Novak Djokovic previews the title match in the ATP World Tour Finals against Rafael Nadal, whom he will meet for a record 39th time. Nadal leads their head-to-head matches 22-16, but Djokovic won their last meeting in the final of Beijing. However, Nadal beat Djokovic three times this summer at Roland Garros, Montreal, and the U.S. Open. Djokovic won their first meeting of the year at Monte Carlo.
Djokovic has won 21 straight matches since losing the U.S. Open final to Nadal.
“I'm trying to take a lot of positive energy out of this confidence and out of this run that I had,” Djokovic said. “I won against him in the finals of Beijing in straight sets and I played a great match. I liked the way I improved in our matches. I like that I changed a few things that allowed me to win against him. That's something that I will definitely try to use [in the final].
“He has immensely improved on hard court. Comparing to all the other surfaces in our sport, this is probably his least preferable, but not this year. This year he has had incredible success. He's more aggressive. He's using his serve better. No clear favorites in the final tomorrow. It's always expected that we go the distance …Whenever we play each other, especially in last few years, there is a lot on the line, and there's so much to play for. It's a huge motivation for both of us to win against the biggest rival. It's very tense. We push each other to the limit.”