Almost two weeks after Wimbledon started, and surprise, surprise, we have the third successive final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Few people who know anything about tennis would have expected anything else as the world’s top two players came through their respective semi-final matches in straight sets.

Neither player has really been stretched during the tournament – Federer has yet to lose a set, whereas Nadal has dropped just one, in the second round against up-and-comer Ernests Gulbis. However, Nadal has faced tougher opposition.

Before the tournament began, I outlined why Federer would win Wimbledon, and as we prepare for the final on Sunday, I remain confident that he will succeed against his greatest rival.

Nadal has impressed me again, and the more I see him the more he proves how great a player he has become. He may still struggle on the hard courts, but I think it’s now safe to say he is becoming one of the better grass-court players on the ATP tour, and fully deserves his place at the top of the ATP race.

Both men faced a tie-break in their semi-finals, but came through unscathed, and Sunday’s match is gearing up to be another absolute classic.

Nadal has improved his game exponentially, while Federer’s ability to find a winner from anywhere on the court continues to amaze anybody who has seen him play.

Nadal’s contest against Rainer Schuettler lasted just over two hours, and Nadal admitted it probably wasn’t his best match at Wimbledon, particularly in the second and third sets which he won to 3 on the tie-break and to 4 in the final set. But he's promised to play his best on Sunday, and who would doubt him with the opportunity to finally topple Federer on his favourite court in the world?

After taking Federer to five sets last year, many are expecting Nadal to push him even more, and Federer will have to be on his game, and ensure he wins the big points to come out on top.

Serves are also going to be immensely important: Nadal has his wicked left-handed slice serve which has the ability to cause everyone problems if they even come back, while Federer’s first serve has improved and is now just under 130mph - although his huge-kicking second serve could play into Nadal’s hands with the high bounce suiting the Spaniard’s natural game.

Federer hit twice as many aces as Nadal in his semi-final against Marat Safin, winning 77 per cent of points on his first serve, facing just two break points, compared to Nadal’s 82 per cent and being broken in the second set.

Talk still rumbles on about the final of the French Open at Roland Garros, and Nadal’s comprehensive win over Federer there and how much of an impact that will have on this final; but this isn’t clay, it’s grass. Federer remains the favourite.

Despite how well Nadal has played over the last two weeks, Federer has continued to play better and has barely looked uncomfortable, while Nadal has wobbled in at least one set in every round. But he will take comfort from knowing he is a better player than last year, and has a realistic chance of overhauling Federer as world No.1 before the year is out, if he can defeat him this week and go on to play well on the hard court season in north America.

I really can’t wait for Sunday afternoon to come round, and hopefully the world’s best two players will give us another match that we can look back on for years to come as one of the greatest and most important contests in the history of men’s tennis. Both men deserve to be champion for their own reasons, and it’s a great shame that only one of them can take that honour. At 22, Nadal's day as Wimbledon champion will come - but not this year.