Yet another pretender challenges the emperor146;s authority

Roger Federer has beaten Fernando Gonzalez on clay in Monte Carlo, Hamburg and at the French Open.

Roger Federer has beaten Fernando Gonzalez on clay in Monte Carlo, Hamburg and at the French Open. On grass at Wimbledon and carpet in Basel. And four times on hard courts. It adds up to nine times a victor in nine matches as Federer goes into Sunday8217;s final at the Australian Open a heavy favourite for his 10th win in a row over Gonzalez.

That makes him favourite for a more important 10 8212; the number of Grand Slam singles titles in his career, moving him to within four of Pete Sampras8217; leading total.

Federer said Saturday he8217;s wary of Gonzalez, who beat former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, No. 5 James Blake and No. 2 Rafael Nadal en route to the final. And the Chilean player8217;s semi-final win over Tommy Haas was so overpowering that Haas admitted all he could do was watch. 8220;I think it8217;s going to be a tough match,8221; said Federer, who has nine majors from 10 finals.

8220;Usually when you play against Fernando, you always know it8217;s going to be dangerous because he8217;s got the ability to suddenly steamroll. He8217;s been very consistent, very impressive.8221; Gonzalez, who had never advanced beyond the quarter finals in 23 previous Grand Slams, gives a similar assessment of his game.

8220;I8217;ve never beaten him, I don8217;t have an advantage with Roger. But in tennis, you always have a new opportunity.8221; Federer believes 10th-seeded Gonzalez will relish a center court appearance in such an important match. 8220;I think he8217;s a player that loves a big stage,8221; said Federer. The Swiss star, playing in his seventh consecutive Grand Slam final, tying a record set by Jack Crawford in 1934, has come up against an unexpected finalist before 8212; last year here against Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus.

8220;I8217;m surprised to see Fernando in the finals, not anything against him, but I thought that like a Nikolay Davydenko or Nadal would have come through in the end,8221; Federer said. 8220;I thought Marcos was never going to make the final, and I ended up playing against a player that I8217;m a huge favourite. This time around maybe I8217;m not that big a favourite 8230; but I8217;m used to all situations.8221;

Gonzalez has improved in the past year under new coach Larry Stefanki. Gonzalez8217;s already strong forehand has become more potent, his backhand is no longer exploited, and he has become more patient with his shotmaking. 8220;I8217;ve worked a lot on my net game,8221; said Gonzalez. 8220;I can go in, I can slice. I can do all the things that I never did before.8221; Federer, who is on a 30-match winning streak on hard courts, has noticed. 8220;I could already see it coming last year, he was starting to play better and better,8221; said Federer.

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8220;More patient from the baseline 8230; a bit more smart, whereas in the beginning he was just coming out and swinging on everything.8221; 8220;He8217;s the No. 1 player in the world by far,8221; says the 26-year-old Chilean. 8220; I8217;m going to give everything that I have.8221;

Head-to-head analysis

Federer leads the career head-to-head against Gonzalez 9-0:

Clay 8211; Hamburg 2004, Monte Carlo 2005, 2006, French Open 2005.

Grass 8211; Wimbledon 2005.

Synthetic 8211; Indian Wells 2004, Canada 2006, Madrid 2006, Basle 2006.

8226; In nine matches and a total of 24 sets against the Swiss maestro, Gonzalez has managed to win a mere two sets.

8226; Federer is also ahead on the tie-break head-to-head, winning three as compared to the Chilean8217;s one.

8226; The Australian Open final will be the third summit clash between the two, the world number one having won on both previous occasions 8212; at Madrid and Basle in 2006.