Roger Federer has a tough battle with former finalist David Nalbandian in the third round of Wimbledon.
It's a fascinating battle between the six-time champion and the 2002 Wimbledon finalist. Nalbandian had his only shot to date at Grand Slam glory at the All England Club, losing to Lleyton Hewitt eight years ago but he's never been past the quarters since then.
Injuries continue to plague Nalbandian these days and he returned earlier this month after a four month absence from the tour. However he's looked fairly sharp so far, securing reasonably straightforward victories over Julian Reister and Andreas Haider-Maurer.
Nalbandian has actually had plenty of success against Federer in the past and early on in their careers he was a real bogeyman for the Swiss. Federer lost their first five matches, not beating him until the 2003 Masters Cup.
"With his game he was more successful earlier just because I still had some work to do, some figuring out how I was really going to play," Federer recalled. "I used to panic and run to the net against him because I felt I couldn't hang with him from the baseline. That just made it difficult for me to play against him early on."
However Federer has turned it around since then, winning ten of their last thirteen matches, most recently in the Basel final three years ago.
"Later on I really started to enjoy the challenge against him because he's one of the cleanest ball strikers in the game. His backhand is obviously, you know, a shot like almost no other on tour. All the players admire that shot especially," Federer said.
"I'm looking forward to the match. I think it's a wonderful third round. I wish I could have had an easier one maybe, but I know the danger against him. He can prove his point. If he's weaker or stronger than three years ago or eight years ago, we'll find out."
Federer's serve is the cornerstone of his success on grass while Nalbandian is one of the best returners out there, particularly at exploiting the second serve.
It should be an intriguing battle but look for Federer to go through in four.