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Novak Djokovic eyes his second US Open crown, while Roger Federer seeks No. 6 on Sunday

Novak Djokovic vs. Roger Federer for the 2015 US Open title. No. 1 vs. No. 2. It does not get more compelling than this.

As they prepare for their 42nd meeting, Federer leads the FedEx ATP Head2Head by the slimmest of margins - 21-20, while Djokovic owns a slight 16-14 edge on hard courts. In hard-court finals, they are deadlocked at six apiece. With Djokovic in the midst of a banner year on the ATP World Tour and Federer redefining his game at age 34, expect the unexpected on Sunday.

"Obviously we all know how consistent he is and how good he is in the latter stages of a Grand Slams and any other big tournament," Djokovic said of Federer. "He's always going to perform at a high level. Rarely he drops his level. He always makes you play your best. I know that he's also lately being very aggressive coming to the net, mixing up, and trying to shorten out the points. I think also he improved his speed. His defensive game is better than it was. Maybe healthier. Everybody is working hard to improve their game and give themselves highest level possible.

"In order to win a Grand Slam title I have to be on top of my game. So knowing that, coming to the court, of course it's going to be incentive to try hard."

Top seed Djokovic is eyeing his third Grand Slam title of the year, while Federer is bidding to return to the winners' circle on the major stage for the first time since Wimbledon 2012. The Swiss will be looking to hand the Serb his fifth defeat in six US Open finals, while claiming his sixth title in seven finals.

Federer says it will once again come down to a "straight shootout" and he compared his 41-match and 10-year long rivalry with Djokovic to those earlier in his career.

"Hewitt, Nalbandian, Agassi and Henman are guys I had trouble with at the beginning. I felt they made me better a player. Same with my generation coming up, Ferrero, Safin, Roddick and Hewitt. I was trying to hang on with them and trying to be that next wave of players making it to the top, and everyone made it to world No. 1 before me. I think that was very motivational for me. It made me a better player.

"I definitely think Rafa had a big effect, as well. I had to adjust and change so many things playing against him, preparing against him, thinking about it when I was practising. He's probably been the guy who challenged me the most with that.

"With Novak it's been more straightforward, in my opinion. That's what I like about the rivalry. I feel like he doesn't need to adjust his game as much either. I think it's just a straight shootout, and I think that's the cool thing about our rivalry. It's very athletic. We both can handle each other whatever we present to one another and I think our matches are very even."

Stars will align on Sunday as Djokovic and Federer take to Arthur Ashe Stadium at 4pm ET for the US Open title.

NEW YORK—“I think it’s just a straight shootout, and I think that’s the cool thing about our rivalry.”

That’s how world No. 2 Roger Federer described how he feels about playing world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, and it’s hard to argue with him. Since their first match in 2006, they’ve stood toe to toe on the baseline and let the best man win. And over the years, their rivalry has turned into the coolest—or at least the closest—in the men's game. With his win over Djokovic in the Cincinnati final last month, Federer broke a 20-20 tie in their head-to-head.

This matchup has also been pretty cool, and pretty close, at the U.S. Open. Federer beat Djokovic in the Serb’s first Grand Slam final in 2007, and smacked his most legendary tweener past him there two years later. But Djokovic turned the tables, in the most painful way possible, in 2010 and 2011, beating Federer in five sets after saving two match points both times.

With Rafael Nadal dropping out of their “trivalry” for the moment, the Djokovic-Federer battle has only escalated in frequency and import in recent years. They played six times in 2014, and they’ve already played five times in 2015; Djokovic won in Indian Wells, Rome, and at Wimbledon, Federer in Dubai and Cincy.

And as usual these days, each will come into this match in what appears to be peak form. Djokovic has dropped two sets over the fortnight, one to Roberto Bautista Agut and one to Feliciano Lopez, while Federer hasn’t dropped any. Each was especially good in the semifinals; Djokovic ground the defending champion, Marin Cilic, into dust, while Federer played circles around Stan Wawrinka.

Considering their form, and the historical tightness of their rivalry, it’s clear that either of them could win this match. Federer says there aren’t any new tricks they can show each other, but of course he knows that isn’t true. His running-start SABR return, which may have started as a joke and a gimmick, proved to be a valuable tactic against Wawrinka. It rattled his countryman just enough to get him out of rhythm and earn Federer an early break. Federer also used it successfully at least once against Djokovic in Cincy; we’ll see how much of an effect it has here. Djokovic wouldn’t comment on it after their last match, but his coach, Boris Becker, has said Federer would have faced “retribution” for it in his day. It would obviously serve Djokovic best to stay calm and not let Federer SABR-rattle him on Sunday. (For the record, I think the cheeky SABR is a fair play and a smart play, but that Federer shouldn’t be surprised if he finds a passing shot or two flying closer to his face when he does it.)
More important than the SABR itself may be the mindset it installs in Federer. Could it help him react more quickly to serves from a normal position? Djokovic’s serve, and Federer's inability to return it, has been the story of the last two Wimbledon finals; if Federer can make more inroads on Novak’s service games here, it would make a difference. Beyond the return, could success with the SABR make Federer more confident about being aggressive in general? Federer served and volleyed 17 times against Wawrinka, and won 22 of 28 points at the net. His volley looked as sturdy as it ever has.

But that brings up the most important point of all in this match: Djokovic is not Wawrinka, and Federer obviously knows this. Djokovic has a much better return, and is a much better defender, especially from the backhand side—he has killed Federer with his backhand pass in recent years. It’s unlikely that Federer will be able to approach this match with the easy aggression that he has shown against everyone else here.

It’s also unlikely that Federer will, as he did against Wawrinka, take an early lead and feel like he can run away with it in this match. At Wimbledon, Federer soared over Andy Murray in three sets in the semifinals, but when he had an early break against Djokovic in the final, he gave it back. He doesn’t have the same confidence in his superiority against Djokovic that he has against virtually all other opponents. But Federer may have a little more confidence now than he did at Wimbledon. There he was coming in after being thoroughly beaten by Djokovic in Rome; this time he comes in after a straight-set win over him in Cincinnati.

The quick conditions favored Federer in Cincinnati, but if Sunday's forecast holds and the weather is cool and overcast through the afternoon, the advantage may shift to Djokovic. Either way, as he did at Wimbledon and Cincy and everywhere else, Djokovic will have to take on the world in New York—the 23,000 people in Ashe Stadium are going to make a lot of noise in Federer’s favor today. They should be rewarded with, as Federer says, a shootout to remember.
Who will hit the target this time? Can Djokovic hold Federer and his faithful off again? I wouldn’t be surprised if he finally cracked, but I’m not going to bet against him.

Winner: Djokovic