The weight of history will not sit heavily on the shoulders of Rafael Nadal when he walks on to Court Philippe Chatrier for the French Open final against Novak Djokovic.
Both men have plenty more on the line than simply the Coupe des Mousquetaires, with Djokovic looking to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four grand slam titles at once.
Victory for Nadal, meanwhile, would earn him a seventh Roland Garros crown, taking him past the record he currently shares with Bjorn Borg.
The Spaniard said: 'I have the chance to break the Borg record because I have already won six. The pressure is the same every year.
'I am here because I try my best every day and because I have a lot of motivation, the desire to try to win the tournament, not because it's the seventh, because it's Roland Garros. It's one of my top tournaments of the year, if not the most important.
'So seriously, the extra pressure for me is zero. In the end, if it finally happens, it's going to be another thing that maybe is important, maybe not that important. For me, the important thing is Roland Garros.'
Remarkably, Djokovic and Nadal are meeting in their fourth straight slam final, all of which have so far been won by the world No 1.
But it would be a major surprise if there was the same outcome here, for Nadal has looked supreme, losing only 35 games on his way to the final and destroying David Ferrer 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 in the last four.
Roger Federer described Nadal as the 'overwhelming favourite', but the man himself believes it is a closer call than that.
He said: 'I don't feel I'm the great favourite, as he said, because I'm going to play against the No 1. You can keep the word favourite if you want.
'You cannot be relaxed against the number one player in the world. Yesterday's match just gives me confidence. It confirms that I am playing well. I have played well almost every day. That's the most important thing for me.
'For sure, I will have my doubts for tomorrow. For sure I have to respect my opponent. He beat me a lot of times. But I am here to fight for every ball and to try my best in every moment.'
Victory at the Australian Open extended Djokovic's winning streak over Nadal to seven matches, all of them finals, but the Spaniard has won the last two, in Monte Carlo and Rome.
Nadal has also beaten Djokovic in all their three previous meetings at Roland Garros, which came three years in a row from 2006.
The world number one said: 'I didn't expect to win every match until the end of our careers against him, even though I won seven in a row.
'But I won against him on clay last year two times, back-to-back in eight days (in Madrid and Rome), and that's something that is in the back of my mind. That's something that can give me confidence, that I can think of when I step on the court with him.
'But obviously it is different because now it's best of five sets. He has lost one match in his career here. That says enough about his quality on this court.
'I lost to him here three times. I haven't won a set against him on this court. All the facts are on his side. But I feel different nowadays. I believe I'm at the peak of my career.
'I'm playing the best tennis of my life for the last year and a half, and I should use that as a confidence boost and try to get my hands on the title. Why not?'
Djokovic has struggled this fortnight but played better in his semi-final win over Federer and hopes he is hitting form at just the right time.
He said of facing Nadal: 'It's the ultimate challenge. But I believe (yesterday) was the best match of 2012 Roland Garros for me, so I've raised my game when I needed to.
'I played really well when it was the most important, so that's something that gives me confidence before the final.'
Were Djokovic to win and hold all four titles at the same time, he would achieve something neither Nadal nor Federer have managed.
The Serb said: 'I'm not thinking about that. It's not about prestige or whatever, being better than one person. I'm thinking about myself, my career, and just trying to win every match that I play in.
'And obviously I had a lot of doubts in the last couple of years if I can really overcome the big challenge of the two strongest players in our sport, the most dominant players in our sport.
'I've matured. I got stronger over the years. It's because of them, as well. They made me a better player.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-2156837/French-Open-2012-Rafael-Nadal-rejects-Roger-Federers-favourite-tag-history-beckons.html#ixzz1xJkCvxcV
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