Rafael Nadal in Favorable Position to Win 13th Grand Slam Title

Rafael Nadal was able to advance to his 18th appearance in a Grand Slam finals match, and now he is in favorable position to take him his 13th Grand Slam title.

In his semifinals match, Nadal was able to take down Ricahrd Gasquet in three sets, taking the match 6-4, 7-6 (1), 6-2 to advance to the finals.

Nadal will be taking on Novak Djokovic in a rivalry that's been going on for the past few seasons.

Overall, the two have faced each other 36 times, with Nadal winning 21 of them. When the two play each other in Grand Slam events, however, things start to change. Nadal is 7-3 when they play in Grand Slams, but Djokovic has won three of the five matches when they play in Grand Slam finals.

Djokovic also has a slight edge on hard courts. When they play on this kind of surface, Djokovic has a 9-4 edge, and the two have split the two matches they've played at the US Open in previous years.

It seems like Nadal's road to a Grand Slam title always goes through Djokovic. Recently, Nadal has struggled against him, going 1-3 in their last four Grand Slam finals against each other.  

Despite the history between the two, there is one advantage Nadal has heading into Monday's final match.

Fatigue.

Nadal has coasted through this tournament so far. He's won in three straight sets in five of the six rounds, going in four sets just once during the fourth round.  

His opponent started the tournament off well, winning in three straight sets through the first four rounds. During the past two rounds, however, things have been harder. He went to four sets in the quarterfinals, then had to come back from down two sets to one to win his semifinals match in five sets.

The two will have a day off between matches, but that's not a lot of time. Nadal will clearly be fresher. That can go a long way in a match that could go for four or five sets.