Stephen Bierley on Tennis: Federer and Roddick Set for Legendary Rivalry

Great match-ups are the lifeblood of tennis, no matter how much today's leading players drone on about "anybody in the top 100 being capable of beating anyone else". John McEnroe v Bjorn Borg, Rod Laver v Ken Rosewall, Pete Sampras v Andre Agassi, Boris Becker v Stefan Edberg: there is magic here and the nascent rivalry between Switzerland's Roger Federer and Andy Roddick of the United States may sprinkle more stardust.

If there is one certainty in the sometimes confusing arena of men's tennis, it is that Federer, 22, and Roddick, 21, are currently the world's two leading players. And a fortnight on Sunday there seems every possibility the top seeds will meet in the Wimbledon final, a repeat of last year's thrilling semi-final, which Federer won in straight sets before going on to become champion.

They emerged as the front runners in the second half of last year, Roddick winning the US Open and later, at the Tennis Masters Cup in Houston, edging the world No1 ranking ahead of the Swiss. It was Roddick's opinion, reasonable at the time, that the battle for top spot would be a fluctuating affair this year. Instead Federer, by winning his second slam title at the Australian Open, cruised past the American and has stayed there since. So Roddick will be a man on a mission at Wimbledon.

Both won their grass dress rehearsals - Federer at Halle, Roddick at Queen's, thus heightening the anticipation. Naturally all British interest will centre on Tim Henman, who has a winning record against them both, while Australia's Lleyton Hewitt, the 2002 champion, will also be determined to breach the Federer-Roddick axis. But tennis needs this Swiss-US rivalry to catch fire.

So far they have met only six times, Federer holding a 5-1 advantage. As Roddick remarked after losing to him in Houston, and with reference to his Wimbledon defeat: "He kicked my ass then and he kicked my ass tonight."

The two, who share 30 titles between them, Federer having won 16, are as dissimilar on the court as they are off it. "Roger is an incredible talent whereas Andy is much more emotional and powerful," said McEnroe. "That mix could be combustible and develop into a great rivalry. They just need to stay healthy and play each other in a lot of big matches."

With Agassi, the holder of eight slam titles and the last of the golden oldies, close to retirement, both Federer and Roddick are acutely aware that the sport is looking for other big names to emerge. "I knew it was in me but I didn't know what it took," said Federer after winning Wimbledon. "I get a different feeling when I step out on court now."

The same is true of Roddick after his success at Flushing Meadows although, whereas Federer already appears the complete article, Roddick is by no means a finished product. There are lots of rough edges which his coach, Brad Gilbert, is in the process of smoothing.

For all his brashness and quick fire verbal responses Roddick has a professional admiration for Federer that is both generous and open: "I don't know if there is anybody more talented or with more natural flair." Grass, more than any other surface, accentuates the beauty and grace of Federer in all its variations. Two of the game's biggest servers, Roddick and Australia's Mark Philippoussis, attempted to bludgeon him to defeat last year and both were left limp and lumpish.

"To beat Roger you need to do a lot well," said Roddick, whose one victory came last year over three sets in Montreal. "He doesn't have any weaknesses, particularly when he is serving well." Federer has been likened to Sampras, 14 times a grand slam champion, seven times at Wimbledon. But here Roddick disagrees. "He has more spin on his shots and is a bit more patient but he's not on you all the time like Pete was. Having said that, you don't see Roger winning the first set many times and then struggling the rest of the way," said Roddick, who has a vivid memory of a missed forehand in last year's first-set tie-break in the semi-final that might have tipped the match his way, Federer winning 7-6, 6-3, 6-3.

As soon as Roddick reached No1, he found himself bracketed with his compatriots Sampras, Agassi, McEnroe and Jimmy Connors. "You just look at that list and they are legends of the game. I'm not in their class yet." And neither is Federer, although many believe he will be.

Federer refers to Roddick as "a good guy". For the moment they can afford to bestow praise on each other, although there was a touch of champion's steel in Federer's voice when he said: "I'm not scared of his serve. I read it well and he gets frustrated by this."

The top two seeds have not met in the men's Wimbledon final since McEnroe and Connors in 1982. Connors, the No2 seed, won in five sets. Roddick would settle for that.

Head to head

Federer leads Roddick 5-1

2001 Basle Federer 3-6 6-3 7-6

2002 Sydney Federer 7-6 6-4

2002 Basle Federer 7-6 6-1

2003 Wimbledon Federer 7-6 6-3 6-3

2003 Montreal Roddick 6-4 3-6 7-6

2003 Houston Federer 7-6 6-2