By Art Spander
Special to NewsdayWIMBLEDON, England -- Twenty-four hours separate Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic from the top of the men's tennis rankings. The Wimbledon final Sunday separates them from the trophy of the sport's oldest tournament.
Nadal will be ranked No. 1 until Monday, when Djokovic, who has won 47 of the 48 matches he played this year -- four against Nadal -- moves to the top.
That's almost incidental compared with who takes the 145th All England Lawn Championship.
Nadal has been the winner the last two times he played Wimbledon, 2008 and 2010, missing in 2009 because of knee problems. For Djokovic, it's uncharted territory, the reason Nadal is slightly favored.
"It's quite different playing Nadal in a Grand Slam,'' Djokovic, the 24-year-old Serb said Saturday, "because it's best of five. So physically, we all know that he's superior, and he's the strongest player around, most prepared.
"I need to be physically ready, which I am. The four times I won against him
this year [in finals of regular tournaments] can probably help me in some ways mentally prior to this match.''
Nadal, 25, the lefty Spaniard, has 10 major singles titles, including this
year's French Open, which he took a sixth time. Nadal also will be appearing in a fifth Wimbledon final, in modern tennis done only by Bjorn Borg, Roger
Federer and John McEnroe.
Djokovic has won two Grand Slam events, the Australian Open, this year and in 2008. He lost twice in the final of the U.S. Open at Flushing Meadows, in 2010 to Nadal, in 2007 to Federer.
"His mental position over me is probably a little bit better because he won the last four finals against me,'' Nadal said of Djokovic. "I have to play
aggressive. I have to play with intensity, with rhythm. That's what I'm going to try.''
He had both Friday, defeating fourth-ranked Andy Murray in one semifinal, and "crushing'' -- the word in one tabloid headline -- Britain's hopes of a first
men's title in 75 years.
In the other semi, Djokovic defeated 12th-ranked Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a
Frenchman with a facial resemblance to Muhammad Ali.
Overall, Nadal is 16-11 against Djokovic, but he has lost their four matches in
2011, all in finals, at Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Rome.
"I have always believed I can win against the best players in the world in the
biggest tournaments,'' Djokovic said. "For a couple of years, I was losing most of the matches against Nadal and Federer in the major events. Now I feel that I can win against those guys in big events.''
He will find out Sunday if that feeling becomes reality.
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Novak Djokovic,