Wimbledon Final: Rafa vs. Roger

This year's Wimbledon final is a repeat of the Roland Garros final that took place about a month ago, except this time the final is played on grass. The final pits the two best players in the world against each other, as many of the big finals this year have turned out. Of course these two players are Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Nadal has a distinct edge against Federer and has won the last 5 of their total 7 meetings, Nadal also won their last meeting on the big stage at Roland Garros. Everyone expected Federer to make it to the final round, although I'm not sure anyone expected him to do it in the fashion he did. Federer has yet to drop a set in this year's Wimbledon and has played utterly dominant tennis in his last 6 matches, the question is can he keep this performance going? On the other side of the draw no one expected Nadal to even make it to the quarterfinals. Many spectators, including myself, claimed that Nadal would not even have an appearance in the 4th round. Little did we all know that Nadal can play pretty damn well on the grass despite having a fairly lucky draw.

No matter what happens I can't think of anyone who would not be excited to see this final because again, like at Roland Garros, there is a lot at stake for each player. Roger Federer bids to win his 4th consecutive Wimbledon title and his 8th grand slam title, putting him more than half way to Sampras' record 14 slams. Federer also wishes to keep his grass court winning streak alive, he now owns the record for most consecutive grass court victories once possessed by none other than Bjorn Borg. Nadal desperately wants to win a title on grass, especially the big one at Wimbledon. He has stated that this is the tournament he wants to win now, he has an undeniable will to be the best at all surfaces and to keep improving no matter who he plays or what he plays on. Nadal already has proven everyone wrong, but I think he wants to push the limit by winning and allowing all naysayers to see what he is capable of on the grass.

Time will only tell and this blockbuster final takes place Sunday at some time in the morning, any tennis fan of any sort should be watching. Below are our predictions as to how the match will play out.

Mary Joe: I am as surprised as anyone to see that Rafael Nadal is in the final of Wimbledon this year and I must give credit where it is due, Nadal does have a decent grass court game even if he had a somewhat easy draw. That being said I know that Federer has this in the bag, he has won three times in a row and is desperate to record a second win over the Spaniard. A final note before the score is that although I am picking Federer to win I believe that Nadal wants the title more than Federer does. Roger Federer defeats Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-3, 6-2.

PMac: I didn't expect Nadal to make it to the final, but I did think he would do decently and not just because of his easy draw. Nadal has the skill to challenge most players on grass, he's proven that already. Although Nadal's grass game has developed well, he still doesn't have the game to take Federer out on Sunday. I'm expecting Federer to win in straight sets; he's looked strong throughout the tournament and I can see him winning his fourth title at Wimbledon without dropping a set. The random score: 7-5, 6-4, 6-4.

Drysdale: Wow, I can't believe the disrespect that you two are giving to Nadal. I mean even if you think that Federer is going to win, at least think that Nadal is going to take at least one set. Frankly, I think that the only person who has the slightest chance against Federer at Wimbledon is Nadal. I also think that Federer has a mental problem with Nadal, and I know that Nadal has a favorable record vs Federer (5-0 over the last few matches). Granted, that was mostly on clay but I believe that at least one of those was on a hard court. Everyone knows that Nadal can beat Federer; on clay or other surfaces, it was always just a problem of if Nadal could get to the final to get a shot at him. Well, he's accomplished that this year (maybe through some luck of the draw) and I think that Nadal is going to take Federer. Prior to the tourney, the "classy" Federer said that Nadal didn't stand a chance in this year's Wimbledon. I think that Nadal is going to make him eat his words. I predict a Nadal victory. 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4. (sorry bout the score prediction before, I wrote it at like 4:30 AM).