Australian Open 2012 live stream

On the eve of the men's final between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, the mind games have already begun.

Nadal has been in this position many times. A veteran of 14 major finals for 10 wins, he knows how to make the most of any situation, on court or off.

So it was no surprise that during his pre-final press conference, it was Nadal who fired the first shot, albeit a covert attacking move.

Brought up to be a humble champion, Nadal is not one to talk himself up. And while his efforts in the press room were the hallmark of a humble man, they also deflected attention (read pressure) away from himself and onto his opponent, Djokovic. A very clever play.

"He is the favourite after being No. 1 in the world and after playing fantastic and beating me the last six times. So just happy to be there,” offered a generous Nadal.

"For me, the tournament is really, really good. Right now I going to try to play my best tennis and fight every ball knowing that is going to be a tough one."

Translation: He's the favourite, not me – just look at how many times he beat me last year.

Djokovic is shooting for his third straight Grand Slam tournament win, an achievement that would see him join Rod Laver, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Nadal as the only players to do so in the Open era. It's a situation that Nadal has fond memories of.

“No is a fantastic situation to be," smiled Nadal. “It's really not a tough one.     

"I played for the three in a row [at] US Open 2010. When you are coming with that confidence everything is a little bit easier, no?"

Translation: He should be confident and the more slams you win, the easier it is. Right?

Should Nadal be defeated he will become the first player in the Open era to lose three straight finals at majors – a record that the Spaniard will be happy not to have his name attached to.

But as Nadal regularly pointed out, it will be tough. After all, Djokovic has the form when it comes to their head-to-head record. Just as Federer has trouble against Nadal and Djokovic has his problems with Federer, Nadal has had well-documented difficulties of late with the Serbian Superstar.

Head to head, Nadal leads 16-13 but Djokovic has won their previous six encounters. He's also the form player on hard courts, winning 10 of their 15 meetings on this surface.

It's a stat that Nadal is painfully aware of. So, during the off-season the Spaniard made some changes to his game, but he was reticent to say whether or not these tweaks will get him over the line.

"I am trying to play a little bit more aggressive and hit more winners. You know, the improves that I want to do is not complete.

"No, no, I didn't practice a lot with that, so I need time to play with this aggressive plan during all the match.

"Probably I need few more months and tournaments. But I am happy how I am doing, no? I don't know if going to be enough for him."

Translation: I've made some changes but I'm not making any promises.

And, once more, Nadal paints his opponent as the favourite, placing just a little more pressure squarely on Djokovic's shoulders.

It was mentioned that Djokovic's coach said that it was unfair that Nadal had two days off compared with his player's one. This is also a situation that Nadal has been in before.

"Well, that's what it is. 2009 I played longer than him in the semifinals. I played more than five hours at very high intensity, too. I had only one day and Federer had two, no?      

"I was recovered for the final, so I think you can say it's unfair, yes, but not crazy unfair."

Translation: get over it, one day is plenty.

But what about the health problems Djokovic appeared to be suffering from? Doesn't that give Nadal an advantage? In the Spaniard's opinion, no, no it doesn't.

"It's funny, no? I saw the match yesterday on the TV she show on the Channel 7 when he was in the fifth set moving fantastically well, and they show images from two hours fifty before and seems like he was destroyed. Two hours fifty later he was in perfect condition. So is difficult to imagine that he has these problems. I don't know."

Translation: Djokovic's fine.

The final word, however, has to go to Nadal and his thoughts on his fortnight in Melbourne.

"So it's is fantastic way to start [the] season. Now is another big, big test. I don't know if I am enough ready to win the match of tomorrow, but I believe that I can do it and I going to fight for it."

Translation: we're in for a cracking final.