French Open 2019: Roger Federer is on the slide with reasons to believe he can dethrone Rafael Nadal

At the ripe young age of 37, Roger Federer is finally on the slide. And it probably feels better than even he envisaged.

At the outset of April, the glistening 20-times Grand Slam winner conceded that he was struggling to recall how to operate on his least favourite surface as he faced up to being ground into the dirt by younger exponents of the sport’s darker arts: the perceived ability to neuter creativity rather than fashion opportunity.

For Federer, returning to clay was like Charlton Heston being forced to learn his lines all over again for Ben-Hur. Movement was the issue for a tennis artist who has made more out of his career from his eye-catching stunt work than Keanu Reeves in John Wick.

“I’m not very confident going into this clay court season, I can tell you that,” said Federer after waltzing to the Miami title for the fourth time in March with a straight sets dismissal of 'big-serving' John Isner on a slick hard court.

Slide away, and give it all you've got. The baby steps have turned into giant purposeful strides at the French Open: his first appearance at the event for four years has witnessed him drop only one set on the road to redemption at Roland Garros.

There was one point during Federer’s rain-delayed 7-6 4-6 7-6 6-4 win over Stanislas Wawrinka in a rousing quarter-final victory on Tuesday when he reminded you of Boris Becker on a grass court in his 1980s pomp, leaping around at the net like there was no tomorrow as he recovered from being a break down in the third set.

Which there will be. And also time to rest up. He confronts his nemesis Nadal on Friday in the last four for a 39th time (Nadal leads the head-to-heads 23-15) and the first time on the Parisian ash since being outclassed 5-7 6-7 7-5 1-6 by the Mallorcan in the 2011 final. Closing time has arrived. Time to man up, or ship out.

Federer - who last reached this stage in Paris when losing to Novak Djokovic in 2012 - appeared to have drew his last meaningful breath on the surface when he was obliterated by Wawrinka sporting what resembled a pair of garish beach shorts back in the quarter-finals in 2015.

While Wawrinka progressed to carry off the event, Federer extricated himself from the scene having perhaps mentally conceded that the demands of sculpting wins from clay was no longer a priority when it came to major moments.

Tennis on clay has always been viewed as a different ball game for Federer on a sluggish surface where he concluded “you almost don’t need to have a serve. All you need to have is legs, an incredible forehand and backhand and to run things down".

Which Nadal traditionally has done and more especially against Federer in building up a 13-2 lead over the Swiss player on clay, including four final wins and a semi-final victory against him in ruling the roost since 2005.

The high top spinning forehand that bounces up to shoulder height and negates the Federer backhand has been a punishing, tortuous and potent play that has rendered the third seed impotent in key battles on the red stuff.

Particularly in the 2008 final when Federer was schooled 1-6 3-6 0-6, almost nonchalantly swept aside like a junior in a technical and mental deconstruction that contributed heavily to his five-set loss in the Wimbledon final only weeks later.

But Federer is not the only player to suffer from the demeaning, brutish mannerisms of Nadal's crunching, spinning groundstrokes, and he will not be the last.

Alternatively, he may yet be the most memorable opponent Nadal has confronted on clay in recent times simply because this version of Federer has a slight gung-ho air about him, a carefree demeanour amid the strain.

A confidence radiates from Federer's racket emboldened by the nature of his gait that suggests he quite clearly is fit enough for the challenge to last the pace. The unnatural role of underdog suits him as well in his Uniqlo clobber as his outlandish success when he outlasted Nadal over five sets in the Australian Open final in 2017.

Does he offer any prospect of alleviating a career of ills against the ‘King of Clay’ at Roland Garros? The answer to that is yes, but his must be a higher risk strategy.

Variation in coming to the net, to serve and volley more, to shorten points and play as many venomous backhand hurting bombs are not easy on clay, but offer Federer a credible route and slim path to the final.

"You have got to be like a panther at the net..hungry," Federer told Eurosport.

In short, he must forget he is playing on clay, and subscribe to the faith healing that has enabled him to win his five past meetings with Nadal. His problem on clay has been circumstantial, mainly living in the same era as Nadal rather than limitations within his own range.

Federer is the oldest man to reach a semi-final at a Grand Slam since Jim Courier filleted 39-year-old wildcard Jimmy Connors in the 1991 US Open semi-finals. Age is no hindrance to Federer here.

Nadal's route to an apparent coronation for a 12th time at Roland Garros was illustrated in his 6-1 6-1 6-3 dismantling of Kei Nishikori in the last eight in around 90 minutes, but kings are there to be dethroned. In Federer, it is easy to forget that alongside Ivan Lendl and Mats Wilander, he is easily among the top five greatest dirtballers of all time having lifted 11 titles on the surface.

This includes his solitary French Open title a decade ago when Nadal was usurped by Robin Soderling in the last 16.

A 21st Grand Slam title carried off on clay would upset the natural order of the sport, heralding Federer as the oldest winner of a major in the modern era above Ken Rosewall's Australian Open triumph in 1972 aged 37 and two months.

Of course, history and the bookies favour Nadal, but modern studies give the Basel bloke a chance of upsetting the equilibrium. Sliding into history is something Federer will not shirk.