Bjorn Borg will be at Wimbledon on 8 July to see if Roger Federer can equal his modern-day record of five straight Wimbledon titles.
With the merest hint of a wry smile, Federer has the perfect answer as usual. 'I heard he's coming for the final weekend. I hope I'll be there, too.'
It would be the biggest shock in Wimbledon history if Federer was not at least contesting the final at the All England
Club, given his dominance the last four years and 48-match winning streak on grass.
The faintest glimmer of hope for his rivals came when groin and back injuries saw him pull out of his traditional grass-court warm-up event in Halle, which he has won each of the last four years before repeating the trick at Wimbledon.
But that was an understandable reaction following a tough clay-court campaign which resulted in a second French Open final defeat at the hands of Rafael Nadal, and the world number one is undoubtedly the man to beat when play gets under way - weather permitting - tomorrow.
'It was obviously a tough call not to play Halle because of the success I've had there,' admitted Federer, who has been at Wimbledon since last Saturday. 'If you're superstitious, you would think I have to play Halle again and everything. But I'm not that type of person.
'I have to look after my health first. I felt my back and my groin, and I didn't want to take a chance because the last two years (at Wimbledon) were already difficult enough after reaching the semi-finals and then final in Paris.
'Last year I went into Halle feeling a lot of pain, and then going through five consecutive matches, I was in a lot of pain at the end of the week. The week leading up to Wimbledon, I was so tired I could hardly practice.
'I just wanted to do it differently this time around and not take a chance so I'm really ready for Wimbledon. I'm confident it was the right decision.'
Federer is well aware that Borg walked away from tennis aged just 27, and the 25-year-old already has little left to prove.
But the Swiss star is motivated by the desire to join the all-time greats by completing his Grand Slam collection with a French Open title, surpassing Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slams, and even playing at Wimbledon in the London Olympics in 2012.
'It's always fantastic to be able to break records or match them, especially when it comes to Bjorn Borg,' added Federer, scheduled to begin the defence of his title on Centre Court against Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia tomorrow.
'I'm always very excited, because I think he was one of the most wonderful players we ever had in the game.
'It makes you wonder, my God, when he walks away at 27, you're like, "Such a pity". He could have played so much more. But, then again, he was such a good teenager. You would think, "okay, maybe he had enough of tennis".
'For me I always said loud and clearly my big goal is still to be coming back here in 2012, playing the Olympics here at Wimbledon. That is still a long way away. Then after that, we'll see where my health takes me.'
Borg has stated he will be happy to see Federer equal, and eventually surpass, his record, and the pair shared a memorable practice session in Dubai at the end of last year.
Federer explained: 'He was playing the Legends Rock Dubai, kind of an exhibition match against McEnroe. I arrived on the night they were playing. I was on the way to Shanghai, staying a few nights in Dubai.
'I thought "That may be the only opportunity to ever play with Bjorn." I needed to hit anyway so I asked somebody who knew Bjorn if he had time maybe that day or the next day.
'Right away he called me back, "No problem, I'm ready." I was so excited. We hit for about two hours. By the time we got to the courts, I was a bit late, about 10 minutes, he was already hitting with Mansour Bahrami. It was just incredible to see him play, then to hit with him was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed it.
'We were playing, the three of us. In the end we just played some points, two against one. God, I couldn't believe it.
When somebody like Bjorn speaks, people listen. It's nice to hear that he will be happy for me, tying the record.'
