Nadal on a high for dream final with Federer

KING of clay Rafael Nadal is thrilled with his form after easing into his second successive French Open final.

The 20-year-old defending champion outclassed fourth seed Ivan Ljubicic from Croatia, winning 6-4 6-2 7-6 (9/7) in two hours and 49 minutes.

That extended Nadal’s winning run on clay to 59 matches and maintained his 100% record at Roland Garros.

“It’s not a relief to be in the final, I am just really happy to be in the final again,” said the Spaniard. “I hope it’s not going to be compulsory for me to win at Roland Garros every year. I’ve had a really good season on clay, everything’s going well. My level is really high.”

The second seed set up a dream final with world number one Roger Federer tomorrow, the third clay-court final between the pair in recent months following Nadal’s victories at Monte Carlo and Rome. He also beat Federer, who is bidding to hold all four grand slam titles simultaneously, in their first final of the year at February’s hard-court event in Dubai.

The Swiss star has only one success over his left-handed Spanish nemesis, who leads their personal duel 5-1.

“This match has been at the centre of all attention since the tournament started,” Nadal added.

“This is going to be a great encounter between the world number one and two. I will try my best.

“This is not a surprise for me to meet him in the final because I knew that if I played well, I would have a great chance to play against him.

“I’ll probably have to be more aggressive against him than I was today.”

Ljubicic, meanwhile, threw his support behind Federer after blasting Nadal’s habit of taking too much time between points.

“It’s ridiculous how much time he takes between points,” said the 27-year-old.

“He got warned once but I feel the chair empire warned him once just to feel fair. I would love Roger to win,” he added. “He’s probably the best tennis player ever so it would be nice to see him lift the trophy.”

Ljubicic was clearly disappointing by his setback.

“I got what I expected with Nadal,” added the world number four. “He was fighting on every point and running for every ball – that’s his game.

“I am disappointed to have lost. I also had trouble adjusting. He is a leftie and I had not played someone like him in a while.

“In the first set, I had my chances when I broke back, but the second set was clear for him.

“In the third, I was better but he played well.”

Meanwhile, Clay-court queen Justine Henin-Hardenne insists she does not “own” Roland Garros despite being in touching distance of her third French Open crown in four years.

The defending champion faces eighth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia in the final on Philippe Chatrier court today. The 24-year-old fifth seed from Belgium is enjoying an impressive fortnight in Paris and is yet to drop a set in her five matches en route to the final.

Henin-Hardenne, who was forced to withdraw from the Australian Open final in January because of stomach pains, has always admitted her preference for the French grand slam and her solid game and overwhelming successes in recent years have made her a crowd favourite.

She will again enjoy that status today after looking unbeatable.