Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are set to face off for the Australian Open title on Sunday morning at 8:30am UK time. This will be the pair's fourth meeting in the Australian Open final, and their fifth meeting in Melbourne overall. Djokovic has won all four of their previous matches at the tournament.

Murray has never won the Australian Open title, despite four final appearances to date. No one has won a major title after having finished runner up in it four times, something Murray will be desperate to change. Djokovic, on the other hand, has ruled the roost in Melbourne for some time now, with five titles including four in the last five years. It's by far his most successful major, and he will be high on confidence as he attempts to win a sixth Australian title.

Mixed fortunes for Djokovic en route to the final

Djokovic has looked superb at times during his run to the final, but there have been times he has looked genuinely awful. His close victory over Gilles Simon in the fourth round will go down as one of the Serbian's worst performances, a match during which he hit 100 unforced errors. Something Djokovic did time and again during his dominant 2015 season was win matches he looked like losing and he found a way again against Simon.

Other than that, though, the defending champion has looked mightily impressive. An untroubled passage through the first few rounds was resumed in the quarterfinals, where he defeated Kei Nishikori, potentially a highly dangerous opponent - and one who's beaten Djokovic on the Grand Slam stage before - in straight sets.

Nothing, however, matches his performance against Roger Federer in the semifinals. He stormed out to a 6-1 6-2 lead, in what some commentators said was the best they'd ever seen anyone play, and while he dropped the third set, normal service was resumed in the fourth as he put paid to Federer's hopes of a fightback. One of the many things Djokovic is superb at is putting poor performances behind him to come out on top form in the next round, and this ability has been clear again this fortnight.

Route to the final:

R1: Hyeon Chung 6-3 6-2 6-4
R2: Quentin Halys 6-1 6-2 7-6
R3: Andreas Seppi 6-1 7-5 7-6
R4: Gilles Simon 6-3 6-7 6-4 4-6 6-3
QF: Kei Nishikori 6-3 6-2 6-4
SF: Roger Federer 6-1 6-2 3-6 6-3

Murray comfortable but less dominant

Murray's route to the final has been slightly less smooth, but still rather comfortable. The world number two dropped sets to Joao Sousa and David Ferrer in a run that was nevertheless fairly serene. His big test came in the semifinals against Milos Raonic, a player on top form so far in 2016, and Murray needed five sets to see the Canadian off. As the match went on, Murray began to look stronger and stronger, and he pulled away in the final set, albeit aided by an opponent struggling with his fitness. The Scot has managed to get the job done in the tournament so far, but would perhaps have expected to move past Sousa and Ferrer in straight sets.

Murray's route to the final:

R1: Alexander Zverev 6-1 6-2 6-3
R2: Sam Groth 6-0 6-4 6-1
R3: Joao Sousa 6-2 3-6 6-2 6-2
R4: Bernard Tomic 6-4 6-4 7-6
QF: David Ferrer 6-3 7-6 6-2 6-3
SF: Milos Raonic 4-6 7-5 6-7 6-4 6-2

What does Djokovic need to do to win?

Djokovic needs to remain focused on his game and trust his belief that he will win. The Serb has become extremely good over the last few years at letting his negativity out in a burst of rage, only to instantly refocus and find devastating form. If he can keep himself focused, keep the ball deep and play as he knows he can, he will win.

Djokovic has held this trophy aloft five times so far (photo: smh.com.au)

What does Murray need to do to win?

For Murray it's a bit less simple. The Scot has a superb return game second only to Djokovic's, but his serve can on occasion let him down. Such is the strength of his return that he can get away with that against most players, but Djokovic is not one to let a lead slip, and sloppy service games are punished by the world number one. Murray will need to keep his first serve percentage high, and keep variety in his second serve. The world number two's second delivery is often something of a weakness, and short, slow, high second serves into the middle of the service box will be swatted away for winners by Djokovic.

He'll also have to ensure he keeps his focus - usually more of a problem for Murray than Djokovic - as any mid-set slips will turn into lost sets very quickly. Partly this means avoiding the destructive negativity which still plagues him at times, but partly this means maintaining an aggressive approach throughout the match. He must take every opportunity to go on the offensive, as any passive shots or short balls will give Djokovic the chance to unload his deep, penetrating groundstrokes and take control.

In short, Murray must serve well and match Djokovic for relentless focus and intent with his groundstrokes in order to take the title.

Who has the upper hand?

So who's going to win? It's tricky to see past Djokovic in this, as in any other, match. It's not all that unusual for Djokovic to have a mid-tournament dip (remember his match against Kevin Anderson at Wimbledon last year?) and end up storming to the title at the end of the fortnight, and anyone expecting him to be on poor form tomorrow is likely to disappointed. 8000 ranking-point leads over your nearest rival don't come easy, and Djokovic is as a rule too consistently excellent in five set tennis - he is 62-4 in best of five matches in the last two years, and went 27-1 in 2015.

Don't be surprised to see Murray staying with the world number one early on - it's keeping up the level of play needed to beat Djokovic for three sets that's the problem.

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