On Sunday night in prime time, World Number One and defending champion, Novak Djokovic will take on Rafael Nadal in the Men’s Singles final at the 2012 Australian Open.  Djokovic is coming off a nearly five hour five set marathon win over Andy Murray while Nadal had a thrilling semifinal victory over Roger Federer.  Djokovic and Nadal have played twenty-nine times with Rafa leading 16-13 in match wins overall.  However, the most telling statistic is that Djokovic beat Nadal in six straight finals in 2011 including at Wimbledon and at the U.S. Open and it’s been more than a year since Rafa beat Nole at the 2010 ATP World Tour Finals indoors in London.  There are definitely some strategic and technical aspects that each player needs to do in order to win, but as with the Federer-Nadal matches, this final will be mostly about what’s between the ears and whether Rafa believes (again) that he can and will beat Nole… but regardless, the winner will be the player who executes aggressively more frequently, especially in the baseline rallies.  Djokovic will be playing for his third Australian Open title and fifth Grand Slam title, while Nadal will be aiming to win his second Australian Open crown and eleventh Grand Slam singles title.

We present our analysis of the players below:

                       Novak Djokovic                    Rafael Nadal

Form               Playing well                            Better and better

Fitness            Struggling with breathing        Seems fit for the final

Experience      Two-time champion                Has won here before

Pressure          Now he’s the “hunted”            Has lost 6 straight times to Nole

Intangible        Has he recovered from semis   Has he “solved” Djokovic