Jul 5, 2008 - 12:13 PM
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The world's top two players will square off in the Wimbledon final for the third straight year Sunday at Centre Court, where Federer will bid for his record sixth consecutive title at the All England Club.
It will mark the sixth time that Federer and Nadal square off in a major final, a record for the Open Era. The rivals have completely dominated the competition along their collision course at this grasscourt Grand Slam, with Federer winning all six of his matches in straight sets and Nadal winning 18 of 19 sets.
Federer has lost his last three meetings with Nadal, who completely dismantled the world No. 1 last month on the red clay at Roland Garros en route to his fourth straight French Open crown.
The second-seeded Nadal owns an 11-6 record in his all-time series with Federer, who has won five of seven matchups against the Spanish southpaw on surfaces other than clay.
"I enjoy the challenge," Federer said. "Rafa is a great competitor. He's got a winning record over me. Every time I play him, I want to beat him. He's now become so good on all the other surfaces that he's a real threat on anything."
Nadal is bidding to become the first player to win both the French Open and Wimbledon titles in the same year since Bjorn Borg achieved the feat in 1980. The world No. 2 lost a five-set thriller to Federer in last year's final here.
"Last year I was very close," said Nadal, who enters this year's final with a 23-match winning streak. "I hope on Sunday, same performance, a little bit better. If I have the chance, I hope to win this time."
A 12-time major champion, Federer has won his last 40 matches at this grasscourt Grand Slam and is one victory away from becoming the first player in Open Era history to claim six straight Wimbledon titles.
Federer's 40-match winning streak here is one shy of the record held by Borg, whose string of five straight Wimbledon crowns was snapped in the 1981 final by John McEnroe. Federer also has won 65 straight matches on grass.
"I'm on an incredible winning streak on grass," Federer said. "First, somebody has to be able to break that before we start talking differently."
The only other player to win six straight Wimbledon titles was William Renshaw from 1881-86. However, after claiming his first championship, Renshaw was required to win only one match in the challenge round to retain the title in the following five years.
Federer, 26, was outclassed by the 22-year-old Nadal in this year's French Open final, dropping a 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 decision to the claycourt king. The Swiss superstar knows he can make up for the Roland Garros debacle with a win Sunday.
"Paris was a disappointment," Federer said. "It's important to bounce back from that loss."
Conversely, Nadal realizes he can finally shed his status as a claycourt specialist with an upset of the top-seeded Federer.
"If I win here, probably one of the most important wins in my career," he said. "If I win Sunday, my career is changing a little bit more."
Federer and Nadal both rolled to straight-sets victories in their semifinal matches Friday.
Federer took the court first and needed less than two hours to defeat Russian Marat Safin, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.
Nadal followed with a 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 victory over weary German Rainer Schuettler, who was coming off a five-set quarterfinal win over Frenchman Arnaud Clement that lasted more than five hours and extended over two days.
