Nadal believes Djokovic will have psychological edge over him

Rafael Nadal believes Serbia has psychological advantage in today's summit clash having beaten the Spaniard in their last four final meetings

Nadal believes Djokovic will have psychological edge over him

Rafael Nadal believes Serbia has psychological advantage in today's summit clash having beaten the Spaniard in their last four final meetingsu00a0

Rafael Nadal fears Novak Djokovic has a psychological advantage heading into today's Wimbledon final. It will be a fifth appearance in the final for Nadal and a first for Djokovic, but momentum is with the Serbian if their recent matches are to have any bearing on the outcome.

Novak Djokovic

The Spaniard stressed he is not worried about where he stands in the pantheon of great champions, just whether he finishes first or second in what promises to be an exceptional title battle. Nadal has come off second best in the four matches he and Djokovic have contested this season, all of them when a trophy was at stake.

He is troubled by that sequence, given he is not used to losing on big occasions, as a Grand Slam record of 10 titles from 12 finals demonstrates. And despite slaying Andy Murray in impressive style in the semi-finals, Nadal has good reason to consider Djokovic an altogether greater obstacle. "His mental position over me today is probably a little bit better because he won the last four finals against me," Nadal said.

Rafael Nadal

"We will see what happens on Sunday. I have to play aggressively. I have to play with intensity, with rhythm."
The defeats to Djokovic this year, coming on hard courts at Indian Wells and Miami, and on Nadal's precious clay in Madrid and Rome, have been hard to bear. But being on the receiving end has allowed Nadal to assess a player who will rise above him to become the world number one on Monday.

Nadal said: "In my opinion his total game is really complete; good serve, very good movement, his eyes are very fast and he can go inside the court very easily playing very difficult shots. "In my opinion his biggest ability is take the ball very early. Roger (Federer) does it very well too. That's something very difficult, and they do it very easily."

There is always danger in wanting something too much, and Djokovic has left no doubt over what success today would mean. Asked if it would be his greatest achievement, he replied: "Yes, because it's Wimbledon. It's just simply something I've dreamed of forever."

But he knows defending champion Nadal will not give up his title lightly. "Physically we all know that he's superior and he's the strongest player around, the most prepared. So I'm ready for long rallies, long points. The four times I won against him this year can probably help me in some ways mentally prior to this match," Djokovic said.

Nadal meanwhile, possesses 10 Grand Slam titles, six short of Federer's all-time record. But he's not thinking about 16. "Number 16? I think about the number 10. That's what I have at home. That's what I see back home in my bedroom. Sixteen is very far away."

Road to Wimbledon final...
Rafael Nadal
S/F: beat Andy Murray 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 6-4;
Q/F: beat Mardy Fish 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
Pre-Q/F: beat JM del Potro 7-6 3-6 7-6 6-4;
Rd 3: beat Gilles M ller 7-6, 7-6, 6-0;
Rd 2: beat Ryan Sweeting 6-3, 6-2, 6-4;
Rd 1: Michael Russel 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.

Novak Djokovic
S/F: beat J-W Tsonga 6-7, 2-6, 7-6, 3-6; Q/F: beat Bernard Tomic 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 5-7; Pre-Q/F: beat Michael Llodra 3-6, 3-6, 3-6; Rd 3: beat M Baghdatis 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6; Rd 2: beat Kevin Anderson 3-6, 4-6, 2-6;
Rd 1: beat Jeremy Chardy 4-6, 1-6, 1-6