To rekindle rivalry with the Spaniard at Roland Garros after defeat at the Madrid Masters last week
To rekindle rivalry with the Spaniard at Roland Garros after defeat at the Madrid Masters last week
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Roger Federer will confront one of his biggest challenges when a rejuvenated Rafael Nadal, written off as an injury-cursed, spent-force earlier this year, attempts to reclaim his French Open title.
World number one Federer, the holder of a record 16 majors and widely-regarded as the greatest player of all time, completed a career Grand Slam at Roland Garros in 2009 with a first Paris title.
But Nadal, who had won four straight French Opens, had lost in the fourth round, his crumbling knees conspiring with Robin Soderling's match of a lifetime to sensationally engineer a first Roland Garros defeat.
Federer, defeated by his great Spanish rival in the 2006, 2007 and 2008 finals, stormed into the power vacuum to take the crown.
Critics, however, claimed it was a victory by default leaving the world number one, despite all his achievements, with a point to prove in 2010.
The statistics make uncomfortable reading for the Swiss.
Nadal holds a staggering 14-7 lead in career meetings with Federer, having won six of the last seven match-ups.
The Spanish world number two has claimed 10 of their 12 claycourt meetings, including reclaiming his Madrid Masters title last weekend.
But 28-year-old Federer insists he is neither concerned by Nadal's record nor his own patchy claycourt form where his run to the Madrid final was preceded by a second round exit in Rome and a semi-final loss in Estoril.
"The claycourt season will not be judged here, but in Paris," said Federer after his 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) defeat to Nadal in Madrid.
"We will see what happens. I feel I'm ready for Paris."
The 23-year-old Nadal's form this spring has been breathtaking.
His win in Madrid gave him a record 18th Masters title, surpassing the previous mark of Andre Agassi, and making him the first man to win all three Masters claycourt events (Monte Carlo, Rome, Madrid) in the same year.
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