Goffin beat Nadal on Monday but had lost both of their previous encounters on the Spaniard’s favoured clay.

The world No 1 is generally thought to be weakest on the indoor hard surface - while Federer thrives under the conditions.

And Goffin, who was demolished 6-1, 6-2 at the Swiss Indoors by Federer, says the preparation for either match is different but equally difficult.

“I had a small idea how good [Roger] is on this surface in Basel,” Goffin said.

“Rafa and Roger, they have completely different games.

“I played Rafa this year on clay court and on this surface, and it was completely different matches.

“The rebound is higher on clay, it's heavier. It's tough to control the ball on the clay.

“Here it is a little bit easier. There is no bad bounce. You can take the ball earlier. He defends a little bit. He's defending much better on clay. He can slide.

“Against Roger, on his best surface, it's indoor.

“It's this surface, along with the grass. There is no wind. It's tough to play higher, to find the loop when you play here on this kind of surface. It's not easy. It's perfect for Roger.”

Goffin must attempt to blemish Federer’s perfect record against him today, having lost all six of his previous meetings with the Swiss.

And the Belgian has promised to spring a practical surprise or two on the 36-year-old.

“But I will try, like I said, to do my best to find some solutions, try to play my game, be aggressive,” Goffin added.

“If he's aggressive and he hit the ball really hard with his forehand, he's dangerous.”