Sky Sports.com - Wimbledon 2008

Roger Federer hopes his quest to surpass the legendary Bjorn Borg and claim his sixth consecutive Wimbledon title on Centre Court tomorrow will not be delayed by his opponent's tendency to stretch the service time rule to its limits.

World number two Rafael Nadal has often been accused of exceeding the 20-second limit between points, and was twice hit with warnings in this year's French Open in the semi-final against Novak Djokovic and the final against Federer.

Under the rules, a second violation would incur a point penalty and Federer, said today: "The unfortunate part is the umpire will always give him a warning but he'll never give him a point penalty.

"It's obviously a fine line. Until he gets into position to serve he takes his 20 seconds then he takes another 10 or 15 seconds until he really serves. I'm not saying he abuses it but he never feels the heat that much."

Respect

Federer and Nadal, who are contesting their sixth Grand Slam final on Centre Court, have built a rivalry based on mutual respect and friendship but it is one so keenly fought that every psychological advantage could prove crucial.

While Federer made a point of drawing the line at suggesting any kind of gamesmanship on Nadal's part, he is clearly of the belief that the Spaniard's tactic of slowing the game down at crucial moments should be censored.

Nadal appeared confused when relayed Federer's comments, and said only: "Everybody's free to say what they want. I am not the one to say it's true or not but we'll let the umpire decide what happens on court."

Federer admits he has been affected by Nadal's go-slow tactics in the past but insists he will not let it get to him as he seeks to bounce back quickly from his mauling in the French Open final last month.

Federer added: "It used to be irritating when I played him a few times in a row and I really felt he was playing very slow. I think he's speeded up since those times and I actually felt he was playing fair lately.

"It's up to the umpire. I'll try to concentrate. I don't think I'll win or lose a match because he takes five seconds extra on a point. It's on the edge, I'm aware of that, but it's up to the umpire to decide what he wants to do."

Federer's comments provide an extra spark their rivalry scarcely needs. Already it is being held up as one of the greatest in tennis history, but the Swiss star says the true measure of their rivalry will come only once their careers are done.

"I think it's quite incredible that we've played each other so many times on big occasions," added Federer. "I'm very happy with my run in Paris and he's very happy with his run here but we each want a piece of each world and we haven't given in.

"You look at Becker-Edberg, McEnroe-Connors, Sampras-Agassi. I don't know how this is going to be looked on in years' time. But I know it's something special we're going through at the moment."

Nadal appeared slightly less inclined to share his thoughts ahead of a match which could make him the first man since Borg 28 years ago to win both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year.

To many, that would be a feat equal to Federer's bid for longevity, as well as marking a seismic shift-change in the balance of power between the pair, with Nadal, who would remain at number two in the world, taking the true upper hand.

Nadal said: "I am not one for saying what level of rivalry is between Roger and me. Sure, it is a nice rivalry, because we are number one and two in the world. I hope it will continue like this for a lot of years."