There are still many unknowns heading into Sunday’s men’s singles final between the seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic and the man who hoisted the trophy this time last year, Carlos Alcaraz.

With “history on the line”, as Novak reminded us during his press on Friday, even the greats of the game can still be affected by nerves and tension.

What must it feel like to be one win away from becoming the first player ever - man or woman - to win 25 Grand Slam singles trophies?

For Alcaraz, there will be stress too. Can he become only the sixth man in the Open era to win Roland-Garros and then Wimbledon back-to-back during the same summer? Victory today will see him join Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver in that exclusive group.

This sixth meeting between these two giants of the sport is sure to make fascinating viewing. But what if we look at the cold, hard numbers? Does the data offer any clues as to who’ll be the last man standing?

Both, of course, are near the top of many of the significant leaderboards after their journeys to the final. But where do both players excel?

For Djokovic, it is his ‘conversion’ score and serve quality that catches the eye.

The Serb has the highest conversion rate of the two, winning 76 per cent of all points when he has been in an attacking position. That’s 6 per cent higher than the average across the men’s draw and a shade - 3 per cent - more impressive than Alcaraz. 

It’s Djokovic’s consistency that has helped him achieve this, landing 94 per cent of forehands when he’s been in an aggressive position (6 per cent higher than the draw average). And he’s been hammering his forehand when doing so, averaging 79mph off that wing in those positions. Look out for more of the same aggression today. 

Novak takes the better serve quality into the final too. The 37-year-old scores 8.4 out of 10, a number calculated in real-time by analysing the speed, spin, depth and width of every strike. 

He’s been averaging 122mph behind his first serve, 102mph behind his second and his accuracy has been impressive alongside that speed. 

But what can Alcaraz throw back in Djokovic’s direction?

It’s the Spaniard’s forehand that can take the racket out of any opponent’s hand and that stroke has been impressive at times this Fortnight. 

The defending champion’s forehand quality stands at 8.7 out of 10 (the same as Novak’s), a number that has been achieved through power and accuracy. 

The 21-year-old has landed 86 per cent of his forehands outside of the middle third of the court, 4 per cent higher than the rest of the men’s draw.

And when he positions himself in the backhand half of his court to hit those forehands (to the left of the centre mark on the baseline) he is generating massive power.

From that position his ‘inside-out’ forehands (those directed into his opponent’s backhand court) are averaging 79mph, with his ‘inside-in’ forehands (those going up the line) even bigger at 86mph (7mph faster than the rest of the men’s draw).

Sit back and enjoy the show.