Federer aims for Wimbledon hat-trick

Defending champion Roger Federer will aim to match tennis legends Pete Sampras and Bjorn Borg today as he bids for a hat-trick of consecutive Wimbledon wins.

He faces second seed Andy Roddick, the American he beat in the final at the All England Club last year, on Centre Court.

Federer has won eight of the nine matches the pair have played.

Victory for the Swiss top seed will see him join Sampras, who won Wimbledon seven times, and Borg, who collected five crowns in a row, as a winner of three straight titles.

Federer said it would mean “something very special” to him to equal their record.

“Sampras was one of my favourite players,” the 23-year-old said. “To be in the same group as these two guys, that would be absolutely special to me.”

Roddick, 22, comes into the match having missed a day’s rest after only finishing a tough rain-delayed semi-final against Swedish Thomas Johansson yesterday.

But he said he hoped it would not make a difference.

“I’m excited to be in a Wimbledon final,” he said. “I’ll be fine. It’s going to be fun.”

Forecasters predict a cloudy afternoon with the possibility of rain.