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When Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal enter Court Philippe Chatrier to settle the Roland Garros championship on Sunday, their 42nd meeting will be laden with historical significance.

For the second time, the World No. 1 mantle will hinge on the victor of a major final. In July 2011, the Serb no. 1ascended to the top position in the Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time after defeating his Spanish counterpart for the Wimbledon title. He will be looking to wrestle the top spot from Nadal once again, reclaiming the throne that he had previously held for 101 weeks, including a pair of year-end No. 1 finishes in 2011 and 2012.

Brain Game: 10 Keys To The Roland Garros Final

Should Nadal win his ninth Roland Garros crown, however, the top seed will retain the No. 1 ranking, extending his current 35-week reign (138 weeks overall) since advancing to the China Open final late last year. The three-time year-end World No. 1 (2008, ‘10, ‘13) is in his third stint as the top dog in men’s tennis.

WEEKS AT NO. 1 IN EMIRATES ATP RANKINGS

Player
Total Weeks
Roger Federer 302
Pete Sampras 286
Ivan Lendl 270
Jimmy Connors 268
John McEnroe 170
Rafael Nadal 138
Bjorn Borg 109
Andre Agassi 101
Novak Djokovic 101
Lleyton Hewitt 80
Djokovic, who carries a four-match win streak over Nadal into the final, is seeking to complete his Grand Slam trophy collection with a Roland Garros title that has long eluded him. The Serb would join an elite and quite exclusive ‘Career Slam’ club that includes five members of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, as well as Nadal and Roger Federer.

“I have been playing some good tennis,” said Djokovic. “The win in Rome a few weeks ago against him (Nadal) in the final definitely gives me confidence and hopefully self belief before the final…I know that I'm going to be facing a player who plays every point as a match point, a great competitor. He's a great fighter and I know that it's going to be a physically very demanding match. But I'm ready for it.”

Eight-time champion Nadal is looking to add to his own burgeoning collection by clinching his 14th major title, which would pull him level with Pete Sampras for second all time. He would become the first man in history to win nine titles at any Grand Slam event, and the first to claim five successive crowns at Roland Garros.

“I have the pressure that I want to win and the motivation that I want to win the ninth,” Nadal said. “I'm going to go on court with the same motivation as him (Djokovic). I don't know if the same pressure than him. Probably we are in different situations. What's going to make the real impact is the player who will be playing better. It's true that he defeated me four times in a row. This will have an impact, but I hope it will not be too big of an impact.”

Djokovic has won eight of nine sets against Nadal since their battle at the 2013 US Open, but Nadal owns a 13-4 clay-court record against the Serb and leads the overall FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 22-19.

Here's a closer look at their 2014 Roland Garros stats:

NADAL (1) CATEGORY DJOKOVIC (2)
4 Aces 30
5 Double Faults 10
67% 1st Serve Percentage 66%
75% 1st Serve Points Won 73%
63% 2nd Serve Points Won 59%
8 Broken 12
31 Break Points Faced 36
76 Games Served 93
89% Service Games Held 87%
122 mph Fastest Serve 127 mph
51% 1st Return Points Won 32%
61% 2nd Return Points Won 62%
45 Breaks Of Serve 37
69 (65%) Break Points (Pct. Converted) 74 (50%)
77 Return Games Played 90
58% Return Games Won 41%
81 Forehand Winners 73
51 Forehand Unforced Errors 64
22 Backhand Winners 56
51 Backhand Unforced Errors 73
133 Winners 189
109 Unforced Errors 148
63/79 (80%) Net Points Won (Pct.) 62/95 (65%)
61% Baseline Points Won 57%
40 Games Lost 66
1 Sets Lost 2
11:51 Time On Court 12:58