Roger Federer insisted that "there's always a chance" as he looks to finally beat old rival Rafael Nadal at the French Open after five previous defeats, eight years since their last Roland Garros meeting. The 37-year-old had not even played the tournament since 2015 before this year, but powered into his eighth French Open semi-final with a 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 victory over Stan Wawrinka on Tuesday.

Nadal thrashed Kei Nishikori 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 to claim his 91st win at Roland Garros, against just two defeats. But despite losing all five of his French Open meetings against Nadal, including in four finals, and trailing their head-to-head record on clay 13-2, Federer still holds hope that he can achieve another milestone in his illustrious career. "Like against any player, there is always a chance. Otherwise nobody will be in the stadium to watch because everybody already knows the result in advance," said the 20-time Grand Slam champion. "That's exactly what everybody believes by facing Rafa. They know it's going to be tough.