Defeating Rafael Nadal on Roland Garros' red clay requires fearless play, says Roger Federer.
The 37-year-old Swiss won 41 of 60 net trips, including a spinning stab volley in the tie breaker, out-dueling Stan Wawrinka, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4, to advance to his eighth Roland Garros semifinal.
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The 20-time Grand Slam king is riding a five-match winning streak against the king of clay, but Nadal has won all five French Open meetings with Federer.
Federer said he must play to his attacking strength while trying to adjust to the left-handed Nadal's twising topspin.
"There is always two ways to look at it," Federer said. " Of course I follow my schedule, I follow my game plan, what does my game allow me to do, what are the conditions like. But then of course I think with Rafa's, particularly on clay, his strengths, what he brings to the table, you have to be aware who you're playing against. I mean, always, but even more so against Rafa.
"And on top of it, because he's a left-hander, it just changes everything. I have two days, which I guess is a good thing. It's better than one. It's better than none. So from that standpoint, I get more left-handed practice, more serves and all that stuff. Because I guess I have played five guys now, you know, that are righties, so for me it's a complete switch-around."
The 2009 Roland Garros champion has not faced a left-hander since sweeping Denis Shapovalov in the Miami Open semifinals in March. Federer said fearlessness is key to attacking Nadal's tremendous topspin.
"Just the way the ball goes out of your strings with the different spins, it's just different," Federer said. "So you have to get used to that quickly. Don't have much time to waste. That's why 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."
Photo credit: Shanghai Rolex Masters