Novak Djokovic
Alabama vs LSU
Ali vs Frazier
North Carolina vs Duke
Number 1 vs Number 2
It doesn’t happen all that often, but when it does, it’s special. And Sunday at the Western & Southern Open, that’s what we’ll see when World Number 1 and top seed Roger Federer will play World Number 2 and second seed Novak Djokovic for the men’s championship.
Sunday’s final is the first time since the ATP World Tour Rankings began in 1973 that the top two ranked players in the world will meet at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in the finals.
Just to give you a little history on the matchup, it’s the eighth final featuring the top two seeds in the Open Era at the W&S Open. The last time it happened her was in 1999 when top seed Pete Sampras defeated second seed Pat Rafter.
Federer is looking for his fifth Western & Southern title—if he wins one for the thumb, it’ll be a record at the tournament. In contrast, Djokovic is in his fourth W&S Open final, but has yet to take home the trophy.
With Federer in the final, he’s assured he will keep his Number 1 ranking into the US Open, and Monday will start his record 292nd week at the top of the men’s rankings. For Djokovic, he’s looking for his second straight tournament title, having won last week in Toronto.
On the women’s side, ninth seeded Li Na will face fifth seeded Angelique Kerber. Li leads Kerber in head to head matches 4-1, but they’ve split their two meetings so far in 2012. Both advanced to the finals in tough three-set matches.
In doubles, the women’s final features Katarina Srebotnik and Jie Zheng against Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka. Men’s final is Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna facing Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecau.