It is one of the greatest rivalries in the history of Sport as Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer make their final preparations ahead of their 44th meeting at the O2 Arena.
The rivalry between the two players began at the 2006 Monte Carlo Masters where Federer won in three sets. Throughout the rivalry, they have played against each other in 19 tournament finals, which include 4 Grand Slam finals. Currently Federer leads the head-to-head 21-22, which includes his win over the world No.1 earlier in the week.
The route to the final has been a lot smoother for Federer compared to his Serbian opponent. The 34-year-old has reached the final of the year-end championship without losing a match, dropping just one set against Kei Nishikori. It is the tenth time in Federer’s career that he has reached the final of the tournament. The ATP World Tour finals in one of four tournaments where the Swiss has reached at least ten finals. The other three are Wimbledon (10), Halle (10) and the Swiss Indoors (12). Shortly after his semi-final win over Stan Wawrinka, the 34-year-old spoke of his confidence ahead of his latest final.
Djokovic’s route to the final has been more problematic after suffering his fourth loss of the year to Federer. Despite the loss, the top seed reached the final after three wins, including his hugely impressive semi-final performance against Rafael Nadal. The showdown against Federer will be his 15th consecutive final of the year, which is an Open Era record. The previous best was Guillermo Vilas who reached 13 finals in 1977. The Serbian could also make more history if he defeats Federer. The defending champion will be seeking his fourth consecutive ATP Finals title, an accomplishment that has never been achieved before. As history looms, Djokovic spoke about his upcoming clash.
“I’ve lost against Roger three times this year. When he’s on, it’s hard to play him”. Djokovic admitted.
“ I think he also like playing me because he has a variety in his game with the slice, he comes to the net, It takes away the time from me, so forth. We always play matches with a lot of tension. There is a lot at stake. I know I have to be on top in order to win against him”.
Meeting No.44 will be the eighth clash between the two this year with Djokovic leading the head-to-head 4-3. The stand out thing about their 2015 encounters is that in the most prestigious finals, Djokovic has come out triumphant. In both Grand Slam finals Djokovic won (Wimbledon and the US Open) as well as two Masters titles. Meanwhile, Federer got his revenge at the Dubai Open and the Cincinnati Masters (Federer has won Cincinnati 7 times in his career) before his victory this week in London.
It can be at times difficult to distinguish between the two tennis greats. The edge, however slightly goes in Djokovic’s favor after a sensational year. Despite some fears about his below-par form earlier this week, he returned to his best yesterday with a sublime performance against Rafael Nadal. The form he produced was a clear explanation of why he has won 10 titles this season, including a record breaking six Masters titles. It will not be easy for Djokovic against the Swiss player, but it is expected that the Serbian will end his year by making more history.
