Roger Federer has never solved the riddle of playing Rafael Nadal at the French Open but still believes he can find the answer when the pair clash for the 39th time in Friday's semi-final.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The Swiss has suffered five French Open defeats by the marauding Mallorcan, four in finals and once in the 2005 semi-final when Nadal burst through as teenager to win the first of his 11 titles on Parisian clay.
The last time Federer beat Nadal anywhere on clay was in Madrid in 2009 - one of only two times he has got the better of him on the Spaniard's favourite surface.
"I knew that when I signed up for the clay that hopefully that's gonna happen (play against Nadal)," the 37-year-old Federer told reporters after his 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 victory over compatriot Stan Wawrinka on Tuesday.
"Like against any player, there is always a chance. Otherwise nobody will be in the stadium to watch because everybody already knows the result in advance.
"You just never know. He might have a problem. He might be sick. You never know. You might be playing great or for some reason he's struggling.
"That's why you need to put yourself in that position. Now I have the match with Rafa, and I'm clearly excited. I hope I can recover well in the next couple days, which I'm sure I will, and I'll give it my best shot on Friday."
Federer has played superbly on his first appearance at the French Open since 2015 and has crucially avoided any marathon battles on route to face Nadal.
The 2009 champion breezed through his first four rounds without dropping a set before stepping up a level to fend off Wawrinka in a high-quality contest.
He will need another level against left-hander Nadal, whose vicious topspin game has given him mastery over Federer at Roland Garros, where he has never even been taken to five sets by the Swiss maestro.
He is relishing the challenge though, having not played Nadal at the French Open since 2011, when he lost in four sets.
"I'm looking forward to the test," Federer said.
"You have to be fearless to some extent to take on the spinny balls, the sliding balls, the kicking balls, and that's what I will do on Friday."
While he trails 5-0 head-to-head against Nadal in Paris, Federer has won his past five matches against his great rival, stretching back to the 2017 Australian Open final.
The second seed Nadal, who now has a 91-2 win-loss record at the clay court grand slam, was barely bothered by the seventh-seeded Kei Nishikori as he set up a mouth-watering last-four meeting with the 20-time grand slam champion.
"Being honest, personally for me the main thing is being in the semi-final," Nadal said.
"...Of course after having Roger in front in the semi-finals is an extra thing. We shared the most important moments of our careers together on court facing each other.
"So it is another episode of this, and happy for that and excited, no? It will be a special moment, and let's try to be ready for it."
Considering Nishikori had a 0-4 win-loss record against Nadal on clay, his chances of narrowing that run on Tuesday were slim.
Despite his usual early nerves, the Spaniard raced through the opening set.
Nishikori broke back for 1-1 but that effort proved to be his undoing as Nadal won the remaining five games to lead two sets to love.
The match was interrupted at 4-2 because of a fast approaching thunderstorm, but the hour-long delay failed to hand Nishikori a lifeline.
Upon resumption, Nadal swiftly ended Nishikori's nightmare, wrapping it up on the first match point to reach the last four in Paris for the 12th time.
He is bidding to become the first player to win the same grand slam 12 times, but must first get past Federer in what will be the 39th instalment of their rivalry.
