LONDON — Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are building their own Grand Slam rivalry, one that perhaps someday will merit mention alongside Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal, or Djokovic vs. Nadal.
When the No. 1-ranked Djokovic faces No. 2 Murray to determine Wimbledon’s champion Sunday, it will be their fourth meeting in a major final — and third in less than a year.
Djokovic beat Murray at the Australian Open in 2011. Murray beat Djokovic at the US Open last September. Djokovic beat Murray at the Australian Open this January.
That’s not yet quite up to the lofty standard set by Federer and Nadal, who played each other in eight Grand Slam title matches from 2006-11. Djokovic and Nadal have contested five major finals since 2010, including a stretch of four in a row.
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While part of the appeal of the Federer-Nadal matchup lies in their vastly contrasting games — all the way down to the most basic level, righty vs. lefty — Djokovic-Murray features two guys who employ rather similar styles.
They are improving servers and fantastic returners who managed to silence big hitters in the semifinals Friday: Tough to decide whether it was more surprising that Djokovic had a 22-4 edge in aces during his 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (6-8), 6-3 victory over No. 8 Juan Martin del Potro, or that Murray had a 20-9 edge in aces during his 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 victory over No. 24 Jerzy Janowicz.
They also are cover-every-inch hustlers who can switch from defense to offense, quick as can be.
‘‘There is some similarities there, in terms of if you look at stats and stuff. I mean, both of us return well. That’s probably the strongest part of our games. Both play predominantly from the baseline,’’ said Murray, who is aiming to become the first British man to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936.
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‘‘We both move well, but a different sort of movement,’’ Murray continued. ‘‘He’s extremely flexible and he slides into shots, even on the courts here. He slides more. He’s quite a bit lighter than me. So I’d say I probably move with more power, and he’s much more flexible than me.’’
Djokovic, the 2011 Wimbledon champion, is seeking his seventh Grand Slam title overall and will be playing in his 11th major final. Murray is 1-5 in major finals. He has reached the championship matches at each of the last four Grand Slam tournament’s he entered; he skipped this year’s French Open because of a bad back.
Murray didn’t need to expend too much energy to get past Janowicz, but Djokovic’s win against del Potro was physically and emotionally sapping. It lasted 4 hours, 43 minutes, a record for a Wimbledon semifinal, and was filled with intense points.
‘‘I did play a very long match, but I had situations before where I had to recover even just in 24 hours for the match the next day,’’ Djokovic said Saturday. ‘‘I’m confident I’ll be ready for tomorrow.’’
Djokovic leads the head-to-head series, 11-7, including winning their most recent three matches. While this is their first Wimbledon encounter, they did play on the All England Club’s grass in the semifinals of last year’s London Olympics, and Murray won, 7-5, 7-5, on his way to a gold medal.
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That’s part of year-plus stretch in which Murray has won 17 consecutive matches on grass, and 23 of 24.
His victory over Federer in the Olympic final, four weeks after losing to the 17-time major title winner on the same court in the Wimbledon final, gave Murray a real boost of confidence.
There’s a tremendous amount of pressure and expectations heaped on Murray every year at this time, because of the considerable wait for a British champion.
Murray was asked how his mind-set might be different in his second Wimbledon final than it was 12 months ago.
‘‘I’ll be probably in a better place mentally. I would hope so, just because I’ve been there before. I won a Grand Slam. I would hope I would be a little bit calmer going into Sunday,’’ Murray said.