Take the world No.1, add the second-best player on the planet, give them Centre Court men's finals day as a stage, and the odds are they will serve up a classic.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic and seven-time winner Roger Federer duly delivered at Wimbledon 2015.
It was not the cliffhanger that the pair had conjured over five sets 12 months previously but as Djokovic claimed his third Championships 7-6(1), 6-7(10), 6-4, 6-3 nobody was complaining.
As The Guardian reported, it was a case of “the world’s best player wearing down the world’s favourite player” in four minutes short of three hours.
The amazing rivalry between Djokovic and Federer was to see them meet in seven finals in 2015. The Serb had only lost three matches going into The Championships and was the form player.
His Swiss opponent, however, had seen off Andy Murray in straight sets in the semi-finals and was also playing to his peak. Federer was out of the traps first, only to find himself pegged back with Djokovic saving a set point and triggering the tie-break with an ace.
Federer’s poise under pressure deserted him and Djokovic won the tie-break at a canter, moving into a 6-1 lead and then watching his opponent double fault.
He was better on the big points. He was rock solid. I didn’t play badly, but that’s how it goes
The two men slogged their way through the second set and the inevitability of another tie-break once Djokovic had wasted a set point with an over-hit forehand. That set the scene for an extraordinary 30 minutes of high quality and drama.
Djokovic seemed to have the set in his pocket as he led 6-3 but Federer clawed his way back to take the tie-break with a backhand winner leaving Djokovic shaking his head in disbelief. His response was to up a gear, winning the third set, which was disrupted by a rain break.
When a Federer supporter in the crowd shouted out as Djokovic was serving in the fourth set, the Serb yelled back and, fired-up, promptly won six straight points before firing a Championships-clinching forehand into the far corner.
As he had done after his previous victory, he picked a blade of grass to chew on as celebration.
“It tasted very, very good this year”, he said.
Federer, gracious in defeat, summed it up in a nutshell.
“He was better on the big points. He was rock solid. I didn’t play badly, but that’s how it goes.”
