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It's the moment tennis fans have been waiting for. After a 13 day concoction consisting of the highs of victory and the lows of defeat, the 2012 Australian Open is geared up for an enthralling climax as the top two players in the world, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, clash for the prestigious Norman Brookes Challenge Cup on the hallowed Rod Laver Arena on Sunday evening. The players will become the first pair in the Open Era to face each other in three consecutive championship matches and quite unsurprisingly, the big question doing the rounds is: will Novak Djokovic overcome his respiratory problems to win his third Australian Open crown or will the 2009 champion Rafael Nadal dethrone him and add an 11th slam to his already glittering collection?

(Click here for the Match Report)

The defending champion Djokovic has had an interesting passage to the final. Djokovic began the tournament from where he left off last year, dominating his opposition from the word go. After demolishing his opponents in the first three rounds, he finally showed signs of being a mortal by losing his first set of the tournament in a Round 4 match against Aussie veteran Lleyton Hewitt. His next match, the quarter-final against David Ferrer, did see him gasping for breath in between but he eventually came through that one in straight sets.

The win over Ferrer was followed by the epic 5 sets semi-final win over Andy Murray. After looking down and out, quite literally, at 2 sets to 1 down, 'Nole' managed to bulldoze his way back into the match and took it 7-5 in the fifth. He is looking to join an elite three member group (Roger Federer, Andre Agassi and Mats Wilander) of players in the open era who have won 3 or more Australian Opens.

In contrast, the World No.2 Nadal started his campaign on a rather sedate note but gradually raised the 'belligerent' bar as the tournament progressed. He won his first four rounds comfortably without moving beyond second gear. Then, in his quarter-final against former Wimbledon semi-finalist Tomas Berdych, Nadal was down a set and faced a set point against him in the second set tie-break. In hindsight, that was the final opening for the Czech in the match as Nadal came back strongly to wrap the tie in 4 sets and set up a mouth watering semi-final against old rival Roger Federer.

The semi-final didn't quite live up to the high standards expected from the two heavyweights but it was nevertheless engaging and in relevant parts, exhilarating. The Spaniard displayed his trademark fighting spirit and produced winners from unimaginable corners of the tennis court to beat Federer for the 8th consecutive time in major competitions. On Sunday evening Nadal, at 25 years and 240 days, will be eager to become the second youngest man ever after the legendary Bjorn Borg to capture 11 major trophies.

The buzzword heading into the final seems to be fitness especially for Djokovic who has had to face some severe breathing problems during the course of his last two matches. His stamina, against which there was a question mark at the start of his professional career, seems to be eluding him yet again. Novak thinks he might be having an allergic reaction to the flowers in the Arena, which may be affecting his breathing, but knows he has no option but to gring and bear it for now.

The Serbian was quick to acknowledge that fact in the press conference after his semi-final win over Murray, "That's going to be my main priority and concern the next day and a half, to physically be able to perform my best and be ready to play five sets. There is no secret it is going to be physical again."

His opponent though, thankfully for his fans, has had no such fitness issues. With a style that invariably takes a huge physical toll on the body, in the Spaniard's case, a painful niggle always seems around the corner. Though he has played the tournament with a strapping on his left knee, there have been no signs of danger and his fluidity on court hasn't been affected at all, a case in point being the semi-final against Federer.

If we glean over their past record, Nadal holds a 16-13 advantage but crucially, Djokovic has won the last six encounters all of which took place in his breakthrough year 2011. Nadal's topspin forehands and his serve have served him well in the early phase of their rivalry but it is the Serbian's double handed backhand which has nullified the Spaniard's forehand and caused him a lot of trouble in their recent encounters. Add to that a booming forehand and a solid serve and what you get it is the perfect 'champion material'.

Though Nadal has the invaluable experience of playing in 14 previous slam finals and emerging triumphant in 10 of them, a 100 percent fit Novak Djokovic will have to be given the clear edge to lift his 5th Major trophy.

Prediction: Novak Djokovic to win in 4 sets.

File Photograph Copyright: Dubai Open