PREVIEW: Nadal pride, Djokovic confidence on line in men's final

Jan 28, 2012, 5:01 GMT

Melbourne - Novak Djokovic will tread carefully against Rafael Nadal in their Sunday Australian Open final despite the fact that the Serb has defeated the Spaniard in their last six matches - all finals and all last season.

In fact, the top pair in the world will be facing off for the title in their third consecutive Grand Slam, with Nadal now seeking to avoid becoming the first man to lose three in a row at the highest level in the game.

Number one Djokovic, meanwhile, has been playing and winning with breathing problems which he attributes to 'flowers' in Melbourne, but is confident of his chances after winning 10 titles including three of the four majors in a runaway 2011 campaign.

'I know that physically I need to be fit,' said the top seed after spending almost five hours in defeating Andy Murray in their five-set semi-final. 'Maybe I have a mental edge because I've won six finals we played in 2011, I've had lots of success against him. 'On the other hand, it's a new year, it's a new challenge, it's a different situation.'

With his fitness concerns always on the back burner, Djokovic has been concentrating on recovery after winning his Murray marathon. Nadal will go into the contest after two days off following his defeat of Roger Federer.

'(Fitness) will be my main priority, to physically be able to perform my best and be ready to play five sets,' said Djokovic, the 2008 and 2011 Melbourne winner. 'If I am able to do that, then I can believe that I can win.'

The Serb said his emergence onto the main stage after years of standing behind Federer and Nadal is a good thing for the sport.

'I think more candidates to win the major titles; whereas maybe three, four years ago it was only Roger and Rafa. It was only two, and now we have four (including Murray).

'There are more players that are really believing they can win against the top four. But it's an incredible effort. It takes a lot of effort for top four to be here where we are.'

Nadal has not won a title of any kind since lifting his sixth French Open last June over Federer.

'I'm in the final of another Grand Slam, the fourth in a row,' said the 25-year-old who confessed that he broke down in tears in his hotel room when a freak knee injury before his first match looked to have derailed his tournament.

He is aware of the power of Djokovic, who won Wimbledon and the US Open at his expense. 'My opponent is the best player of the world today, so that's why I played the last few finals against him.

'He will always a really tough match for me. He's the favourite after being number one and after playing fantastic and beating me the last six times. I'm just so happy to be there.

'I'm going to try to play my best tennis and fight every ball knowing that is going to be a tough one.'

Nadal changed racquet weight in the off-season and has spent the month getting used to his new stick. 'I'm trying to play a little bit more aggressive and hit more winners. I need time to play with this aggressive plan during all the match.'

Keeping expectations low, he added: 'Probably I need few more months and tournaments. I am happy with how I'm doing, but I don't know if it's going to be enough against him.

'I need to play a little bit better, in my opinion, to have chances, but I am happy about how I am doing. I think I'm in the right way to compete against the top players of the world.

'This is another big, big test. I don't know if I am ready to win the match, but I believe that I can do it and I going to fight for it.'