Men's final hit by rain

3:24pm Sunday 6th July 2008

Roger Federer was forced to hang fire on his bid to claim a record-breaking sixth Wimbledon title in a row, after his final showdown with Rafael Nadal was delayed due to rain on Sunday.

Federer has admitted he faces one of the greatest challenges of his career to extend what he calls his "perfect" SW19 campaign.

Federer knows victory will take him past Bjorn Borg's mark for consecutive title wins in the Open era, but he knows he faces a massive test against the Spaniard.

Federer said: "It's been the perfect way to the finals, but there's one more left. So far it's been quite unbelievable. I cannot do much better than this. I've just been playing consistently well. I wasn't pushed to the degree where I have to say I played my best tennis ever."

He added: "I enjoy the challenge. Rafa is a great competitor. He's got a winning record over me.

"Every time I play him I want to try to beat him. He's now become so good on other surfaces he's a real threat on everything."

Federer will head into the final adamant he has pushed last month's painful French Open loss to Nadal - when he picked up a mere four games - out of the picture.

And he is intent on producing a performance that will ensure this year's Wimbledon men's final will live up to its billing as potentially one of the finest the tournament has ever seen.

Federer added: "Paris was a disappointment in terms of living up to the expectations but that happens sometimes. For me it's obviously important to bounce back from that loss.

"Rafa has definitely had the best start to the season ever. He's been playing consistently well. His clay court season was phenomenal. But for me that final is out of the picture."

Editor's choice