Everyone Wants Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal Wimbledon Final Again: Martina Navratilova

A Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal final at Wimbledon is a possibility this month and it's what majority of tennis fans would like to see, according to former women's No. 1 Martina Navratilova.

Federer and Nadal both clashed in the 2008 final and served up a classic as the latter would finally break a run of two consecutive Wimbledon final losses to his rival and emerge victorious in a pulsating 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7 victory.

In what was a back-and-forth encounter between two of the best players, arguably playing in their prime at the time, Nadal's win that day is still regarded today as the greatest tennis match of all time. However, they have not met at Wimbledon since, with Nadal failing to go past the fourth round of the competition for the past six years, albeit injury was mostly to blame.

But with both players experiencing career resurgences since the start of last year, Navratilova believes an encounter between the duo could realistically happen this month — and it would remarkably be 10 years on from their last meeting in the final.

"They’re phenomenal and have such sophisticated training methods to know exactly what they need to maintain that physicality to be No1 and No2 in the world," Navratilova wrote in a recent column. "Right now, that looks the realistic final. Roger’s game on grass looks great and, as for Rafa, I know he’s not made it past the fourth round here for the past six years, but this year I think it’s different."

"Like last year, there’s an extra week to recover from the rigours of the French Open — and you can see how much it took out of Rafa in winning an 11th title in Paris. Also, he dropped just one set throughout the Roland Garros fortnight, so there’s every chance — despite the fact he missed Queen’s on medical grounds — it’s actually taken less out of him than usual. But added to that, the courts this year suit Rafa more than ever. With the dry weather England has been having, there is extra bounce on the court, which plays to his strengths."

Federer comfortably defeated Dusan Lajovic 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 in his opening round match on Monday while Nadal begins his campaign at SW19 against Israel's Dudi Sela on Tuesday.

The likes of Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic will also play on Tuesday and while Navratilova pinpointed the pair as the likeliest to upset Nadal and Federer, she believes everyone knows which final they would like to watch in just under two weeks' time.

"In truth, we all want that Roger-Rafa final," she added. "It’s hard to compare the best matches of all time but, what I would say, is that the 2008 Wimbledon final had everything. Even the match point was on a knife-edge. Had Rafa not won that then, they might have gone off for bad light. How great it would be to see them again battling it out in the final 10 years on."

Wimbledon began Monday and will go on until July 15 when the men's singles final will be played.