Roger Federer has said that he believes Britain's Andy Murray will not feature in Sunday's clay court final at the French Open, instead picking Russia's Nikolay Davydenko as his tip for the top.

Davydenko plays Robin Soderling in the last eight while Chile's Fernando Gonzalez stands in the way of Murray's rise in Paris and a last-four place.

Federer came back from the brink to beat Tommy Haas and in a post-match press conference said:

"Sure, Murray has a chance to make the finals. But at the same time, Davydenko has a chance as well. He's been written off a little bit. I've been disappointed that I've not heard about him much because he's a great player."

"He was in the top four for so long. He was unfortunate with some injuries. I think that is why he has got a great chance of going forward and into the final. That side of the draw is wide open. It will be difficult for Soderling against Davydenko. If you've beaten a great player, it is difficult to back it up." Federer continued.

At two sets down and facing a match-making break point, Federer was on his way out of the French Open before he unleashed a killer forehand winner and shortly afterwards brought the scores level.

"When I hit that forehand to save a break point at 3-4 in the third, I had the feeling it could be a turning point in the match," said Federer

"I thought almost that it was my first good shot of the match. I knew the significance of that shot. That saved me on that day and I was able to turn around the whole match. It's a great feeling, because I was in quite some danger right there."

Federer won the last eight successive games of the match and his charge towards a record-equalling 14th grand slam title was saved.