The holder of three current Grand Slam titles will bid to complete a non-calendar sweep on Sunday.

But the 24-year-old flirted with early danger.

"All of a sudden, he pulled away and I couldn't create anything any more," said the man bidding to become the first since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time.

"I couldn't keep the ball in play. I was just trying to get myself going. Thank God that he didn't make two sets to love, that second set obviously was the turnaround for me."

The high point came with a one-in-a-million winner which turned the tide.

"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 four more games before Nalbandian packed it in.

"I started well, much better than during the previous match," said the third seed. "I played a set and a half very well, and I didn't feel the pain at all.

"But all of a sudden, I felt a very sharp pain that was worse than during the previous match (against Nikolay Davydenko)."

Federer is keen to win the Paris title for the first time to earn a bit of history - as well as get over Nadal for the first time in 2006.

"It would be something quite incredible," he said of his record title try. "It hasn't happened for such a long time."

Nadal took charge in the first two sets against Ljubicic before the Croatian made a stand in the third.

The set went to a tiebreaker, which ended the two-hour, 49-minute encounter.

Nadal remains undefeated at Roland Garros with 13 victories.