This will be Nadal's thirteenth encounter with the Swiss, having won all previous 12 matches against him since they first met in the third round of Australian Open in 2007.
Nadal moved to the final, beating world no.6 and 17-times Grand Slam winner Roger Federer in straight sets win on Friday. While Wawrinka ousted defending champion Djokovic in the quarters and moved to the finals after beating Berdych in a tough four sets match 6-3 6-7(1) 7-6(3) 7-6(4).
As for Wawrinka, the Swiss has never played in a men's final in a Grand Slam. He's faced Nadal just twice in a Grand Slam tournament and has been dominated in both, never winning more than three games in a set.
Thus, for Wawrinka, nothing will come easy when facing Nadal, but forcing close matches could be in his favour Though he has not won a single set against the Spaniard in his 12 career matches, the Swiss player has gone to a tiebreaker in three of the last four games between the two.
If Nadal wins the final, he will become only the third man in history of tennis to have have won 14 Grand Slam titles, after Pete Sampras and Roger Federer (though Federer has gone ahead and won three more Grand Slam titles). Nadal if wins will also become the first man in the open era, and just the third ever – after the legendary Rod Laver and Roy Emerson – to win each Grand Slam title twice.
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| Blistered hands of Nadal [Getty Images] |
Now what are the prospects of Nadal's winning? Well only a miracle can stop him from being crowned. However, it may be added that Nadal has horrible blisters on his hands which require extensive taping before each match. But despite this he puts his opponents through agonising pain and wears them down by driving his opponent into the corners of the court.
So if Wawrinka is to have any chance, he has to be the front-runner. A fast start is crucial, and he must win the first set.
Easier said than done. So let us watch the match on Sunday morning and see if Nadal can make history or Wawrinka stands in his way.
The final of the Australian Open (men's singles) is being played between Nadal - Wawrinka on 26 January 2014 at Approximately* 08:30 GMT at Rod Laver Arena
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