Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash believes Rafael Nadal is vulnerable to a grand slam choke as Roger Federer eyes the ultimate climax to his milestone 100th Australian Open match.
Nadal's charge to his first major final since winning the 2014 French Open has many tipping the Spaniard will land his 15th grand slam title and draw to within two of Federer's record 17 on Sunday night.
Cash, though, believes the baseline warrior is susceptible to an attacking onslaught from the revitalised Federer, who hasn't beaten his great rival at a major in almost 10 years.
Cash said Nadal's frailties were exposed during his sapping five-set semi-final win over Grigor Dimitrov.
"Under pressure, Rafa's not playing too good," the two-time Open finalist told AAP on Saturday.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
"He's choking on serve returns; always (hitting) really short and just misses returns.
"Last night, he had break points but just missed second-serve returns. Like, come on.
"He gets tight under pressure now."
Cash said while Federer and others like Dimitrov with single-handed backhands historically struggled to cope with Nadal's ferocious, high-spinning forehands, the faster Melbourne Park courts this year would definitely favour Federer.
"The ball doesn't bounce that high this year," said Cash, who also believes Federer's freshness after a six-month layoff and improved game plan give the 35-year-old a huge chance to end his run of outs against Nadal.
"The only thing is Rafa's got him in the head. For me, that's the only question mark.
"When he plays Roger, he just plays out of his mind. He improves 20 per cent.
"So I'm intrigued to see if he can do that again. That would be unbelievable."
Such is the enormity of their 35th career encounter, Open officials will open up Margaret Court Arena in an unprecedented move and telecast the final on a big screen inside the 7500-seat stadium.
"I understand the magnitude of the match," Federer said.
"It's the epic battle with Rafa. All I care about is that I can win on Sunday. Doesn't matter who's across the net."
