MATTHEW LAMBERT looks back at the match that defined the careers of two supreme athletes and raised the bar for an entire sport - The Rafa Nadal vs Roger Federer Wimbledon final of 2008.

Eleven years after the greatest Wimbledon final of all time, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer went face to face on Centre Court once again. Relive all the action with JAMES DUTTON.

MARTIN SAMUEL AT WIMBLEDON: For Federer to best an opponent - and an 18-time Grand Slam winner - on such a fast, exacting, demanding surface at his age, is superhuman.

MIKE DICKSON AT WIMBLEDON: Federer, an unlikely 37, will face Novak Djokovic after an astonishing display which saw him just about hold his nerve in a crunching climax at the end.

Roger Federer has made the Wimbledon final after beating rival Rafael Nadal in a magnificent match in the latest chapter of their historic rivalry today.

Djokovic, the reigning champion and world No 1, has eased through to his sixth SW19 showpiece and victory over eight-time winner Federer would give him his 16th grand-slam title.

Following his win over Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer was serenaded by his children with a rendition of 'Happy Birthday' - even though he is still nearly four weeks from becoming 38.

JOHN LLOYD - ANALYSIS: I would not be at all surprised if Sunday's final goes to five sets, as there is so little separating Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, the first and second seeds.

While he will play no part in the final at the All England Club, Nick Kyrgios sent social media into a frenzy hours before the match as he pleaded for a Roger Federer victory.

The House of Commons speaker entertained the crowd with his animated expressions while Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic battle to win this year's Wimbledon.

Novak Djokovic overcame Roger Federer in an epic five-set contest to win his fifth Wimbledon. The defending champion retained his crowd (6-7, 6-1, 6-7, 6-4, 12-13) on Centre Court.

KIERAN GILL ON CENTRE COURT: Novak Djokovic described Sunday's Wimbledon epic as the most mentally-exhausting match of his career.

MATTHEW LAMBERT ON CENTRE COURT: In the midst of it all, after the most excruciating defeat of his career, Roger Federer cracked a joke.

MIKE DICKSON ON CENTRE COURT: Novak Djokovic broke the resolve of Roger Federer and the hearts of the Centre Court crowd as he battled his way to a fifth Wimbledon title.

Savannah, 47, took to Instagram during the men's Wimbledon final on Sunday to share a photo of herself wearing a baseball cap with Roger's initials, prompting her husband to tease her.

Federer and Nadal have been outspoken critics of the direction in which the tour has been taken over the last year with their great on-court rival Novak Djokovic as council president.

Roger Federer suffered a shock loss to Russian qualifier Andrey Rublev in the third round of the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati.

Ragged Roger Federer recovered from dropping the first set of his US Open campaign to squeeze past Indian qualifier Sumit Nagal. Federer made 19 unforced errors during the opening set in New York.

Roger Federer's stuttering start at the US Open continued as he suffered a second scare in as many rounds before beating Damir Dzumhur 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the third round.

MIKE DICKSON IN NEW YORK: The British No 2 was good enough to take advantage of an error-strewn performance from Pouille to come through 6-4, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4 over a steaming hot lunchtime.

The Vogue editor-in-chief, 69, appeared on day five of the US Open Friday. She attended Federer's match against Great Britain's Dan Evans.

MIKE DICKSON IN NEW YORK: If Dan Evans thought he had it hard against the suddenly revitalised Roger Federer then it was even worse for unfortunate Belgian No 1 David Goffin.

MIKE DICKSON AT FLUSHING MEADOWS: Roger Federer may have fancied his chances of taking another Grand Slam title - but then along came the player known as Baby Fed.

The Vogue editor-in-chief, 69, cheered Federer on as he was defeated by Bulargia's Grigor Dimitrov on Tuesday. She wore a red and black polka dot dress with heeled sandals and sunglasses.

MIKE DICKSON IN NEW YORK: Two days before another dramatic US Open exit, Roger Federer was talking up the chances of him being competitive in the Grand Slams into his forties.

Nadal won his 19th major title in dramatic fashion after holding off a remarkable comeback from Russian Daniil Medvedev in Sunday's US Open final - he is now one off Roger Federer's record.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has told club members of his plan to host the event as he looks to smash the sport's attendance record.

MIKE DICKSON IN GENEVA: Roger Federer admitted on Thursday that he and Rafael Nadal have not discussed the Spaniard breathing down his neck in the Grand Slam race.

MIKE DICKSON IN GENEVA: Not even a ticking off from Federer and Nadal could save Fabio Fognini from an embarrassing defeat that levelled up the opening stages of the Laver Cup.

MIKE DICKSON IN GENEVA: Nick Kyrgios's ability to challenge the world's best three players forced Roger Federer to dig deep in order to avoid defeat in front of his adoring public.

Roger Federer has won his hometown Swiss Indoors title for the 10th time by emphatically beating Alex de Minaur 6-2, 6-2 in Basel. The Swiss' first appearance in the tournament was in 2000.

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer have been drawn in the same group for the ATP Finals in London. The pair will do battle in the Bjorn Borg group at the O2 Arena.

Roger Federer got his ATP Finals campaign back on track with a straight-sets win over Matteo Berrettini at London's 02. The 38-year-old was beaten in his opening round-robin match by Dominic Thiem,

MIKE DICKSON AT THE O2 ARENA: Perhaps nothing will ever make up for Wimbledon this summer, but on Thursday, Roger Federer got some consolation by beating Novak Djokovic.

On Saturday afternoon, following his remarkable takedown of Novak Djokovic on Thursday night, he will play in the last four of the ATP Finals before another adoring crowd at the 02 Arena.

Roger Federer won his last Grand Slam in January 2018 when he claimed his sixth Australian Open but the Swiss has won seven ATP titles since then, taking his career tally to 103.

Roger Federer is to become the first living Swiss to have a coin minted in their honour, with a commemorative 20 franc (£16) silver piece bearing his image being issued in January.

Last week Greta Thunberg retweeted a post calling the tennis player out on the sponsorship. Federer then released a statement this weekend saying he takes the threat of climate change very seriously.

Italian chef Andrea Tranchero, who's based in Sydney, has dished out the five ingredients every household should avoid, including ketchup, frozen vegetables and margarine.

Tennis star Roger Federer and his wife Mirka have donated one million Swiss Francs (£862,000) to 'vulnerable families in Switzerland' due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The actor is the latest A-lister to unveil a fragrance but his unusual perfume comes with a cannabis top note. He explains why.

The Swiss icon won in Australia again this year, becoming the first man to reach the milestone of 20 Grand Slam singles titles and has reclaimed the world No 1 spot at the age of 36.

The actress and model, 26, put on a daring display as she posed topless on her balcony, using a black fedora hat and her hands to protect her modesty for a photoshoot on Wednesday.

The smog has blown over from a huge fire at Gospers Mountain in the Hawkesbury region. The Rural Fire Service is controlling the fire, which covers more than 160,000 hectares.

Roger Federer is reportedly 'set to become tennis' first billionaire' in 2020 and only the fourth sportsperson ever to accumulate that level of wealth.

There is plenty of British interest on the second day at Wimbledon - and Sportsmail is here to bring you all the action once again. JAMES DUTTON keeps you up to date.

It's another exciting day of action at Wimbledon - and Sportsmail is once again on hand to guide you through everything. Day four includes the likes of Rafael Nadal, Jo Konta and Andy Murray!

Chrissy Teigen cordially invited her 28.8 million Instagram followers to join the nuptials of their eldest's beloved stuffed animals, promising a 'special performance' by John Legend.'

A few days ago, Rebel Wilson had been lazing on board a luxury yacht, being gently rocked by ocean waves. 

Ali Fedotowsky and fiance Kevin Manno were all set to say 'I do' in Mexico but sadly had to scrap those plans.