Roger Federer is soon to come face-to-face with arguably the toughest test in tennis: playing Rafael Nadal on clay at Roland Garros. With an 0-5 record against the Spaniard on Parisian dirt, Federer will not only need to combat playing against a left-hander on Friday, but also consider whether he will continue to attack the net.

Nadal’s heavy topspin is notoriously difficult to volley against, but Federer’s impressive form at Roland Garros this year has been underpinned by his success at net. In his first four-set match of the tournament against Stan Wawrinka in the quarter-finals, the 20-time Grand Slam champion ventured to net 60 times, making almost double the number of approaches than in any of his three prior matches.

Federer showed on Wednesday, in battling past Wawrinka 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 that he is capable of coming to the net and beating a big, heavy hitter. Federer won 41 of 60 (68%) net approaches against his countryman.

Federer averages a 74 per cent success rate in his points at the net during this year’s clay-court Grand Slam championship, including a high of 83% (25/30) against Lorenzo Sonego in the first round. Overall, Federer has trusted his attacking instincts and won 129 of 175 points at the net (74%) in five matches.

“When it comes to the crunch like this, when you do come to the net, you have to do it with a purpose,” said Federer. “You can’t just do it because somebody told you to do it and you think it’s the right thing. You have to come in there believing.”

FEDERER AT THE NET AT 2019 ROLAND GARROS

In the 15 clay-court matches of their legendary 38-match rivalry, Federer has won only two clashes on red dirt in the 2007 Hamburg final (2-6, 6-2, 6-0) and in the 2009 Mutua Madrid Open final (6-4, 6-4). Both times, the Swiss won 67 per cent of his net points in the ATP Masters 1000 title matches – 18 of 27 in Hamburg and 24 of 36 in Madrid.

Speaking to Eurosport, a few days ago, the 37-year-old provided his tips for volleying success on clay courts.

“You have to have an idea of what you’re going to do, you don’t want to rush to the net without a plan,” explained Federer. “So you want to be able to figure out where the return player usually returns to and where you are going to serve. I think for those first two shots the anticipation is really important.

“The second point is the first step after the serve. Don’t hit the ball, look and run, you hit the serve and you run immediately. That is to gain that extra metre or two to get close to the net, because if you’re close to the net you have an easier volley. And then once you’re at the net you have got to be like a panther at the net! You want to be hungry and up there to win the point and not thinking ‘it’s a good idea to be at the net, but we’ll see what happens…’ No. You want to be up there trying to win the point.”

On Friday, Federer will need to draw upon all of his experience against left-handed Nadal, the 11-time champion with a 91-2 record at Roland Garros.

How much do you know about the legendary FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal?

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Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal haven’t always let their racquets do the talking when they face off.

The two legends of the game have always had a healthy respect for each other. Check out their 10 best quotes on the matches and friendship that have transcended the sport.

Nadal

“If he had played his best tennis, I would have had no chance. But that’s what happens in tennis. If a player like me plays at a very, very good level and a top player like Roger doesn’t play his best tennis, I can win.” – 2004 Miami Open presented by Itau

“If he is playing very good, I have to play unbelievable. If not, it’s impossible, especially if he’s playing with good confidence. When he’s 100 per cent, he’s playing in another league. It’s impossible to stop him.” – 2007 Nitto ATP Finals

“We have a great relationship all the time. Our relationship didn’t change a lot since the beginning because it was always very respectful. The only way the relationship has improved is getting closer we spend more time together, always being in the [ATP Player] Council, being on court, playing exhibitions together. I don’t think it’s a rivalry. All these important moments in tennis make you appreciate it more.” – 2010 Nitto ATP Finals

“When you go on court against Roger…I go on court knowing that I am playing against a player that is unbelievable. What happened in the past probably will not help me.  I take every match like a different history and every day is different.” – 2014 Australian Open

“It’s the combination of two different styles that makes the matches really special. Both of us have a different way to play tennis [and have] a lot of good success with these two different styles. I feel that this rivalry goes not only in the tennis world. People from outside of our world talk about it and that’s good for our sport.” – 2017 Australian Open

Federer

“I just think he’s an incredible tennis player. He’s got shots that no other one has. When you have that, you are unique and special. Plus he’s got the grit. He’s got the mental and physical ability to sustain a super high level of play for years and for hours and for weeks. He’s proven that time and time again. He’s come back from many injuries time and time again. He made it seem easy, and it’s not. I think he’s been tremendous for the game. I have a lot of respect for him on many levels.” – 2017 Australian Open

“There are no draws in tennis, but I would have been happy to share this trophy with Rafa tonight.” – 2017 Australian Open

“It’s not gonna happen. We don’t have enough years left on the tour and we’re ranked too good that we play each other only in finals at the moment…can’t win them all against Rafa, to be honest. He’s too good of a player.” – Federer on whether he can take the lead in his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry with Nadal, 2017 Rolex Shanghai Masters.

“I think he’s definitely one of the guys that make me a better player. I don’t want to thank him for that, but he made me maybe rework my game and go back to the practice courts and think about what I could change. I think for that, I’m happy about the losses I took.” – 2017 Rolex Shanghai Masters

“I think we are very different personalities or maybe also player types. The way we go about it is very different, but yet we both find a way to excel…I think it all adds to the cool rivalry that we had. And then you add all the foundation stuff we have had, promotional things we have done for the tour, political things…it’s been quite a journey with Rafa side by side.” – 2019 BNP Paribas Open

Heavy rain in Paris forced quarter-final action at Roland Garros to be cancelled on Wednesday. Tournament officials announced the decision at 4:40 p.m. local time.

Two women’s singles matches had been set to get underway on the main show courts at 2 p.m. local time. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, the 2016 champion, was then scheduled to face fifth seed Alexander Zverev in the second match on Court Philippe-Chatrier, while fourth seed and last year’s finalist Dominic Thiem would meet No. 10 seed Karen Khachanov in the second match on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.

Michael Chang wasn’t trying to start a trend when he hit the most famous underhand serve in the Open Era at Roland Garros 30 years ago. Chang, 17 and cramping, was trying to survive.

The American was facing three-time champion and World No. 1 Ivan Lendl in the fourth round, and the two were mired in a fifth set. Chang, serving at 4-3, 15/30, decided to do something different.

At the start of his service motion, he kept his racquet down, slipped the ball out of his hand and sliced an underhand serve. Lendl charged forward and smacked a forehand, but Chang won the point and changed the match.

“It created a very interesting element to the match and certainly made the battle, not only physical, but mental as well,” Chang told ATPTour.com in Paris.

The American went on to win the 1989 Roland Garros title, his first and only Grand Slam crown, beating Stefan Edberg in the final. Chang became the first American winner at Roland Garros since 1955 and remains the youngest Grand Slam champion.

But during his 16-year career, he never again hit an underhand serve, despite its success. “It actually never crossed my mind to ever use it again, strangely enough,” he said.

Others, however, have happily borrowed the trickery. Aussie Nick Kyrgios used it against Rafael Nadal en route to his Acapulco title in February, and last week at Roland Garros, Alexander Bublik deployed the tactic a few times against Dominic Thiem.

The servers rely on the element of surprise: just as they’re beginning their usual service motion, they jut out of their take back and drop the ball out of their hand. Catch a player off guard, and you can win the point, or, as Chang did, alter the match.

Kyrgios and Bublik weren’t struggling with cramps, though; they saw their opponents standing far beyond the baseline, nearly pressed against the back wall, and chose to start the point with a drop shot.

“To be honest, it’s a good choice against players like us who are that far behind the baseline,” Thiem said. “There is nothing bad about it. And I was prepared for that, so that was no problem.”

The 2018 Roland Garros finalist hasn’t practised racing forward, but he was expecting the serve against Bublik, who went to net 71 times (41/71, 57%) and tried to keep Thiem off rhythm during their second-round match.

“At least he didn’t hit me an ace, but I think he won two out of three,” Thiem said. “Some players do it well, him, Kyrgios. And against these guys you have to be prepared to sometimes make a sprint when you return.”

Roger Federer has thought about using it many times, and although he hasn’t yet, he supports the surprise shot.

“Underarm is definitely a tactic, I believe, especially when guys are hugging the fence in the back… Why not try it?” he said earlier this year. “The problem is in practice, you never really try it. When you come out in the big stage in front of a full crowd, tricky to pull off.”

At Roland Garros, Federer added, with a smile: “Anything in the rules is OK.”

Thiem faces Russian Karen Khachanov for a place in the Roland Garros semi-finals on Wednesday. Although Khachanov, a 6’6” Russian known for his big game, hasn’t thrown in any underhand serves through four matches in Paris, the Austrian will be ready.