Or will Djokovic have enough energy left in the tank after playing four days in succession at the rain-ravaged claycourt grand slam to become the first man in nearly 50 years to hold all four majors at once?
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The duo have faced each other a staggering 33 times in ATP Tennis history, with Djokovic winning 23 of those encounters.
Novak Djokovic consoles Andy Murray after his three set victory in the men’s final during day nine of the Madrid Open on May 08.
– Murray becomes the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win a Grand Slam singles title with a four-hour, 54-minute win.
Andy Murray has developed his arsenal on clay to an extent that he could upstage Novak Djokovic, bidding for a first French Open to become just the eighth man to complete the career Grand Slam.
Murray, who rated Friday’s four-set win as one of his best matches on clay, is meanwhile hoping the conditions on the day may provide him with an edge.
On Saturday Novak did present a flawless performance to crush the mounting star Dominic Thiem 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 in the semi finals.
Murray, who ended Britain’s 77-year wait for a male Wimbledon champion, said: “I have lost five finals in Melbourne while he is playing his fourth final here and is still chasing the title”.
But Murray is ready to stop Djokovic’s run, eager to win his first ever championship at Roland Garros.
For a bedraggled French Open, it sure did spit out two consequential finals. “‘ ‘I don’t know if he’s going to be able to keep this up, so to me he has got his best shot”. There is no doubt that Djokovic has more experience at the French Open, but with the pressure to win the last remaining Grand Slam, it is anyone’s final.
This will be the seventh meeting between Murray and Djokovic in a Grand Slam final, a record bettered in the Open era only by Roger Federer and Nadal, who met eight times.
Last year’s five-set loss to Djokovic in the semi-finals was another sign that Murray was now the real deal on clay.
“There are not many tennis players that have come out of the United Kingdom and played well on the clay”, he said.
The joke going round Roland Garros as the tournament has progressed is that after what was the wettest May in Paris since records began, maybe it’s no surprise that a Scot should find himself in the final.
However, from the start against Djokovic tomorrow he is trying to make the size of everything that is at stake for the Serb as daunting as possible.
“When he’s at his best, he can beat anybody”, said Wawrinka.
“There’s not many players that do that now because, you know, before obviously three of the slams were played on grass, and now they’re on the different surfaces”. When you look back at the end of your career, I think it’s nice to have had someone you have shared a lot of those same moments with.
“There’s a lot riding on the match for both of us”. He has dropped just one set in six matches to the final.
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Both finalists turned 29 last month and have known each other since junior days – but Djokovic has taken a firm grip on their personal duel in recent years, winning 12 of their last 14 matches.
