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- Dubai 04:31 05:49 12:21 15:48 18:47 20:05
Rafael Nadal of Spain lies on the ground during a training session at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London on Saturday. (REUTERS)
Rafa Nadal has the perfect stage to regain the bragging rights over Novak Djokovic when the world’s top two contest the Wimbledon singles final on Centre Court on Sunday.
The Spaniard will wake up on Monday morning ranked below Djokovic for the first time after the Serb’s surge to No.1 in the charts, but that will not concern Nadal if he wins his third Wimbledon title and takes his major haul to 11.
Defending champion Nadal is on a 20-match winning streak at the championships, stretching back to 2008 and only interrupted by his absence in 2009 through injury.
He was in devastating form to beat Britain’s Andy Murray in the semifinals while Djokovic, looking to win the Wimbledon crown for the first time, beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a win that confirmed his elevation to No.1.
Djokovic trails Nadal 16-11 in head-to-heads and has never beaten the Mallorcan spin king in Grand Slam play, although he will be confident after winning four consecutive finals against his rival this year.
“It’s just simply something I’ve dreamed of forever,” Djokovic said of the final.
“I am very much looking forward to it, very excited. There is no bigger challenge at this point in our sport than playing in Wimbledon final against Nadal.”
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