What better way to close out the 2010 ATP season than with a matchup of the two greatest players in the sport? On Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer meet in London in the championship match of the ATP World Tour Finals. Here are 22 facts about the 22nd meeting between the two great champions:
1. This is the 22nd meeting between the players.
2. It will be the first match between Federer and Nadal in London since their epic 2008 Wimbledon final.
3. Nadal holds a 14-7 record overall in matches against Federer.
4. Nadal is 12-5 against Federer in finals. Of those 17 finals, 11 came on clay, with Nadal holding a 9-2 advantage.
5. Sunday will mark only the third match indoors for Federer and Nadal. Federer has won the previous two in straight sets.
6. Rafa is 10-2 against Federer on clay, which gives Federer a 5-4 record on all other surfaces.
7. In three-set matches, like Sunday's, Nadal is 6-4 against Federer.
8. Since 2004, no other man has ended the year at No. 1.
9. Nadal has won six of the last seven matches in the rivalry, with the only loss coming this year in the finals of Madrid.
10. After playing 13 times from 2006-2008, this will only be the fourth meeting between the two over the past two seasons.
11. Eighteen of the 22 matches have been in finals. They have played in three semifinals also. The only match Federer and Nadal have played outside of a final four was their first match, a second-rounder won by Nadal in Miami in 2004.
12. Federer and Nadal have each won three of their six meetings on hard courts.
13. Since 2003 Wimbledon, either Federer or Nadal has won 25 of the 30 Grand Slams.
14. The last time a man other than Federer or Nadal won the French Open or Wimbledon was in 2004 when Gaston Gaudio won the French.
15. Each of the pair's Grand Slam finals losses were to the other until Juan Martin Del Potro defeated Federer at the 2009 US Open.
16. The last time Federer or Nadal wasn't No. 1 in the rankings was on Feb. 1, 2004. Andy Roddick held the top spot.
17. At 24-years-old, Nadal is ahead of the pace set by Federer in Grand Slam wins and tournament wins. He's behind the pace set by Fed in terms of weeks at No. 1. Nadal has 70 weeks at No. 1 thus far, compared to 100 for Federer at the same point in his career.
18. Since the 2005 Australian Open, there's only been one Grand Slam finals that hasn't featured Federer or Nadal (2008 Australian Open).
19. Nadal hasn't taken a set off Federer indoors in their two previous meetings.
20. The shortest match the two have ever played (59 minutes) was on the hard courts of Shanghai in 2007.
21. The rivals will play back-to-back exhibition matches before Christmas, one in Federer's Switzerland,the other in Nadal's Spain.
22. Prediction: Nadal's tough match against Andy Murray on Saturday will benefit Federer, who cruised against Novak Djokovic. Rafa has showed some uncharacteristic fire this week in London, but our pick is Federer, who will hope to use this as a springboard to a more successful 2011 campaign.
Jaime Pressly Ashanti Jennie Finch Lisa Snowdon Mariah Carey
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