LONDON, June 25, 2006 (AFP) - Rafael Nadal has declared himself fit and ready for his bid to stop Roger Federer's drive towards a fourth straight Wimbledon title. The Spaniard, who has beaten Federer in six of their seven meetings, saw his preparations for this year's tournament disrupted when a shoulder injury forced him to pull out of the warm-up event at Queen's. But on the eve of the tournament, Nadal reported that he was playing without pain and happy with the way the rest of his build-up had gone. "I feel like I have been getting better every day and I'm happy with my level," he said. Nadal goes into the tournament fresh from extending his unbeaten run on clay to a phenomenal 60 matches with his French Open final victory over Federer. But he recognises that he still has some work to do if he is to match the quality of his Swiss rival's display on the lawns at the All England club. "My confidence is good, but I know it is important to become a more complete player because we have one of the best tournaments in the world on grass." And despite the psychological edge he appears to enjoy over Federer on other surfaces, Nadal believes the defending champion has earned his status as the world number one. "He is the best in the world now, for sure," Nadal acknowledged. "I've never seen such a complete player, he can play unbelievable on every surface." Federer has been as dominant on grass over the last couple of seasons as Nadal has become on clay. Victory in his first round clash on Monday over young Frenchman Richard Gasquet would see him surpass Bjorn Borg's record of 41 consecutive victories on the surface. But those who harbour serious hopes of stopping him from making it four titles in a row -- and that is a very short list -- may have taken some encouragement from the fact that he was below his best as he warmed up for Wimbledon at Halle in Germany, where he nevertheless won for a fourth consecutive year. Federer has also been handed a tricky draw. Gasquet is a fine grass court performer who has returned to form in the run-up to Wimbledon, successfully defending his Nottingham Open title, and is one of the few men who can boast of a victory over Federer having beaten him at Monte Carlos last year. Provided he survives that test, Federer could be in line for a meeting with home favourite Tim Henman, four times a semi-finalist here but unseeded this year. Barring an early upset however, it is hard to see who is going to stop the defending champion. Andy Roddick, who has been comprehensively outclassed in the last two finals by the Swiss, has not been in the best of form of late and fourth seed David Nalbandian is nursing a niggling stomach muscle problem. In contrast, Australia's Lleyton Hewitt looks to be back to something close to the kind of form that brought him the title here in 2002 after winning at Queen's for a record-equalling fourth time. "It is kind of tough to look beyond Roger, he's a big, big favouite," said Hewitt. "But I always say there are a couple of guys who can give him a game and I'll be hoping to get that chance." Hewitt would have to reach the final to be granted his wish. After missing the last two years here through injury, Andre Agassi confirmed on Saturday that this would be his last appearance at the All England club and every match he plays is likely to be an emotionally-charged affair for one of the greatest players -- and showmen -- ever to grace the famous lawns. Agassi, who opens up against Serbian Boris Pashanski and could face Nadal in the third round, can scarcely believe that 14 years have flown past since he won the first of his eight Grand Slam titles here in 1992. "It is like when your child goes off to college," he reflected. "You say 'what the heck happened in all these years?'"
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