History will happen tonight at the Laver Cup as for the first time ever Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will team up in a doubles match for Team Europe to face Jack Sock and Kevin Anderson for team World. The match is sure to offer an intriguing look at just how compatible these two tennis legends are when working together rather than against each other as we saw in Cincinatti this year where Djokovic destroyed Federer in the final of the singles.

Just as Federer teamed up with Nadal last year in Prague, through the eyes of the average tennis watcher they may think this new combination is invincible and will surely beat Team World's Sock and Anderson. Afterall we have the World Number 2 and 3 singles players - that's the current US Open and Wimbledon champion and the legendary 20 time Grand Slam winner on the same team - how could they possibly loose against 2 guys who have never won a Grand Slam in their lives and are ranked 9th and 17th in the world?

It's a rather simple answer, in tennis, doubles is a totally different game to singles which is what makes it such a beautiful game to play and watch at times. If you have ever played in or watched a doubles match you will regularly see singles players who are far more skilful than their opponents at singles loose in the doubles match. They are usually defeated by players that have never come close to anything of a significant result in a singles tournaments but who are specialist doubles players.

Doubles tennis is all about the net game, the volleying, the soft touch and sly tactics. Sure there's some action at the back but the points are mostly won at the net where having the lightest and most cunning of touches counts far more than being a pro baseline defender (Djokovic) or attacker (Federer). So let's take a look at each of the four players doubles skills and experience.

Federer Doubles Skills/Experience

Federer of course benefits from an all around tennis game and has a brilliant touch at the net thanks in most to his adoption of a rather different singles style and strategy to most new generation singles players and including Novak Djokovic. Djokovic is not a regular net man, he plays and wins most of his points at the back of the court and although he has a reasonable set of net skills he is no wizard at the volley, the half volley and tactics in doubles. Federer is in a league of his own when compared to Djokovic at the net.

However considering how long Federer has been around for, his competitive doubles experience is limited. In his entire career discounting the Davis Cup and the Olympics he has only competed in 37 doubles tournaments since 2003 - averaging just over 2 a year. In that time he has won only 2 ATP tournaments, no Grand Slams. His best performance outside the regular ATP tour was when he won the Olympics with Stan Wawrinka back in 2008.

Djokovic Doubles Experience/Skills

Djokovic has won all his singles tournaments thanks to his ability to defend at the baseline and turn defense into attack. However when doing so he rarely comes to the net. He prefers to win most of his points at the back court and will only come in on the odd occassion if a ball comes short from his opponent into the forecourt. Due to his style of play and his level of comfort at the back, he has failed to adopt the sort of solid net game that both Federer and Nadal possess. Although he has good hands at the net, they are not in the same league as Nadal's and current team mate's Federer.

Djokovic has 64 competitive doubles tournaments appearances to his name outside of the Davis Cup and Olympics of which he has only ever won 2 tournaments including a Wimbledon Grand Slam all the way back in 2010. Most of his doubles appearances have involved early exits from tournaments.

Sock Doubles Skills/Experience

In contrast Jack Sock has played over 100 competitive doubles tournaments from which has claimed 13 trophies including 3 Grand Slams.

Although his singles game has been suffering due to injuries, he's been able to redirect his energies into the doubles game. He is a having a sensational doubles spell and has recently spent a good amount of time playing alongside the legendary World number 1 doubles player and fellow countryman Mike Bryan.

This year Sock captured both the Wimbledon and US Open Slams with Bryan and no doubt learnt a considerable amount from the doubles legend. For those that are not familiar with Mike Bryan, he and his brother Bob are 16 times Grand Slam winning doubles team mates and identical twins. Sock took over from Bob Bryan earlier this year due to a hip injury and has relished his partnership and opportunity to play with Mike. Mike is now 40 years of age yet he is still competing and winning doubles tournaments at the highest level which just goes to show how different doubles matches are to singles.

Sock is now the world number 2 doubles player and has developed excellent net skills. His quality in doubles matches was on show at last year's Laver Cup where he and Sam Querrey almost defeated Federer and Nadal. Nadal is a better net player than Djokovic so the swap between him and Djokovic to team up with Federer this year could see the pendulum swing in favour of Sock and Andersen.

Watch: Sock and Querrey Almost Take Down Dream Duo Federer & Nadal Last Year

Anderson Doubles Experience/Skills

So what about Anderson, the last remaining player in this formula? Well for a start off he has the biggest serve out of all 4 players here and this saw him oust Federer at Wimbledon this year to everyone's bewilderment. Having a big serve like his will give Sock some easy mopping up at the net. But how about his doubles success - is it as mediocre as Federer's and Djokovic's? The answer is a resounding yes. He shares very similar experience to the two others though does not have the net skills Federer has and has won only 1 doubles tournament. This makes the outcome of this match more perplexing.

I would have much preferred to see Kyrgios team with Sock but I think we will see this partnership come to fruition on day 2 or 3.

Who Will Prevail in the First Doubles Clash - Team Europe or World?

With all the above said, I am going to go with Sock and Anderson to defeat the mouth watering combination of Djokovic and Federer. The two will certainly be a joy to watch together and it will make a welcome break from seeing them fight it out in singles tournaments. But I think Sock's double slam wins at Wimbledon and the US Open this year and his experience with the veteran legend Mike Bryan will pay dividends for Team World. Anderson although not an accomplished doubles player complements Sock well with his big serve and forehand more than Djokovic does with Federer.

In doubles having a solid all around back court game doesn't bring you the benefits that having one or two big weapons does. Andersen represents a better doubles partner for sock than Djokovic does for Federer and I think Team World will upset Team Europe for this one particular match. I'd love to see them win in straight sets but it will likely come down to a third set tie break.