PARIS (AP):
AWFUL AT the start, masterful enough later to produce shots that must be seen to be believed, Roger Federer leaned back in his sideline seat and exhaled.
His opponent yesterday had just quit with an injury, and a smile slowly crept across Federer's face as he realised that a berth in his first French Open final was secured, a fourth consecutive Grand Slam title now merely one victory away.
Ah, but what a victory that will have to be: No. 1 Federer now faces No. 2 Rafael Nadal, the defending champion, winner of 59 straight matches on clay, and owner of a 5-1 career mark against the Swiss star.
Each of the previous three years, one of the French Open finalists was unseeded.
Now fans will be treated to the tournament's first final between men seeded 1-2 since 1984, and so much else is at stake for Federer tomorrow. He's trying to become only the third man in tennis history to win four majors in a row, the first since Rod Laver in 1969. He also can become the sixth man to collect a career Grand Slam.
"Quarters, semis - it's all nice and stuff," Federer said, "but you want to go out there on the Sunday."
And he usually does. He's reached the final at his last 14 tournaments, the longest such streak since Ivan Lendl's 18 in a row in 1981-82. The last time Federer failed to make it to a final, when he lost to Nadal in the 2005 French Open semi-finals.
"Federer is a superstar," Nadal said. "If I don't play at 100 per cent, I'm going to lose, for sure."
Against No. 3 David Nalbandian yesterday, Federer went from stunningly bad to as good as he gets, and was leading 3-6, 6-4, 5-2 when the Argentine stopped because of a strained abdominal muscle.
Spectators who paid good euros for their tickets might have been upset to be witness to the first French Open men's semi-final to end in retirement, the record ninth of the tournament. Then again, they did get to watch an hour of magic from Federer, plus more than 2-1/2 hours of Nadal in all of his scrambling, leaping, fist-pumping glory in the day's second match, a 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (7) victory over No. 4 Ivan Ljubicic.
Nadal handled Ljubicic's booming serve with nary a problem and overcame the one tense moment, down 5-3 in the tiebreaker, with the help of two aces of his own. Nadal also conjured up several crisp passing shots on the fly, including one forehand he celebrated by scampering the width of the court before thrusting a leaping uppercut.
After Ljubicic missed a volley to end it, Nadal put his racket down, then went to the middle of the court and dropped to his knees, raising his arms.
"Maybe the final of Grand Slam always is exciting, no?" Nadal said.
