Federer v Nadal

Federer for his part, has shown blistering form throughout the week as evidenced by his 6/2, 6/4 dismantling of Chilean Fernando Gonzalez in the semi finals. Nadal though is another matter entirely and Federer will not be comforted by looking at his head to head with the 19 year old Spaniard.

In four meetings, Nadal has triumphed three times, including their only previous encounter on clay at last year's French Open. Federer's only win against Nadal to date came in last year's NASDAQ Open final and the Swiss had to come back from two sets and a break down to clinch it.

It's not often that Federer goes into a match with nothing to lose but that will be the case on Sunday. A win against Nadal would do wonders for his confidence on this surface during the run in to Roland Garros, the only Grand Slam that he has yet to win.

However, getting the best of Nadal in a best of five match on his favorite surface is a big ask for anyone, including the world number one. Nadal is unbeaten on clay since a loss to Igor Andreev last year in Valencia and only six wins away from equaling Bjorn Borg's record of 46 consecutive wins on this surface.

He played excellent tennis in the semi final against Gaston Gaudio, particularly in the second and third sets that he won 6/1, 6/1 after losing the first 7/5, and his confidence will have been given a boost.

The clay should be quite fast, especially compared to the surface in Hamburg where Federer has won three times, which is probably to Nadal's advantage. The determining factor will be Federer's ability to match Nadal physically and mentally.

The last time these two met was in the final of Dubai where Nadal won 2/6, 6/4, 6/4 with one break of serve in each of the last two sets. When playing Nadal, the least distraction, no matter how short, could be fatal as Federer well knows.