WIMBLEDON, England | So, they meet again. The grass guy versus the clay guy.
Top-ranked Roger Federer and No. 2 Rafael Nadal will be on Centre Court this morning for their third straight Wimbledon final, with one trying to extend his impressive winning streak on grass and the other attempting to win his first Grand Slam title on a surface other than clay.
“It’s a huge thrill every time when I get to another Wimbledon final,” said 12-time major champion Federer, whose winning streak at the All England Club is 40, a run that includes the last five Wimbledon titles. “It’s a great occasion.”
Both Federer and four-time French Open champion Nadal easily advanced through the semifinals Friday. Federer outplayed Marat Safin 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 with a nearly flawless performance, and Nadal defeated Rainer Schuettler 6-1, 7-6 (7-3) 6-4.
Nadal today will try to become the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win the French Open and Wimbledon titles in the same year, while Federer will try to surpass Borg by winning a sixth straight Wimbledon title.
The only man to win six in a row was Willie Renshaw in the 1880s, and he had to win only one match to defend his titles.
“He was in the finals every time, so it was a little bit easier for him to win six in a row,” said Federer, who has won 65 straight matches on grass. “A little different for us.”
Federer, of Switzerland, has beaten Nadal, of Spain, in the last two Wimbledon finals, but Nadal made it close last year, pushing the match to five sets before finally succumbing.
Nadal humbled Federer in last month’s French Open, winning 6-1, 6-3, 6-0.
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