The numbers will look daunting for David Ferrer as he goes into his ATP 1000 Cincinnati final against Roger Federer. The Spaniard has never beaten Federer in their 15 meetings, and Federer has a clean 5-0 record in Cincinnati finals.

And that is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Federer's superiority in numbers over Ferrer. This will be Federer's seventh final of 2014, Ferrer's second. Federer is ranked No.3, Ferrer No.6. This will be Federer's 38th ATP 1000 final, Ferrer's 8th. Federer has won 21, Ferrer has one title.

The list could go on, but it is already clear that Federer outclasses Ferrer in every department. However, there are three numbers Ferrer can cling to when it comes to his chances in tomorrow's final.

The first ones are 3-6, 6-4, 3-6. That is the score of Ferrer's loss to Federer in the quarter-finals of the pair's meeting at the ATP 1000 event in Toronto last week. Up against the net-rushing Federer, Ferrer managed to take a set with his counter-punching aggression. It was only the second set Ferrer had managed to win in his nine hard court losses to the Swiss. The other set came, encouragingly, in Cincinnati in 2009, the year Federer won two slams and made the US Open final.

That 6-4 set win in Toronto came down to the second number which increases Ferrer's chances against Federer in tonight's final- his second serve return percentage. In Toronto, Ferrer got a look at 37 second serves, and won 22 of them, giving him a percentage of 59 on second service points won. That day Federer was serving at 57 percent on his first serves. Similar numbers tonight and Federer could find himself in trouble against the man who is third on the ATP leaderboard for points won on second serve, and in second place on points won returning first serve and return games won. 

While Federer's serve is one of the tour's best- he wins 91 percent of his service games and saves 71 percent of break points- his serve has let him down more often than not in the biggest matches- finals- this year, another encouraging number for Ferrer. Federer has made seven finals, and he has lost five of them. He has also been losing them to men against whom he has a leading head to head. 

Hewitt beat him in Brisbane (Federer leads their head to head 18-9), Wawrinka beat him in Monte Carlo (14-2) and Tsonga beat him Toronto (11-5). In all those finals, Federer came up against the most in-form opponents at the event, none of whom were favorites to win, and threw in some sloppy service games which proved to be his downfall. Meanwhile, against Novak Djokovic in Indian Wells, his serve failed him where it mattered most, in the final set tiebreaker, and at Wimbledon his service declined in the fifth set and capitulated when serving to stay in the match.

Whether it is age and Federer is tired by the time finals day comes around, or whether it is mental and the fact there may not be many more years of finals ahead is playing on his mind, finals day seems to be the best place to catch the Swiss. For Ferrer, today could be the day his numbers against Federer start to count in his favor.