French Open Tennis 2012 Finals: Rafa Nadal's Record-Breaking Win Won't Come Easy

Rafael Nadal may have cruised through the 2012 French Open so far, but he'll need to be at his best on Sunday to have a chance against the rival that he knows all too well, Novak Djokovic.

Nadal is just one win away from notching his seventh French Open championship, which would break the record that he currently shares with legend Bjorn Borg. 

Need I mention that he's only lost at the French Open once, in 2009? 

But Nadal won't be the only player on the clay court just short of making history. Djokovic can become the first tennis player in 43 years to win four straight Grand Slam tournaments. 

The amount of work that each star put in to get to this point is outstanding, but one will fall just short of reaching an impeccable milestone.

The foes that will face off at Roland Garros on Sunday aren't exactly strangers. In fact, they've met 32 times (sixth-most between two people in the Open era). 

Nadal has a big-time advantage on clay courts, which should come as no surprise. He's beaten Djokovic on clay surfaces 11 out of the 13 times and it's been one of the driving forces toward his domination of the French Open. 

But Djokovic has recent history on his side. It's been a year since Nadal won a Grand Slam tourney, when he took home the 2011 French Open (of course), but he's gone down to Djokovic in the final of each of the other three Grand Slam events in 2011.

Nadal has seemed to be on a collision course with Djokovic in every single tournament he plays in, and the clay courts which his shoes sit upon seem to be the only saving grace for him in recent tournaments. 

Djokovic may not be playing his best tennis at this year's French Open, as he had to mount an improbable comeback over hometown stud and No. 5 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. But he rebounded impeccably in a straight-set drubbing of former dominant force Roger Federer. 

Nadal won't have it as easy as he's had in this year's French Open when he takes on Djokovic on Sunday. This one's almost guaranteed to go five full sets in my book, and with the way they're both playing, it'll be must-see TV.

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