Rafael Nadal swept past his great rival Roger Federer on his favorite surface to reach the French Open final on Friday.

The 11-time French Open champion pushed aside the 20-time Grand Slam winner 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 for the sixth straight time on the Paris clay in the most heavyweight match of the tournament.

"The condition out there today have been so hard, so difficult to manage," said the 33-year-old Nadal.

"(It) was the day to be just focused, accept all the adversities and just be focused on positives all the time. That's what I tried to do," said the Spaniard.

Federer, 37, failed to hold on to his 2-0 lead in the second set which could have been a turning point in this match.

"Definitely the biggest regret is to get broken at 2-0 love with the wind in my back," said the Swiss. "If I can avoid that one, maybe the second set turns out to be different."

"He makes you feel uncomfortable the way he defends the court and plays on clay. There is nobody who even plays remotely close to him," Federer said. 

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