Fed's warning to umpire on Nadal's antics

Jul 6 2008 By Gavin Berry

ROGER FEDERER has urged umpire Pascal Maria to keep a close eye on Rafa Nadal's time-wasting tactics in today's Wimbledon showdown.

The two best players in the world go head to head for the third consecutive time in the All England Club final.

And Swiss star Fed - chasing a record sixth straight title - has turned up the heat ahead of the mouthwatering clash.

Nadal takes his time in between points which earned a warning when he crushed Federer towin the French Open.

The Spaniard was also given a code violation for time-wasting at Roland Garros against Novak Djokovic.

Fed insists his rival is getting better after their early meetings left him irritated.

But the world No.1 reckons Nadal's antics are borderline and knows he can get away with it because umpires don't penalise him points.

So he has called on Frenchman Maria, taking charge of his first final at SW19, to take a firm stance.

Defending champ Federer said: "I've played Rafa plenty of times where he took his time.

"It's a fine line because he takes 20 seconds before he gets into position to serve.

"Then it's another 10 or 15 seconds until he serves. It's a tricky situation and the unfortunate part is the umpire will always give a warning but never a point penalty.

"I'm not saying Rafa abuses it but he never feels the heat that much. It was irritating the first five or six times we played when I felt he was being so slow.

"He has speeded up a bit since those days when I didn't think he was playing fair.

"He still plays slow but it's not as bad. It's on the edge and up to the umpire to decide. I don't think I win or lose a match because he takes five seconds extra at every point though."

With many critics latching on to Federer's so-called drop in standards he admitted just getting through the early rounds was his priority.

After overcoming that initial test of character the 26-year-old insists the final is real pressure - and he'll just be glad when it's over regardless of who wins.

Fed said: "In the beginning I was just focusing on getting through because there's quite a bit of talk going on.

"I was defending champion and didn't want to go down in the first couple of rounds.

"There was pressure but you're playing a guy not likely to upset you so this is different because now it's crunch time.

"I'm facing the second best player in the world who has the chance to beat you on any day.

"It's make or break and can put you under pressure and make you more nervous.

"But I've been in this situation many times so it's not a lot different as I'm playing well.

"It's just a huge relief when the final is over - no matter how it goes - because the pressure is finally gone."