Roger Federer has returned to action in a big way. After taking nearly 2 months off for a little R&R, he’s come roaring back with wins inBaselandParis. These two tournaments have him brimming with confidence; and why shouldn’t he have that confidence? There’s no better way to enter the final tournament of the year than with two consecutive tournament victories.

The year just can’t end on such a note, though. There must be a dramatic finish. In other words, there must be FEDAL.

The draw for the World Tour Finals was recently released. In past years, the Federer and Rafa Nadal have always been in opposing groups. Seeing how they have dominated the top two spots for what seems like decades, there was no way they would meet before the semifinals. Last year was the first time they met in the final, which Fed won.

That’s all changed this year. Their ranks make it so that they can be in the same group. The 2011 edition of the WTF will have Rafa and Fed in the Group B, guaranteeing that barring withdrawal, we will get a Fedal showdown. They could even very well play each other in the final as well.

Fedal matches usually go one of two ways. Either the match is a no-holds-barred beat-down of either player or tennis’ version of a brawl. They have only played three times this year; twice on clay and once on hard. Surprisingly, the only relatively straightforward match was on the hard courts ofMiami.

So what can we expect from the two champions this year? Last year, Rafa finally seemed to be finding his legs on the court of the O2 Arena inLondon. He went undefeated in the round robins and made his first final at the WTF. He managed a set in the final against Fed. All in all, that was easily Rafa’s best performance at the year-end tournament.

The last tournament Rafa took part in was the Shanghai Masters 1000 where he suffered a surprising and early loss to Florian Mayer. He’s been on somewhat of a break due to shoulder problems since then. For someone who thrives on competition, that is not a good sign.

I expect to see some rust from Rafa during his first match against Mardy Fish on Sunday. Fed takes on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, again. They just had a bout inParis. Tsonga is a tough customer even when he’s playing horribly, so I expect him to make Fed work for the win. Rafa has had Fish’s number and won the last meeting. Either way it goes, they will meet.

Whether Rafa shakes off the rust in time or Fed’s confidence wavers decides if we get a beat-down or a brawl. I’m hoping for the latter.

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