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By Tim Clement
Taking on men's tennis' two greatest players has rarely been a profitable pursuit and is not something I am willing to get involved with at Wimbledon.
Ten years on from arguably the greatest duel in the sport’s history, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s dominance of the sport has perhaps never been greater.
The pair have shared the last six Grand Slams, three apiece, not dropping a set in any of those major final wins.
For all our gluttonous consumption over their immense careers, the appetite for another major final showdown between Federer and Nadal remains as great as ever, and I see no reason for it not being fulfilled at SW19 this summer.
Federer’s case for the title is obvious. He’s a 10-time finalist, eight-time winner and well rested, having opted for the same preparation as last year when he walked through the field without dropping a set.
Nadal is arguably the controversial aspect of this prediction. He’s not reached the final since 2011 and has not played a warm-up event, so why the faith?
Well, two big factors have impacted his recent chances at Wimbledon; his fitness and his style of play.
I am comfortable the former isn’t a problem as, at 32, he is managing his body better than ever to ensure performance levels peak for big events, leading the 2018 rankings list despite playing just six events.
That body management also transitions into an adjusted style of play, with a more aggressive approach seeing him shorten rallies and put less strain on his once ravaged knees.
That also includes refraining from running round his backhand to engage his legendary forehand more often, something which is a lot more difficult to do on slick grass courts, putting more faith in his vastly-improved backhand.
Another factor which is often overlooked is the weather, which has a profound impact on both grass and clay-court tennis.
While my French Open preview made profits with Nadal beating Dominic Thiem in the final at 6/1, my other strong fancy for Nadal to triumph without dropping a set came unstuck because of a day of lousy weather in Paris.
The damp conditions in Nadal’s quarter-final clash allowed Diego Schwartzman to defend effectively and snatch the opening set as the Spaniard struggled to hit through the court.
Likewise, Nadal will be relishing the fine weather in London as groundskeepers struggle to keep the grass lush throughout the fortnight.
Dry courts will not only slow down the speed of the ball coming through the court but also accentuate Nadal’s extreme top-spin, making him a far more formidable defensive force.
Of course, we are dismissing 126 other players here but none really make enough of a convincing case to take on the game's greats.
Novak Djokovic is the 9/2 second favourite after reaching the Queen’s final but his only significant victory was over the out-of-sorts Grigor Dimitrov before losing the final to Marin Cilic.