Roger Federer fires Rafael Nadal warning after reaching Wimbledon semi-final
ROGER FEDERER has warned Rafael Nadal he will come out firing should the pair meet in the Wimbledon semi-finals.
Wimbledon: Federer says it would be 'nice' to play Nadal
Federer had to come from behind to knock out Kei Nishikori with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win this evening.
The Swiss star is on course to meet Nadal at the All England Club for the first time since 2008, should the world No 2 beat Sam Querrey in his semi-final.
And Federer already has a clear plan in place should he clash his long-term rival on Centre Court.
"We have a lot of information on Rafa and so does he on us," Federer said.
"You can either dive into tactics or you can say 'you know what it's grass court tennis and play attacking tennis'.
"If he can defend that then great for him.
"I know people always hype it up in a big way and we had some brutal conditions in Paris when I played him on his favourite court.
"I would of course love to play against him here
"Things are looking good for him and I am excited to play against him but I will treat it as any other match."
Federer struggled at the start of his quarter-final against Nishikori.
But the 20-time Grand Slam explained how he managed to dig himself out of a whole.
"It was difficult," Federer added.
"The beginning was brutal. Kei came out was smashing return winners.
"I had to try and stay with him and try to turn around the first set but Kei was the better player.
"In the second I had to get the lead and protect it. I just think at the end I served really well and I did that until the very end.
"It was a great serving performance against a very good return player."