Preview: Steady Federer aims to negate Nadal's distraction factor

By Bill Scott Jul 8, 2006, 15:39 GMT

London - Rafael Nadal's habitual slow play won't delay the game for steady Swiss Roger Federer when the top two players in the world clash in a historic match on Sunday for the title at the Wimbledon Championships.

With Spain's Nadal making a surprise appearance in the trophy match, Federer is counting on his own fabled powers of skill and concentration to see him through to a fourth consecutive title at the All England club.

Nadal has been criticized for taking more than time than strictly allowed to begin each point, especially if he is serving.

If he's on the receiving end, the double Roland Garros winner has been known to hold up opponents anyway while adjusting his racket or clothing.

Federer insists he's not bothered against a fierce rival who has beaten him in four finals already this season, including Paris a month ago.

'I see 10 percent of what he does, I turn around so quickly,' said the top seed and winner of his last 47 straight matches on grass.

'It's an advantage for me because I don't get to see all the things. I don't think he acts bad or anything. He just pumps himself up. That's legal, no?'

Despite losing five of six matches to the 20-year-old Spaniard, Federer retains an icy-calm facade when it comes to his chances at Wimbledon.

While he's lost to Nadal on the Spaniard's more preferred surface of clay, the latest on June 11 in the French Open final, the grass is home to Federer.

'We've had some good matches in the past - him winning obviously more than me. It's gonna be an interesting match on grass.'

The match-up will be one for the record books. Roland Garros and Wimbledon have never previously had the same two finalists in the same year in the post-1968 Open era.

The last time the same two men reached the finals of both events was in 1952, when Jaroslav Drobny defeated Frank Sedgman in the final of the French, before Sedgman defeated Drobny to win Wimbledon.

This is the sixth time in history that the same two men have contested the Roland Garros and Wimbledon finals in the same year.

Federer is on sterling form having lost just 52 games in reaching the final, fewest in the Open era. The Swiss is also into a Grand Slam title match for the first time without losing a set.

But still, the spectre of Nadal's recent dominance is not easily dispelled.

'I wish it was different, but when I came on tour, I also had bad records against some players,' said Federer, 55-4 this season with all of his defeats courtesy of the Spaniard.

'I've been able to turn almost all the negative records into positive ones. Now I have one that happens to be negative again, and it's against the number 2 player in the world.'

'For me, it's not a surprise to see him here in the final. He's been able to adapt to different surfaces pretty well over the last year. He's obviously going to improve, he's still very young.

'I'm not surprised with any, his movement or his returning or his serving, I knew he could do all that.'

Nadal's challenge at Wimbledon is making history for Spain.

He is the second form his nation to get this far after Manolo Santana in 1966, the only Spanish champion at the tournament.

'It's a dream for me to make the final, I feel really emotional right now,' said Nadal. 'This is his surface. It will be very tough.

'I'm happy with the preparation because I stayed mentally strong after Paris. It's not easy to win a Grand Slam and then do that,' he said.