Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal has never lost in the French Open final. Getty Images

The 2014 Roland Garros is coming to a close as Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic battle it out for the ultimate prize at Court Philippe Chatrier, Paris, on Sunday.

Where to Watch Live

The play is scheduled to begin at 2pm BST. Live coverage is on ITV 1 and British Eurosport. Radio commentary, regular updates and live scores will be available on Roland Garros' official website.

Overview

Nadal stamped his place in the final of this year's French Open after easing past seventh seed Andy Murray in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1. The 13-time Grand Slam winner dismissed the 27-year-old Scot in 100 minutes on Friday to reach the ninth final of his career at this Grand Slam event.

The Spaniard has never lost in the final in Paris and has won 65 matches out of 66 at these clay courts, which has earned him the title 'King of Clay.'

Meanwhile, Djokovic needed four sets to progress against Ernests Gulbis in a match that lasted 154 minutes, into what is just his second career final at Roland Garros.

The world no 2 was facing a confident Latvian, who had stunned 17-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer, and sixth seed Tomas Berdych in the previous rounds.

The 27-year-old Serbian comfortably won the opening two sets, 6-3, 6-3, but was handed a 3-6 reversal in the third. However, the Serbian managed to keep his cool and edged out Gulbis, 6-3, in the fourth set to set up his tie against his arch-rival.

The French Open is the only place where Djokovic has never lifted the title but this is Nadal's happiest hunting ground. The 28-year-old has lifted the title eight times in the last nine years and given the history and the odds, the world no 1 is certain to emerge as the champion.

Nevertheless, given his form against Djokovic in this year's Masters finals (Miami and Rome), one could also expect the six-time Grand Slam winner to conjure the unimaginable and wrestle the title away from the Spaniard.

The pair are meeting for a record 42<sup>nd time in their careers and the Serbian has a chance to oust his rival to regain the no 1 spot for the first time since September 2013.

Head-to-Head

Nadal has a 22-19 lead over Djokovic in overall meetings. The duo have met 11 times in Grand Slam events where the Spaniard has a comfortable 8-3 lead.

However, in the last five matches, it is Djokovic who holds a 4-1 lead against Nadal.

Roland Garros History

Novak Djokovic
Can Novak Djokovic avenge his defeat in 2012? Reuters

Nadal and Djokovic have clashed five times in this Grand Slam event where the Spaniard remains unbeaten.

Their previous meeting in Paris took place in the final of 2012 edition, thrilling the crowd with a five-set marathon match lasting 277 minutes.

What They Say

Rafael Nadal: "Novak already has a lot of times positive results here. It's nothing new for him to be in the final. He has the motivation to win Roland Garros for the first time for sure. But at the same time, he has the pressure to win for the first time. I have the pressure that I want to win and the motivation that I want to win the ninth. So I don't see a big difference in that. I'm going to go on court with the same motivation as him. He beat me four times but he never beat me here. It's true that I prefer to be in a position that I beat the opponent that I'm gonna play four times than in the other position. Probably he will come to the match mentally a little bit better than me because he beat me in the last four. But at the same time, my feeling is I am doing things better and I am playing better again, so that's a positive feeling for me."

Novak Djokovic: "I don't know how much upper hand I have, really. You have to take in consideration the results that he had in Roland Garros and that I had in my career. I think there is no doubt that he is the favourite to win the title there. But, OK, I have been playing some good tennis ... Rome a few weeks ago against him in the final definitely gives me confidence and hopefully self-belief before our match. [On the] other hand, the physical challenge that we present to each other is a very important factor in our matches. I know that I'm going to be facing a player who plays every point [as] a match point; a great competitor. But I'm ready for it."

Route to Final

Rafael Nadal

  • First Round: 6-0, 6-3, 6-0 v Robby Ginepri
  • Second Round: 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 v Dominic Thiem
  • Third Round: 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 v Leonardo Mayer
  • Fourth Round: 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 v Dusan Lajovic
  • · Quarterfinals: 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, 6-1 v David Ferrer
  • Semi-final: 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 v Andy Murray

Novak Djokovic

  • First Round: 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 v Joao Sousa
  • Second Round: 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 v Jeremy Chardy
  • Third Round: 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-4 v Marin Cilic
  • Fourth Round: 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
  • Quarterfinal: 7-5, 7-6 (5), 6-4 v Milos Raonic
  • Semi-final: 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 v Ernests Gulbis
Novak Djokovic Rafael Nadal