MELBOURNE (Sporting Alert) – Spanish star Rafael Nadal has a building confidence heading into today’s Australian Open final against Novak Djokovic and he’s happy to be in for another Grand Slam final.
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Nadal battled through a slight injury to setup another trophy game against World No. 1 ranked Djokovic and he’s happy to sit back and be the underdog again.
“He [Djokovic] is the favourite after being No. 1 in the world and after playing fantastic and beating me the last six times. So just happy to be there,” said Nadal.
“For me, the tournament is really, really good. Right now I going to try to play my best tennis and fight every ball knowing that is going to be a tough one.”
The pair have met 29 times with Nadal leading 16-13.
However, Djokovic will take a huge psychological advantage having won their previous six encounters.
Djokovic has also He’s also won 10 of their 15 meetings on hard courts surface, but he also admits that after tough semi-finals, it will come down to the man who can stay strong for the entire contest.
“There is no secret it is going to be physical again,” Djokovic said. “I will do my best to recover. I have a day and a half.
“I will try to get as much sleep and recovery program underway and hope for the best. I think that’s going to be crucial, you know, for me to recover and to be able to perform my best, because Rafa is fit.
“He’s been playing well. He had an extra day. He definitely wants to win this title.”
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