Wimbledon Betting / Barry Millns / 05 July 2008 / 1

Sky Sports tennis commentator Barry Millns previews Sunday's hotly-anticipated men's final - Roger Federer v Rafa Nadal

So the dream showdown is now reality with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal creating tennis history by meeting in three successive finals at two grand slams. After last year's memorable five-set finale at the All England Club the signs are that this should be another classic, unlike their last meeting at the French Open a month ago when Rafa crushed Roger 6-1, 6-3, 6-0.

That heavy defeat, which put the 22 year-old Spaniard 11-6 up in their head-to-head series, left many suggesting that Federer is a fading force, having only claimed one minor title since the start of the year.

But approaching his 27th birthday the world No.1 has since won another title in Halle and reached his sixth Wimbledon final without dropping a set so, as he put it, "don't write me off too quickly because this is my part of the season now".

From the moment Federer stepped back onto Centre Court he has reminded everyone what an outstanding player he is, the spring in his step and supreme authority on grass taking him to an unprecedented 65-match winning streak on the surface. His last three opponents Lleyton Hewitt, Mario Ancic and Marat Safin have all beaten him in the past on big occasions but none of them were able to threaten his defence of the title.

The key to such dominance has been Federer's serve. In his six matches so far he has faced a total of 17 break points and saved 15 of them - those are Sampras-like figures and while Bjorn Borg's record of five successive Wimbledon titles is there for the beating, another triumph for the Swiss would put him just one short of Sampras' seven at the All England Club and the American's record haul of 14 grand slams.

So there's plenty for Federer to aim for, but so too Nadal who has hungrily followed up his fourth Roland Garros triumph with a first grass court title at Queen's and another stirring run at the All England Club. Aside from one set dropped against the very promising Latvian teenager Ernests Gulbis, Nadal has also dazzled on the game's greatest stage, especially when he ended Andy Murray's hopes so spectacularly in the quarter-finals.

That came two days after Nadal appeared to suffer a painful injury to his right knee early in his match with Mikhail Youzhny. But he quickly brushed that off to beat the Russian and played like a god against Murray, who admitted he has been given a torrid time by Rafa's breathtaking pace and precision: "His forehand was ridiculous. He was hitting the ball so close to the line and I felt rushed on every point."

By his own admission Nadal, broken four times in the tournament, did not play his best match in beating the un-seeded German Rainer Schuettler in the semi-finals. But he still did it inside the distance, thus conserving energy for the far bigger challenge to come and he will go into Sunday's showpiece on his own 23-match winning streak.
It promises to be an outstanding contest, capturing our imagination as two great rivals give their all physically and mentally in pursuit of glory and history, full or respect for each other but also full of confidence they can win.

"Rafa is a great competitor," said Federer.

"I mean, he's got a winning record over me. Every time I play him I want to try to beat him. The thing is, I've played him so often on clay, it's more of an advantage for him in the head-to-heads.

"At the same time he's now become so good on all other surfaces as well that he's a real threat on anything, you know. That's not only for me, but, for any player.

"Now, let's see what happens now the rest of the season, because I think this is maybe my favourite part of the season, you know, trying to win Wimbledon and US Open back-to-back, and we got the Olympics stuck in it, as well. So it's a huge, huge possibility for both, for any players right now. So that's why I think it's an exciting time right now for us."

As for Nadal: "Well, every year is different and every match is different," he said.

"Depends on the moment. I say always the same: depends how you arrive to the final; how you feel in the moment; how you are playing. The match can change a lot. Last year I was very close. I hope on Sunday be at the same performance, a little bit better, I have my chances for win. I say, well, if I have the chance, I hope I win this time."

It's time to pick your champion - Federer currently trading at [1.83] and Nadal at [2.18].

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1. betfair free bet | 05 July 2008

   can't wait to see which way this match goes

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