As it was in 2012, the last match of the ATP season will be contested between two of the greatest hard-court players of all time as world No. 1 Novak Djokovic takes on world No. 2 Roger Federer in the championship bout of the ATP World Tour Finals.

It is a fitting conclusion to the 2014 season, a picturesque clash between two players hungry to cap off the season with a monumental victory.

This marks the sixth time Djokovic and Federer have played and their 37th meeting overall. Federer leads the head-to-head 19-17 and won their most recent meeting in the Shanghai semifinals earlier this fall. Federer played arguably his best match of the year on this occasion, defeating the Serb 6-4 6-4. Djokovic’s most recent victory over Federer occurred in the epic five-set match these two contested at Wimbledon in July.

Federer leads the head-to-head on hard courts 14-13, but Djokovic has the advantage on indoor hard courts (4-3) and at the World Tour Finals (2-1). In 2012, Djokovic defeated Federer in an extremely entertaining straight-sets affair in the final. He also got the best of his Swiss rival in the round-robin stage of last year’s World Tour Finals.

Entering the semifinals, neither Federer nor Djokovic had dropped a set. Federer was pushed to the absolute brink by countryman Stan Wawrinka and was forced to save four match points, including one in a final-set tiebreak, to get the job done.

Djokovic had a bizarre match, one that saw him exhibit a huge lapse in mental concentration in the second set after applause rang through the 02 Arena after he hit a double fault. He ended up winning 6-1 3-6 6-0 in a match that was as odd as the score suggested.

The odds makers really like Djokovic in this match tomorrow. He’s a sizeable favorite and should come into this match brimming with confidence. He has the advantage of having played first today and of course having played a much shorter match than Federer, who required two hours and 48 minutes to beat Wawrinka, whereas Djokovic needed just under 90 minutes to send Kei Nishikori packing.

One of the keys for Federer in this match will be winning the first set. Federer has only won one match against Djokovic after losing the first set, while Djokovic has defeated Federer seven times after dropping the opening frame.

Federer’s fitness isn’t typically a concern, but the quick turnaround after a nearly three-hour match will not be easy. Federer would love a match similar to the encounter these two played in Shanghai. While Djokovic would obviously like to win as quickly as possible, he probably would feel very comfortable duking it out with Federer over three sets tomorrow.

The slower nature of this court really favors Djokovic. Federer is going to have pull out all the offensive stops if he expects to break through Djokovic’s defensive blockades and keep him off balance.

The Serb will undoubtedly attempt to maximize the amount of backhand-to-backhand exchanges, whereas Federer will look to spread Djokovic out to the forehand side, a tactic that proved very successful in Shanghai.

As always, the quality of Federer’s serve will loom large. He’s found his way out of so many tough spots this year with his serve, and he’ll need it to come up big tomorrow.

There’s no question that both guys will be rearing and ready to go tomorrow, but look for Djokovic to squeak past Federer in two tight sets to capture his third consecutive title at the World Tour Finals.

Prediction: Djokovic in two sets