By Bill Scott Jul 5, 2008, 10:21 GMT
London - Rafeel Nadal stands squarely in the path of Roger Federer's run to more tennis history when the pair meet on Sunday in a third consecutive Wimbledon final.
The superlative Swiss has not put a foot wrong in his bid to claim a sixth straight trophy at the All England club. But neither has Nadal, with both moving through virtually untouched.
Should he get past the rising Spanish powerhouse who has been chasing his number one ranking for nearly four years, the 26-year-old Federer would surpass the five straight titles he shares with Bjorn Borg.
In addition, Federer would level with the iconic Swede on 41 Wimbledon match wins on the trot. Borg set the record when winning the title from 1976-1980 and reaching the 1981 final he lost to John McEnroe.
His progress without dropping a set and barely being tested has let even world-beater Federer slightly stunned: 'I haven't had many problems whatsoever, it's s been a perfect way to the finals - but there's one more left.
'I need to win to get it. But so far it's been quite unbelievable, actually.'
Federer will not be able to forget the straight-set humiliation he took at the hands of Spain's 22-year-old powerhouse in the French Open final a month ago, which included a 6-0 in the concluding set.
'Paris was a disappointment in terms of living up to expectations,' said Federer, whose 12 Grand Slam titles are just two away from the all-time mark of 14.
'For me it's obviously important to sort of bounce back from that loss. But Rafa plays so different on clay and grass. He plays so much closer to the baseline that I have to draw from my two previous Wimbledon finals.'
By facing each other in the Roland Garros and Wimbledon finals for three successive years, this will be the first time in history that the same two players have met in three straight finals at two different Grand Slams.
Nadal is keen to break through with a major success on grass after winning Queen's club last month for his first trophy on the surface.
'I got a lot of confidence in my clay season, in my hard season in United States, and for sure winning on Queen's is important,' said Nadal. 'But I've come here with good confidence because I played two finals the last two years here.
'I'm am better player in general, but not on grass, because on grass I don't practise too much.
'I don't have to show anybody that I can play good here. But there is a difference between winning and losing.
'If I win on Sunday, my career will change a little bit more,' he said.
Federer will be competing in his 16th Grand Slam final as he and Nadal meet in a final for the 14th time. The Spaniard owns an 11-6 record overall against his main rival.
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