Rafael Nadal may have had a case when complaining about his demotion in the Wimbledon seedings, but as it turned out the formula used to decide the top seeds at the All England Club proved correct.
No 1 faces No 2 in Sunday's final when Novak Djokovic - top seed, defending champion and the most dominant player of recent years - takes on Roger Federer, this tournament's greatest ever male player.
There is little doubt as to where the crowd's loyalties will lie.
Federer may arguably be the greatest player of all time, but he is undoubtedly the most popular. Djokovic, on the other hand, does not receive the same universal adulation as his rival. Unquestionably another "GOAT" (Greatest Of All Time) contender, but Djokovic is received more with respect than the love afforded to Federer and Nadal.
Fortunately for the 32-year-old Serb, Wimbledon is not a popularity contest. If it was, he wouldn't have even got through his semi-final against the unheralded Roberto Bautista Agut.
He certainly did not endear himself to the Centre Court crowd when he sarcastically reacted in response to the eruption of cheers when Batista Agut won the second set.
"Look, I focus on what I need to do," four-time Wimbledon champion Djokovic said. "At times they wanted him to come back into the match, maybe take a lead because he was an underdog.
"I understand that. But I had enough support here over the years, so I don't complain."
He better be ready to play the pantomime villain once again, because outside of Serbia and the Djokovic family, few onlookers - both inside the stadium and watching on TV - will want to see the world No 1 deny Federer a record-extending ninth Wimbledon title. It could quite possibly be his last, too.
In a career filled with records and milestones, 37-year-old Federer could add another by becoming the oldest player to win a men's grand slam singles title, 16 years after clinching the first of his unprecedented 20 major trophies on the same court.
Recent history does not favour the Swiss, though. While Djokovic may edge their 13-year long head-to-head 25-22 (9–6 in grand slams), the Serb has dominated in more recent years: he has won 14 of their past 20 matches and eight of the past 10, including their past four meetings at the majors. Not since the 2012 Wimbledon semi-finals has Federer tasted victory over Djokovic at one of the four grand slams.
Yet Federer will enter the final with plenty of optimism. He has won his 100th, 101st and 102nd titles this year, and has looked typically menacing at Wimbledon. His win over Nadal, in particular, showed a player firing on all cylinders and while the Spaniard was uncharacteristically wasteful at times, Federer was there to capitalise.
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The past 15 Federer v Djokovic grand slam meetings
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2007 Australian Open fourth round: Roger Federer beat Novak Djokovic in straight sets on his way to winning the 2007 Australian Open for the third time and his 10th grand slam title overall. The Swiss won the opening major of the year without dropping a set. AFP -
2007 US Open final: Djokovic began his first grand slam final strongly, breaking Federer in the 11th game of the first set. With Djokovic serving for the set, Federer saved five set points to come back and claim the first set in a tiebreak. Federer claimed the second set via a tiebreak and the Swiss closed out the match in the 10th game of the third set by breaking Djokovic's serve to win in straight sets. AFP -
2008 Australian Open semi-finals: Djokovic registered his first win over the Swiss at a grand slam to reach the Australian Open final in straight sets. It was the first time in nearly four years that someone defeated Federer in straight sets at a major. Djokovic would go on to win the first of his seven Melbourne titles with victory over Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final. AFP -
2008 US Open semi-finals: Federer beat the Serb in a four-set semi-final at Flushing Meadows on his way to winning a fifth straight US Open title. AFP -
2009 US Open semi-finals: A match best remembered for an outrageous between-the-legs shot to set up match point against Djokovic. Federer won in straight sets but would go on to lose the final to Juan Martin del Potro. AFP -
2010 US Open semi-finals: A meeting between Federer and Djokovic at Flushing Meadows was now something of a permanent fixture as they met in the final four for a third-straight year. However, the tide was turned in the Federer-Djokovic rivalry in the latter’s favour. The Serb saved two match points to defeat Federer in a five-set thriller to reach his first US Open final, although he would lose to Rafael Nadal. AFP -
2011 Australian Open semi-finals: Despite winning in straight sets, Djokovic took three hours to put Federer away 7-6. 7-6. 6-4. Djokovic would go on to beat Andy Murray in the Melbourne Park final. AFP -
2011 French Open semi-finals: Djokovic entered the match on the back of a 43-game win streak but was unable to get the better of Federer, who won 7-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 to advance to his fifth Roland Garros final before losing to Rafael Nadal. AFP -
2011 US Open semi-finals: Another five-set thriller in which Federer gained the upper hand in the opening exchanges before being reeled in by his Serb opponent. Djokovic’s 6-7, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 victory saw him advance to the final where he would beat another great rival, Nadal, in four sets to clinch his first US Open title. AFP -
2012 French Open semi-finals: Djokovic advanced to his first French Open final with a straight-sets victory over Federer to even up their clay-court record to 3-3. He would lose to Nadal in the final. AFP -
2012 Wimbledon semi-finals: Federer secured a place in an eighth Wimbledon final by overcoming Djokovic 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the semi-finals. With the win, Federer also became the first player to defeat Djokovic at all four grand slams. AFP -
2014 Wimbledon final: The first Wimbledon final played between the two. Djokovic prevailed in an epic duel lasting three hours and 56 minutes to clinch his second title at the All England Club. AFP -
2015 Wimbledon final: Defending champion Djokovic saw off seven-time champion Roger Federer in four sets to win his third Wimbledon crown and ninth grand slam title, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3. AFP -
2015 US Open final: Djokovic showed why he was now widely considered the best men’s player on the planet with an exemplary display to beat Federer 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in another thrilling final. AFP -
2016 Australian Open semi-finals: The last time the two met in a grand slam was in Melbourne Park where Djokovic easily won the first two sets but Federer rallied to win the third. Djokovic, however, broke Federer in the eighth game of the fourth set and then held to win the match and move on to the final. AFP -
2019 Wimbledon final: Novak Djokovic survived two match points to successfully defend his Wimbledon title, shattering Roger Federer's bid to become the oldest grand slam champion in the longest final ever played at the tournament. Reuters
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"It's been a rock solid year for me. I won in Halle [on grass on the eve of Wimbledon]. The stars are aligned right now," he said. "From that standpoint I can go into the match very confident."
Federer will take solace from the fact Djokovic is yet to be severely tested at Wimbledon. While the Swiss has faced - and dismantled - the 17th-seeded Matteo Berrettini and eighth seed Kei Nishikori prior to facing Nadal, the highest-ranked player Djokovic played was 21st seed David Goffin.
However, no player can raise their game quite like Djokovic, who will be fully prepared for the challenge posed by Federer.
"With Federer, we all know how good he is anywhere, but especially here. This surface complements his game very well," said Djokovic ahead of the pair's 16th grand slam meeting and 20th in a tour-level final.
"He loves to play very fast. Takes away the time from his opponent. Just doesn't give you any of the same looks."
As is so often the case when these two titans clash, Federer is expecting Sunday's final to be decided by the finest of margins.
"It comes down to who is better on the day, who is in a better mental place, who has got more energy left, who is tougher when it really comes to the crunch," he said. "In tennis, there is always somebody who is going to be a little bit better because there are no draws in our sport."
