Nalbandian quits injured to send Federer to final

By Bill Scott Jun 9, 2006, 13:56 GMT

Paris - Roger Federer reaped the benefit as injured opponent David Nalbandian had to quit late in their third set as French Open Friday, handing over a 3-6, 6-4, 5-2 victory to thrust the Swiss into his first Paris final.

Nalbandian, third in the world, was twice visited by the trainer in the third set, for what was diagnosed as a lower abdomen injury.

The dramatic end came after just one hour, 38 minutes in which Federer admitted he got off to a poor start, losing nine of the first dozen games to trail 6-3, 3-0.

The holder of three current Grand Slam titles will bid to complete a non-calendar sweep on Sunday when he faces the winner from second seed Rafael Nadal and Croatian fourth seed Ivan Ljubicic.

'I was not ready to play at the start,' admitted the Swiss. 'He played well at the start when I wasn't playing my best.

'But (at 3-3 in the second set) I had an unbelievable shot (chasing down a lob and countering with a passing shot winner) which gave me a lot of confidence. Finally, something changed for me, I had thought I could lose at the start.

'At the end, I got my chances, I'm very happy.'

With the sets level at one each, Nalbandian called for the trainer and tournament doctor while trailing 2-1 in the third.

Discussions ensued on the sidelines, with the Argentine given pills before returning to the court after several minutes.

The pair played for more games before Nalbandian packed it in.

Federer lost the first set in a rapid-fire 30 minutes. He ended the aborted match with 19 unforced errors and 30 winners, breaking his hampered opponent four times.

Nalbandian owned a 6-5 record over the Swiss world number 1 going in.

Federer's win marked his 27th successive Grand Slam victory, three short of the 29 established by Rod Laver.

The Swiss has won eight of his ten Grand Slam semi-finals, his only losses coming last year to Marat Safin in Australia and against Nadal in Paris. Both players defeated Federer on their birthdays.