KEY DATES FOR WIMBLEDON 2015

Qualifying begins: 22 June

The Draw: 26 June

Pre-event Press Conferences: 27 & 28 June

Order of Play: 28 June

Championships begin: 29 June

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News
Saturday 11 July 2015 18:40 PM BST
Federer's chance to stand alone at Wimbledon
World No.1 Novak Djokovic starts as favourite to snare a third title but if Federer serves near the level he produced against Murray it will be tough to stop him. READ MORE

One is the defending champion and the most dominant player of the past year, the other an age-defying seven-time champion bidding to stand alone with a record eighth Wimbledon men's singles trophy. In the 40th showdown in arguably the best-matched rivalry in the modern game, it is fitting it should come down to this.

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer will contest just their third meeting in a Grand Slam decider on Sunday. The Serbian trails their head-to-head 20-19, though they have split their two previous meetings on grass.

A year ago they stood toe-to-toe in a five-set Wimbledon final, with Djokovic steadying after letting a championship point slip to prevail 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 5-7, 6-4. Djokovic entered that match as heavy favourite. Federer will go into the re-match as underdog again but the gap has closed considerably.

Analysis Corner: Murray vs Federer

Against Andy Murray, the 2013 champion, in the semi-finals on Friday, the Swiss sent down 20 aces, just one double fault, 56 winners and 11 unforced errors. Those are the sort of statistics that could give Djokovic’s coach Boris Becker cause for a couple of sleepless nights.

Against Murray, Federer was relentless on serve, mixing speed with placement. He faced just one break point in the opening game and never faced another against one of the strongest returners on tour.

“Definitely one of the best matches I've played in my career,” Federer said. “I served very well. I served a very high first‑serve percentage plus going big. So definitely it was one of my best serving days of my career, for sure.”

The Serbian’s semi-final victim, Richard Gasquet, however, thinks if there is one man to break down the Federer serve it would be Djokovic. “His return. That's the best because he never misses a return," Gasquet said.

“All the time serve you serve, the ball is always on your side again. It's very difficult. You never make so many aces. He doesn't make unforced error. Even from the baseline he's playing fast with a lot of aggression. He takes the ball early.”

Federer has dropped just one set in these Championships, against huge-serving Sam Groth, and he was never broken in that match. He is winning 85 per cent of his first-serve points and, incredibly, has faced only four break points in his six matches with his quarter-final opponent Gilles Simon the only man to have landed a break.

Djokovic has faced 25 break points, saving an impressive 20 of those. His opponents are getting more of a look in on his serve than Federer’s but perhaps more worrying is the fact the Swiss has won 33 per cent of his return points against his opponent’s first serve.

Arguably the best returner in the game, the Serbian is marginally behind on 30 per cent and knows this is the area he must make inroads if he is to tilt this one his way. How Djokovic has rebounded after losing a French Open final last month, where he started a heavy favourite against Stan Wawrinka, also remains to be seen.

Federer has spent three hours less on court, and both come into the final fresh having conserved energy in straight-sets semi-final triumphs. Djokovic has been clinical, seeing off such dangerous threats as Philipp Kohlschreiber and Bernard Tomic in straight sets before his only notable blip in the fourth round.

In a fading-light interrupted match, which was eventually played over two days, he fought back from two sets down to deny 6ft 8in South African Kevin Anderson in five and from there he has coasted, seeing off Marin Cilic and Gasquet without the loss of a set.

Djokovic, despite twice having called for the trainer for treatment on his left shoulder against Gasquet, is quick to downplay any injury concerns. “Woke up with a stiff left shoulder,” he said. “It wasn't really a medical timeout. Nothing major that concerns me for the next match.”

If rain forces the closure of the roof it may hand Federer a slight advantage as the more dominant server. Another external factor is crowd support. Expect the majority of the 15,000 on Centre Court to be in the seven-time champion’s corner, in much the same way as last year. Djokovic, though, has learnt to deal with this for much of his career against his Swiss rival.

Purchase Towels

Hardly a surprise on the grass, but this match will be won on who serves more effectively. Both players defend well but prefer taking the reins to dictate play on their own terms. Federer knows this is not a match he will win trading baseline blows.

World No.1 Djokovic starts as favourite to snare a third Wimbledon crown but if Federer serves anywhere near the level he produced against Murray it will be tough to stop him, even for one of the greatest returners the game has seen.