Tennis: Nadal reveals confidence struggle in French Open bid

Rafael NADAL will go into a repeat of last year's French Open final against Robin Soderling tomorrow knowing he needs to find form he has not yet shown at the tournament this year if he is to keep alive his hopes of winning a sixth title.

The world number one reached the quarter-finals with a 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Ivan Ljubicic yesterday but again he was not at his best, especially in a very scrappy first set.

Nadal has been exceptionally candid, talking at length about his struggles with confidence and his game. The 24-year-old, whose last defeat at Roland Garros came against Soderling in 2009, said: "I am not confident. I am not playing well enough to win this tournament. You have to be realistic."