Can Nadal overcome Djokovic in final?

It's all about flooding at this year's U.S. Open, and for Monday's men's final, defending champion Rafael Nadal will be sandbagging against the Novak Djokovic high tide.

The image is an odd one, considering that Nadal's gritty four-set victory over Djokovic in last year's Open stirred talk that Nadal appeared on his way to being the most accomplished player in history, with a 10th major singles title at 24.

Nadal at last had replaced Roger Federer at No. 1 -- permanently? tennis insiders wondered -- but everything changed when Djokovic began to reel off a 43-match winning streak, beginning in Davis Cup play last November.

This year, it is Djokovic who has won 63 of 65 matches, including two Grand Slam events, the Australian Open and Wimbledon. Nadal took his sixth French trophy in June but arrived at the Open 0-5 vs. Djokovic, including the Wimbledon final that had Nadal acknowledging Djokovic had gotten "in my head."

So that it now feels as if Nadal is scrambling for higher ground.

"I'm not happy with my mental performance against him this year," Nadal said of Djokovic after Saturday's Open semifinal victories for both. "That's true, no? Because for moments, I didn't believe really 100 percent [in] the victory.

"That's big problem. Because, when that's happening, you have your chances less, much less than if you believe. Because if you believe, you are running more, you are putting one more ball inside. So that was problem, and that's what I'm going to try to change [today]. If I'm not ready to change [today], I have a goal to do it for next year. I'm ready to work on my tennis, to work my mental part."

The recent doubts, Nadal said, are "not an obsession. I'm human and I have my doubts. Everybody have, no? But the important thing for me this year, before here, I keep fighting and keep being in finals even if I lose painful losses."

He declared himself "happy" with his ability to raise his level of play as the Open progressed, while calling Djokovic's recent performances "fantastic" and obvious confidence boosters. There has been plenty of talk about how Djokovic's style, hitting the ball hard and flat, negates Nadal's heavy spin, and how Djokovic's fitness and serve are improved to the point where Nadal will need to somehow adjust his strategy.

"I think I gonna do serve and volley," Nadal, a baseline player if there ever was one, deadpanned.

"You know," he said seriously, "I have my game, and I beat him the past playing my game. The thing is to play my game very well and be enough strong mentally all the time, fight every ball, believe in the victory in every moment. That's something that for moments this year, I didn't."

Djokovic, meanwhile, will draw from the same well. "Just try to play my game," he said. "I know that I have a game that is good enough to win against him. I proved that this year in three different surfaces, so I believe I have a good chance. I need to go out on the court believing I can win."

For both, then, it's: Plug those mental leaks.