Andy Murray played the clay-court match of his life to reach the French Open final but the 29-year-old Scot may have to produce an even greater performance if he is to end Britain's 80-year wait for a male singles champion at Roland Garros.
Given the publicity over allegations of match-fixing in recent months one hesitates to mention bookmakers' odds, but Novak Djokovic's price going into his fourth final here is a fair reflection of how most of the tennis world expects the match to go. The world No 1, who has won 12 of his last 14 matches against Murray, is the 3-1 on favourite to secure the victory which would see him become only the eighth man in history to win all four Grand Slam titles.
Murray, nevertheless, will take great encouragement from his memorable semi-final victory over Stan Wawrinka. The world No 2's tactical approach will be different, but if he can maintain the same focus and desire that helped to bring down the defending champion he knows that he will have a chance.
“When I have played my best tennis, it has been to try to make every point really tough and long, and extend the rallies as much as I can, and not give anything for free,” Murray said. “Because the best players, when you do get free games, it's nice. The more you can make any of the top players work, the better, and I will try to do that at the beginning of the match.”
He added: “It's really my job to make it as difficult as possible for him so that hopefully he has a few doubts, which all athletes get, at different stages.”
Much is at stake for both men. This is the only Grand Slam tournament where Murray had not previously made the final. If he wins he will become only the second British man to win the title here, Fred Perry having triumphed in 1935 and 1936.
It could be argued, however, that Djokovic is under even more pressure. The 29-year-old Serb is aiming to become only the third man ever to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time following Donald Budge and Rod Laver. This will also be his fourth attempt to complete his Grand Slam collection by winning here; if he fails again he would be the first man ever to lose his first four French Open finals. He has been beaten in three of the last four finals at Roland Garros -twice to Rafael Nadal and once to Stan Wawrinka.
Djokovic's record in Grand Slam finals, nevertheless, is formidable. The world No 1, who will be playing in his sixth consecutive Grand Slam final, has won 11 of his 19 finals. Murray has won just two of his nine.
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. Djokovic has won 12 of his last 14 matches against Murray and four of their six meetings in Grand Slam finals.
Djokovic has won all four of their meetings in Australian Open finals, while Murray won at the US Open in 2012 and at Wimbledon the following year.
Djokovic has come out on top in four of their five meetings on clay, but Murray won the most recent, in last month's Rome Masters final, having lost to the Serb in the previous weekend's final at the Madrid Masters.
Despite his clear advantage in their head-to-head record, Djokovic said he thought it gave him only a minor psychological advantage. “He's playing in great form,” Djokovic said. “We haven''t played at Roland Garros too many times. We played I think last year in five sets. I remember that match very well.”
He added: “Andy's one of the most dedicated tennis players on the tour. He always seeks to improve his game and get better, which I do, too. He's a fighter. He has improved so much on the clay court over the years. This season is a great example of that.”
Murray cherishes their rivalry, which goes back to their first encounter in an under-12s tournament in the south of France. Although he has lost 23 of their 33 meetings, Murray stressed that he had also won some big matches against the Serb.
“I beat him in the Wimbledon final and the final of the US Open and at the Olympics,” Murray said. “I've lost some tough matches against him, in Australia especially. But elsewhere it's been OK. 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.
“Not all of them have gone my way obviously. But I remember most of my matches against Novak, more than I do against others, because they have been most of the biggest matches for me: Australian Open finals, Wimbledon final, Olympics, US Opens, here last year in the semis. We've played a lot of big matches and it will be the same again on Sunday.”
Murray might take encouragement from the history of the eight previous finals here in the Open era between the world No 1 and No 2, the latter having won six of them. The last time that the world's two highest-ranked players met in a Grand Slam final when neither player had won that title was here in 1984, when Ivan Lendl, the No 2, beat John McEnroe.
Djokovic has dropped only one set en route to the final while Murray has dropped six and has been on court for five hours more. Only 12 days ago Murray recovered from two sets down to beat Radek Stepanek in his opening match, after which he said the victory could be one of the most important in his career.
“Having played these events before, I know how you can feel at the beginning and how you can end up playing at the end of it,” Murray said. “It can work both ways. Sometimes you play great at the start and it doesn't always finish that way.
“I knew that was going to be an important match for me and it's already turned out to be a huge one to have got through. To be in the first French final after the way I was playing 10 days or so ago is a big change.”
It is also a remarkable turnaround given that clay always used to be Murray's most challenging surface. “I didn't necessarily expect to be in this position a couple of years ago,” he said. “But from last year, the belief that it was possible was there. I was pretty close last year.”
He added: “There aren't many tennis players that have come out of the UK and played well on the clay. The decision I made to go to Spain when I was 15 to train for a couple of years - I'm not saying that's necessarily the reason that I'm here today, but if I hadn't done that, I wouldn't have got that base that I gained when I was over there. That has made a big difference. It was a big decision in my career to do that.”
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“I remember most of my matches against Novak, more than I do against others, because they have been most of the biggest matches for me” – The Independent