But the most unlikely element of this resurgence may be that it's taking place on clay.
He has lost all three previous encounters with Federer, two of them on clay.
The French are brought up on clay - the surface that is used at Roland Garros.
"I'm out of touch on clay and also short on confidence, " Costa admitted after the match.
To witness the back-and-forth of their flirtation is like watching Nadal versus Federer on clay.
"I played one of my best matches on clay against a difficult opponent, " Nadal said.
She leads Davenport 9-6 in head-to-head meetings but the pair have never met on clay.
It was the 22nd title of her career and second on clay since Amelia Island in 2008.
Big-serving Pioline is never at his best on clay, but still got to the semi-final in 1998.
And for all her success on clay of late, Williams still hasn't won the French Open since 2002.
So the slice is effective on clay ... and you can also produce a lot of top spin.
Given the propensity to slide on clay, for example, she uses a slideboard to improve her lateral footwork.
"It was a really great match and that was the best I've ever felt on clay, " she said.
Hajek does have some form, however, after winning a Challenger event on clay in his home country last month.
BBC: Andy Murray to play Czech Jan Hajek in Wimbledon opener
And most importantly, you have to believe that you can win on clay.
Federer has won their last two meetings but has lost all four times the players have met on clay.
He played so well on clay, and then actually seemed fine at Wimbledon.
This was taken on the third match point to complete one of the Briton's most impressive victories on clay.
Li, returning to her best form on clay, was rarely troubled by Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia, winning 6-1 7-6.
Last year's winner, Maria Sharapova, was once so uncomfortable on clay that she described herself as a cow on ice.
"I don't know if I feel better on clay this year or last year, " Williams told the WTA Tour website.
The Spaniard was a heavy favourite against Hewitt, who is returning from injury and has never enjoyed playing on clay.
The American is 32-1 on clay since last year -- her only loss against Virginie Razzano at Roland Garros last year.
His game bothers everybody because he's one of the best players in the world on every surface -- on clay especially.
On clay, the ball bounces much higher than on other surfaces, so players have to hit the ball at shoulder level.
The victory, the fourth all-Spanish final in the Calatan city in the past five years, maintains the Mallorcan's dominance on clay.
It was Nadal's 37th successive semifinal win on clay since 2003, and it gave him a 20-1 career record over Simon.
Nadal has beaten Ferrer on clay 13 consecutive times since losing to him in 2004, when he was 18 years old.
It was his second win over Nadal on clay in two weeks, and again, amazingly, he did it without losing a set.
In ATP tennis action on Sunday, Novak Djokovic continued his fine form on clay with victory in his home tournament in Belgrade.
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