The most famous of all the Lord Cardigans was the one who led the ill-fated Charge of the Light Brigade. But Lord Cardigan of Wimbledon, Roger Federer, will walk out on to Centre Court for tomorrow's final against Rafael Nadal wearing his cashmere, cream-and-gold knitwear, and believing that he can avoid coming to a similarly sticky end on an afternoon that promises to define both players' careers.
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Throughout the Wimbledon fortnight, the defending champion has been nothing less than classy. Federer, after yesterday's superb tennis against Marat Safin, made the final by winning 18 sets from 18, and extended his unbeaten run on grass to 65 matches. If he wins again tomorrow, then he will lift the golden Challenge Cup for the sixth summer in succession, which would take him past Bjorn Borg's five in a row, and set a record for the professional era. The only man to have won six Wimbledon titles in succession is William Renshaw, who, as was the way in Victorian times, was simply put through to the final each summer. Still, for most of Federer's part, his progress has looked about as strenuous as taking an afternoon's stroll through the Swiss Alps. So they might as well have kept Federer back until the second Sunday.
"It's been pretty simple," said Federer, who played so well for his 6-3, 7-6, 6-4 victory that Safin's frustrations grew and grew and the Russian started attacking the Centre Court furniture. "I mean, I haven't had any problems whatsoever during The Championships. It's been a perfect way to the final."
But here comes Nadal. Many in tennis believe that the Spaniard has the powerful game to end the world No?1's domination of Centre Court. Nadal lost the 2006 Wimbledon final in four sets, and last year he perhaps could have won the fifth set of their title-match (an angered Federer even raged against the Hawk-Eye computer during the final). The second seed is an altogether better player on the green stuff than he was 12 months ago; he won the pre-Wimbledon tournament at Queen's Club, and yesterday he practised with John McEnroe before beating Germany's Rainer Schuettler 6-1, 7-6, 6-4 to also make the final without dropping a set.
The only thing that went wrong for Nadal yesterday was that he cut his knee, and the blood stained his shorts. Borg is also relevant to Nadal's Centre Court ambitions; the Majorcan could become the first man to do the red-and-green, French Open and Wimbledon double, in the same summer since the Swede in 1980. Borg never used to shave during Wimbledon, and Nadal last night looked as though he has also mislaid his razor.
When Spain's football team won last Sunday's final of Euro 2008, Nadal restricted himself to jumping around his rented house in Wimbledon, and sending a text message to his friend, the goalkeeper Iker Casillas. But if Nadal beats Federer, and becomes the first Spanish man to triumph at the grass-court slam since Manuel Santana in 1966, then everyone is going to know about it.
But it seems as though there is almost more riding on this for Federer. On the opening day of the tennis season, it was felt that Federer had it in him to possibly do the 'golden slam', which is to win four majors and also the Beijing Olympics. But it has not quite worked out like that, and there have been times this year when spectators have probably wondered whether it would be more appropriate to wave the Red Cross, not the Swiss Cross, at his matches. He has failed to add to his collection of 12 slam titles, the last of which he won in New York at last year's US Open. The start of Federer's season was complicated by glandular fever, he was beaten in the semi-finals of January's Australian Open by Novak Djokovic, and he was thumped in last month's French Open final by Nadal, winning just four games. Federer, though, has said that his Parisian defeat hasn't had a lasting impact.
There is plenty of doubt about Federer's chances. The Swiss is the quintuple champion, but he is not the clear favourite. "You can say whatever you like," said Federer. "But don't write me off yet. I'm on an incredible winning streak on grass. Somebody has to beat me before we start talking differently. I've got the opportunity to win the title again."
Whatever happens tomorrow, Federer is guaranteed to return to Switzerland with the world No 1 ranking in his racket-bag. But, if Federer, 26, loses, then the volume will go up on suggestions that his era is over. The picture will probably be clearer, though, after the US Open. If Federer loses both his Wimbledon and US Open titles, then there would be no argument that Federer's invincibility has disappeared. On the flip side, Federer could be the champion at both the All England Club and Flushing Meadows, and he could finish the season level with Pete Sampras' record of 14 majors. These are fascinating times for men's tennis.
In the Seventies and Eighties, you were either a Borg man or a McEnroe man. And these days, the tennis public is also divided; are you a Federer man or a Nadal man?
While Federer plays a more elegant and sophisticated brand of tennis, and his gold-embossed trainers often seem to glide across the Centre Court grass, Nadal's game is more direct, more confrontational, more athletic.
Safin believes that Nadal has the game to trouble Federer. "To beat Federer, you need to be Nadal, and run around like a rabbit and hit winners from all over the place," said the Russian, so you could bill the final as Roger against the Rabbit. "Roger is going to have to play his best tennis to be able to beat Nadal." And Britain's Andy Murray, who was beaten in the quarter-finals by Nadal, spoke of the Majorcan's "ridiculous forehand". Lord Cardigan is not going to have an easy afternoon.
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The Federer file
Form guide: Beaten eight times in the first half of the year which has led to suggestions that he is in decline but has shown that he is still the master on grass in extending a winning streak on the surface to 65 matches. He reached his sixth successive final here without dropping a set and has been broken only twice in his 72 service games Strong points: His serve, although nowhere near the fastest in the men's game, wins him so many easy points or sets up the chance for him to demonstrate how splendid a volleyer he is. Weak points: Hard to find in a such a consummate professional who has been No 1 since 2004. Trying to return a kicking serve to his backhand has occasionally found him lacking. Fastest serve: 130mph Double faults: 4 Clean winners (not including aces or service winners) 145 Sets played: 18 Dropped games: 62 The Nadal dossier Form guide: Has maintained momentum from fourth successive French Open success with effortless transition to grass, winning the Artois at Queen's on the way here. Has gone 23 matches since last tasting defeat. Strong points: His physical strength is intimidating and means he can maintain full throttle into a fifth set. Weak points: Chooses not to volley unless he has to, and his serve, though penetrative and accurate, is not as fast as the other leading men. Fastest serve: 128mph Double faults: 9 Clean winners (not including aces or service winners): 162 Sets played: 19 Dropped games: 70 |
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| Roger Federer | Rafael Nadal | |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 26 | 22 |
| Height | 6ft 1in | 6ft 1in |
| Weight | 13st 12lbs | Weight 13st 6lbs |
| Seeding Seeding (world ranking) |
1(1) | 2 (2) |
| Career prize money | £20.6m | £7m |
| Grand Slams | 12 | 4 |
| Grand Slam runner-up | 3 | 2 |
| ATP Tour titles | 55 | 28 |
| Best Wimbledon | 5 titles | RU 2006, 2007 |
| Head-to-head | 6 | 11 |
Nadal dropped a set to Gulbis in the first week.