French Open: 'He is a great guy' - Rafael Nadal with classy gesture as Felix Auger-Aliassime leaves the court

Rafael Nadal showed his class once again as he applauded his opponent, Felix Auger-Aliassime, off the court after their epic five-set battle at the French Open. The 13-time champion had his back to the wall against the prodigiously-talented Canadian, who took him to a fifth set at Roland-Garros for only the third time in his illustrious career. Ad/> Auger-Aliassime had the momentum heading into the fifth set, but Nadal somehow found another level in incredible fashion to secure his place in the last eight of his favourite tournament.

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It was a touching moment as Nadal joined the jubilant but sympathetic crowd in clapping Auger-Aliassime off, and it also did justice to the incredible match that they had just served up on the red dirt in Paris. Nadal paid tribute to Auger-Aliassime, as he said in his on-court interview: «He did a lot of things well. He has been improving every year.