Nadal braced for ‘trouble’ in Federer showdown

Defending champion Nadal is chasing a 12th title on the crushed red brick of Paris where he has lost just twice in 93 matches.

Five of those wins have come against Federer, including four finals.

Federer, the champion in 2009, is playing the French Open for the first time in four years.

Furthermore, the 37-year-old has only beaten Nadal twice on clay, with his most recent win coming 10 years ago at altitude in Madrid.

“I expect that he’s going to play aggressive, changing rhythms, go to the net,” said 33-year-old Nadal.

“That’s my feeling because he’s playing well and he has the tennis to make that happen. I have to be solid.

“I have to hit the ball strong enough to not allow him to do things from good positions.

“If I am able to play good tennis and play well with my forehand and backhand, I hope to put him in trouble. If not, I will be in trouble.”

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The second-seeded Spaniard leads their head-to-head 23-15 with a 13-2 stranglehold on clay.

At Roland Garros, Nadal won a 2005 semi-final and 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2011 finals against a player he first encountered 15 years ago.

“You might be playing great or for some reason, he’s struggling. Maybe there’s incredible wind, 10 rain delays. You just don’t know. That’s why you need to put yourself in that position.”

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Ten years ago Soderling hit winner after winner as the unheralded Swede ended Nadal’s 31-match win streak at the tournament.

“I think to beat him on clay is challenging. But to beat him in five sets on clay is even more difficult,” said Soderling who crushed 63 winners in that landmark win.

“You have to play extremely well. To beat him on clay, the only chance for any player is to be really aggressive.

“Take some risks. Many, many players, even good players, top players… you can almost see that they don’t really believe 100 per cent that they can win.”