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Djokovic faces Murray with 2009 revenge in mind

Novak Djokovic is ready for another final against Andy Murray © Getty Images

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Novak Djokovic is anticipating a hard-fought encounter when he faces familiar foe Andy Murray in the final of the Sony Ericsson Open on Sunday.

Djokovic booked his place in the final after defeating Juan Monaco 6-0 7-6 in their semi-final on Friday, but is expecting an altogether tougher test against a player who will be well rested after receiving two walkovers already in the tournament.

Both players have won this tournament before; Djokovic in 2007, before Murray beat him 6-2 7-5 in the final three years ago. And the Serbian realises his opponent thrives on the hard-court conditions present at Crandon Park in Miami.

"Andy is a top player for many years already," Djokovic said. "He deserves to be up there. He's very consistent with his results. We all know his talent, his potential, and quality. He's dangerous on any surface.

"He likes the conditions here. He likes to play in the heat, as well, and has a good serve. We grew up together. We know each other really well."

Murray, meanwhile, is looking forward to implementing some of the tactical plans he has been working on with coach Ivan Lendl. Rafael Nadal's withdrawal on Friday prevented the Scot from testing his new approach for the Spaniard, but he revealed he has similar plans in store for Djokovic.

"Every time you play one of the top guys in the world, it's a good opportunity to see where your game's at," he said. "We worked on a lot of things to see if certain tactics would work against Rafa, Novak and Roger [Federer]. It would have been nice to see whether or not those things were working [on Friday]."

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