Nadal, he of the piratical pants and headband, is going for his 60th straight victory on clay, having left Guillermo Vilas' long-standing record of 53 in his wake after the opening round here. He is in search of a fifth successive win over Federer, an indignity no one else has come near inflicting. He has not been beaten on the slow stuff since April 2005 and bustled into the French Open with three clay titles in his pocket from Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome.

The monster stat pursued by Federer is to win the French and thereby hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time, a feat last achieved in the men's game by Rod Laver in 1969. Even purists who acclaim those as "true" Grand Slams because they were achieved in a calendar year would surely not quibble about praising Federer, who is operating in more demanding circumstances than Rod. And if he should triumph today, the Swiss superman would need only to get past Wimbledon's first round to pull level with Laver's record of 29 successive victories in Grand Slam events.

The prospect of holding the sport's four majors was summed up by this modest genius yesterday as "pretty nice."

What of the prospects?

How can Federer turn round that losing sequence? "I'm feeling good and I know I'm playing well. I've got to play like I did in Rome [where he held two match points before Nadal pipped him in five sets], aggressive, patient, everything." As for Nadal, he feels he must attempt what to everyone else would appear the impossible by being even more aggressive.

Federer acknowledged this is the contest everyone has clamoured for. "The finals in Rome and Monte Carlo showed we are the best players on clay this season."

Thanks to David Nalbandian's abdominal strain which terminated their semi-final in an unexpected one hour 48 minutes, Federer is nicely rested. "That's the key here at the French Open, " he said.

"That you come such a long way and you feel pretty good.

So one thing's for sure, I won't lose because I'm tired. Trying to win this title for the first time, my goal was to reach at least the semi-finals [as he did last year, losing to Nadal].

I've surpassed that, so that's fantastic for me. Quarters and semis are all very nice, but you want to go out there on a Sunday with a chance."

FRENCH OPEN MEN'S FINAL RAFAEL NADAL v ROGER FEDERER Roland Garros, 2.00