• US Open

Nadal adamant he won't crack in US Open final

Rafael Nadal has his trademark steely determination back in his eyes ahead of the US Open final © PA Photos

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Rafael Nadal insists the player who displays the weaker mentality will walk away from the US Open a beaten man as he prepares for a showdown with world No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

Nadal is the defending champion but, in his own words, Djokovic is "obviously the favourite" for Monday's final at Flushing Meadows. The pair have met in five finals this season, all of which have been won by Djokovic.

The most significant victory came in the final at Wimbledon, after which Nadal berated himself for failing to respond in the big moments. He insists he will lose if he repeats those shortcomings in Monday's rematch, where he attempts to inflict only the third defeat of the year on Djokovic.

"This year I lost the last five matches against him, five finals. This will be the sixth," Nadal commented. "That's an advantage for him. He's obviously the favourite for the final, and I know I have to do something better than the other matches to try to change the situation.

"I have my game, and I beat him in the past playing my game. The thing is to play my game very well and be strong enough mentally all the time, fight every ball, believe in the victory in every moment. That's something that, for moments this year, I didn't.

"But just play aggressive, try to play a similar match to last year here. I saw that match a lot of times and I know what I have to do."

Nadal defeated Djokovic 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-2 in last year's final, and he holds 10 grand slam titles to the Serb's three. However, Djokovic is confident he can close that gap by winning his third of the year.

"I know that I have a game that is good enough to win against him," Djokovic said. "I have proved that this year on three different surfaces, so I believe that I have a good chance.

"I need to go out on the court believing I can win. But we're talking about a player who has won 10 majors already in his career and he's only 25. He's defending his title.

"I think last year throughout the whole tournament and in the final I have never seen him serve better. So I think again it depends on my serve and his serve, as well. It's going to be a tough match."

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