Felix Auger-Aliassime delivers classy words after beating Rafael Nadal at Hurlingham

• Tennis News
• Rafael Nadal

World No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime called Rafael Nadal "a great inspiration" and added it was a pleasure to play the record 22-time Grand Slam ahead of Wimbledon. On Friday, Auger-Aliassime defeated Nadal 7-6 (6) 4-6 10-3 at the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic in Hurlingham.

"We’re competitors we try to win whenever we can, even when practicing for major tournaments. He [Rafael Nadal] is a great inspiration to me, it’s a pleasure and priviledge to get to play him. I had a great week, so thank you and maybe see you next year," Auger-Aliassime said after the match.

Auger-Aliassime beats Nadal in his final pre-Wimbledon test

Both players firmly held on to their serves in the first set as not a single break point was seen in the opener. In the tie-break, Nadal saved a set point in the 12th point to tie the tie-break to six points apiece, before Auger-Aliassime won the following two points to win a tight opener.

In the second set, Nadal collected the first break of the match in the fifth game and then held on to his serve the rest of the set to force a third set. In the match tie-break, Auger-Aliassime won seven consecutive points to open an 8-1 lead.

Nadal won two points in a row to cut the deficit to 3-8 but there was no coming back for him as Auger-Aliassime responded by winning the next two points and competing a three-set win. "The goal is achieved. It was great to play an amazing player like Felix.

Today he was a little bit better than me but it has been a positive few days. I have not played on this surface for three years so every day is a chance and an opportunity. I hope to be 100 percent ready for the start of the tournament," Nadal said after losing to Auger-Aliassime.

Nadal and Auger-Aliassime could potentially meet in the Wimbledon quarterfinal. At the French Open, Nadal defeated Auger-Aliassime in the last-16.