Although double walkovers in the men’s semifinals dampened the mood in Miami, the 2014 Sony Open can look forward to a blockbuster weekend.  Both of its singles finals will feature the top two players in the world, a rare event even at a major and an event that hasn’t happened at this tournament since the 1980s.  The four finalists have combined for 38 major titles, but two of them never have won in Miami before.  Can Li Na and Rafael Nadal solve Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic, who have captured nine Sony Open titles between them?

Serena Williams vs. Li Na:  For the first time since 2000, the top two women in the world will clash in the Miami final.  The matchup between these seasoned 32-year-olds is both less even and more even than a fan might expect.  Serena has won 10 of 11 meetings with Li, including four matches last year, and 12 consecutive sets against her on outdoor hard courts.  (Li’s lone victory came at a small tournament during the fall indoor season in 2008, probably not an event to which Serena brought her full intensity.)  So we can expect another blowout in a Miami women’s final, right?

Maybe not.  Although Serena dropped just three games to Li at the US Open last summer, most of their other meetings have stayed highly competitive.  The two women have contested seven tiebreaks and three 7-5 sets in their 11 matches, suggesting that just a few key points separated them.  In those situations, Serena's unequaled serve has proved as much an advantage against Li as any of her other rivals.  That weapon may loom even larger at this Sony Open final because Li’s adjustments to her own serve have hampered its effectiveness over the last month. 

Neither woman has produced her best tennis from start to finish for most of the tournament.  Serena dropped a set to Caroline Garcia, nearly dropped a set to Yaroslava Shvedova, and fell behind early in both sets to Maria Sharapova, a matchup that she has dominated for a decade.  For her part, Li dropped serve seven times in her semifinal and struck nearly 50 unforced errors in a two-set quarterfinal.  While the world No. 1 pursues a seventh Miami title in her ninth final at her home tournament, the Australian Open champion seeks her first Premier Mandatory crown.  A victory for Serena would renew her ascendancy after a pair of puzzling losses at her last two tournaments.  Meanwhile, a triumph for the streaky Li would prove her ability to sustain success across longer spans than she could before.

Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic:  The 40th meeting between the top two men extends a history much more balanced than the matchup between the top two women.  They meet for a record 11th time in a Masters 1000 final, surpassing the previous record set by Nadal and Roger Federer.  While Nadal holds the edge in their rivalry overall, Djokovic has prevailed more often than not on outdoor hard courts, his best surface.  He also has won both of their meetings in Miami, where they contested a thrilling three-set final in 2011.  But Nadal won two crucial meetings on this surface last summer, including the US Open final, before the Serb reasserted himself with a pair of fall victories. 

Targeting a second Indian Wells/Miami double, Djokovic enters the final with plenty of rest but perhaps a little rust after playing just three matches in six rounds.  A bye and two walkovers leave him in the same position as Andy Murray two years ago, when he lost the Sony Open final to Djokovic.  Outside a three-set comeback against Milos Raonic, Nadal also has expended scant energy across the last two weeks.  A semifinal walkover from Tomas Berdych will leave him scarcely less fresh than his rival for their latest war of attrition.  Much improved from his indifferent from at Indian Wells, Nadal has looked especially confident with his inside-out and down-the-line forehands on this slow hard court.

Neither man can conceal any significant secrets from the other in a rivalry so extensive and so littered with unexpected twists and turns.  Instead, Djokovic vs. Nadal XL will hinge largely on execution and on the mental fortitude of both men when the pressure mounts.  Denied in three previous Miami finals, Nadal seeks his first title at the most significant tournament that still eludes him.  The Sony Open has succumbed to Djokovic’s assault on three occasions, by contrast, and only once has he lost a final there.  A title for either man at his archrival’s expense would position the champion ideally for the European clay season, where they can expect to clash again with at least as much at stake.