence of his uncle at the side of another player is not a matter of concern.

"I don't think he will be able to want me to lose but he's a professional and he's with another player," Nadal said.

Nadal has cruised through the first three rounds of the tournament without dropping a single set and is the favourite to come out on top in the match.

"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," Nadal said.

"We are family more than anything else...We are a family that stays together all the time. So he's not only an uncle. He's more than that."

Reuters