Are the stars aligning for another Federer-NadalFinal? Upsets rule women's draw

LONDON (Reuters) – On the 10th anniversary of the 2008 Wimbledon men’s final that is widely considered the “greatest ever tennis match” it seems like the stars may be aligning for Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to meet in another mesmerizing epic.

The pair are again the two best players in the world and have split the last six Grand Slam titles between them – taking their combined haul to an incredible 37 major titles.

But, most importantly, they are fit and healthy at the same time and showing signs that a blockbuster rematch might be on the cards come July 15 as they have both reached the fourth round at the grass-court championships without dropping a set.

So while tennis fans around the world start dreaming, hoping and longing that the two most successful players on planet tennis will renew their rivalry on the sport’s greatest stage, there is one person who is definitely not keen on the idea.

“If I am in the final, I prefer to face an easier opponent. I am not stupid,” said world No. 1 Nadal on Saturday to hoots of laughter from reporters.

Since reaching his fifth final at the All England Club seven years ago, it has not been a happy hunting ground for the 2008 and 2010 champion as he has failed to get past the fourth round.

The Spaniard has lost to players ranked 100 or lower in four of his five previous Wimbledon appearances as his patched up knees have struggled to cope with the constant bending required to handle the low bounce on the lush green lawns.

Whereas once he could hypnotize Federer into defeat – holding a 23-11 win-loss record including 8-2 in Grand Slam meetings contested up to 2016 – the Spaniard has lost four successive matches to his great rival over the past 18 months.

That run, which kicked off with Federer, who is now 36, winning a pulsating five-setter at last year’s Australian Open final, has allowed the eight-time Wimbledon champion to narrow Nadal’s head-to-head lead to 23-15.

But after hoisting the French Open trophy for a record 11th time less than four weeks ago, Nadal seems energized at the prospect of completing the Roland Garros-Wimbledon double for the third time in his career.

“For me it’s great to have all this great experience again, playing so well later in my career, having a great year last year, having a good year this year,” said the 32-year-old, who has been plagued by a series of knee, wrist and hip injuries.

He faces Czech Jiri Vesely in the fourth round and would rather not see his familiar Swiss foe, who next meets Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, across the net.

Meanwhile, on the women’s side of the event, even in her wildest dreams 11th seed Angelique Kerber could not have imagined that by the end of the first week, she would be the highest ranked player left in the top half of the women’s draw.

But after six days of destruction involving the women’s seeds, and with world No. 1 Simona Halep’s demise on Saturday to unseeded Su-Wei Hsieh, Kerber is favorite to reach the final from her section after a 6-2, 6-4 win over Japan’s Naomi Osaka.

The German’s win left her among only five of the top 16 seeds to reach the fourth round.

Despite emerging unscathed from the seeding carnage, Kerber refused to get carried away over the chances of emulating her run to the 2016 final when she was runner-up to Serena Williams.

“I have my eyes just on my way, on my days, my matches,” said the German, who faces Swiss Belinda Bencic on Monday.

Czech seventh seed Karolina Pliskova and 13th seed Julia Georges of Germany have survived from the bottom half, while Kerber, 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko and Russian 14th seed Daria Kasatkina complete the not-so-famous five.

Pliskova is the sole top 10 seeded survivor to make it into round four – a women’s record at any of the four majors since tennis turned professional in 1968.

The number of giant killers in the draw appears to be multiplying on a daily basis with Grand Slam champions of the caliber of Halep, defending champion Garbine Muguruza, Caroline Wozniacki, Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova all being felled in the first week.

Of the 32 seeds in the women’s draw, only seven remain.

But while the field remains open, one can’t help think of how a certain Serena Williams will react. The record 23-time Grand Slam champion, who has won the title at the All England Club seven times, is the 25th seed.

The 2016 champion, she returned to Wimbledon after skipping last year’s edition due to pregnancy. The 36-year-old had been rusty upon her return earlier this year, but had started to raise her level when she got back to playing in the Slams, hitting the ball well till she withdrew in the fourth round of the French Open.

At Wimbledon, she is still far from her best, but has been cruising through the opposition. Increasingly, it looks like an opportunity for Williams to get back to where she had left off on Wimbledon’s lawns. On TV: Wimbledon fourth-round action (live on Sport5 from 1:15 p.m.).