Tuesday, May 23 2006 16:09 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Barcelona: Roger Federer believes he is close to figuring out how to beat nemesis Raphael Nadal on clay and that he could do so in the final of the French Open on June 11. Federer lost for the fifth time in six meetings to the young Spaniard in an enthralling Italian Open final earlier this month squandering two match points before going down in a fifth-set tie-break.

The Swiss superstar will have to reverse the trend in Paris if he is to achieve his dream of becoming the first player since Rod Laver to win all four Grand Slam titles inside 12 months. "I have to play him more often to figure him out and that is what I have been doing. I think I am getting closer and closer," said Federer who broke off from his preparations in the French capital to attend the annual Laureus World Sports Awards, which he won for the first time last year. "I don't think I need to change anything in the way I play him. I should have won in Rome. I was just one shot away from doing that, so it could happen in Paris," he said. "But I am not focussing on him right now. We can only meet in the final and I can only focus on my section of the draw," he said.

The 24-year-old world No.1 said he had pulled out of the last week's German Open as he had felt desperately tired after losing the five-hour marathon in Rome. "I really wanted to play, but the final took too much out of me and I had to look at the long run," he said.

"I was thinking I could not have managed starting on the Tuesday and then playing six times after that over two weeks to win the title," he said.

But Federer said the time off had helped him recuperate and he was fully fit and ready to challenge for the one Grand Slam title he has yet to win, his best performance being a semi-final loss to Nadal last year.

He has already been practicing in Paris with coach Tony Roche and travels back to the French capital on Tuesday after the Laureus awards to complete his buildup. "I am in really good shape and my preparations could not have gone better although the weather in Paris has been very bad," he said.

Federer agreed that he and Nadal were the outstanding favourites for the French title but he said that there were potential outsiders citing Argentina's David Nalbandian at the head of the list.

He also mentioned Spain's Tommy Robredo, who won the German Masters on Sunday, as well as Russia's Nikolay Davydenko and Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic as dark horses.