No conflict over' Uncle Toni' as Auger-Aliassime faces Nadal
Sports
No conflict over' Uncle Toni' as Auger-Aliassime faces Nadal
PARIS (Reuters) - The presence of Toni Nadal in the coaching team of Felix Auger-Aliassime will not be a distraction in the French Open fourth round clash with 13-time champion Rafael Nadal on Sunday, 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."
