US Open 2013: Men’s semi-final preview - Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic look set for a blockbuster final

The men’s draw at the 2013 US Open had been quite a let-down with two of the most anticipated matches not materializing, but something that remains very much on the cards is a potentially electrifying title match between the world’s two best players – Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

But before the Spaniard and the Serbian, who combine for a total of 18 Grand Slams, can actually cross swords with each other, they have to overcome the final hurdle of two men striding confidently through the draw and using their supremely beautiful single-handed backhands like a painter’s brush – Stanislas Wawrinka and Richard Gasquet. Do they really have any chance to upset the apple-cart? We preview the two men’s semi-finals here.

Rafael Nadal (2) v Richard Gasquet (8) (Head-to-head: Nadal leads 10-0)

Richard Gasquet of France celebrates his 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3 win over David Ferrer of Spain during their 2013 US Open men’s singles quarterfinal match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center September 4, 2013 in New York. (STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

In the wake of Gasquet’s impending meeting with Rafa at Flushing Meadows, a video started doing the rounds – that of two innocent 13-year-olds playing at the Under-14 level in a tournament in France. The two fledgling kids who had just begun to start their tennis careers with dreams in their eyes were of course Rafa and Richard themselves. Rafa didn’t have those monstrous top-spin forehands then, and was soundly beaten by Richard in the third set.

Fast forward to 14 years later and the Spaniard has an imposing 10-0 head-to-head record over the Frenchman, and Gasquet’s only victory over the indefatigable Rafa remains the above talked about triumph he secured as a junior. That very much underlines Rafa’s ruthless domination over his fellow players, which is further corroborated by his winning record over each of the current top 40 players.

Perhaps even more worrisome for Rafa’s rivals is that this year he has been playing his best hard court tennis ever, and has already scooped up nine titles overall. Boasting of a 20-0 hard court record, the 27-year-old is stunningly yet to drop a serve in 67 service games at Flushing Meadows! Rafa perhaps hasn’t been bombarding those 130 mph serves regularly like he did during his title run in 2010, but he has been extremely vigilant on the baseline and far more aggressive than before.

Hammering down 97 forehand winners, he has upped his net game too, sneaking in a few drop shots whenever required with an 82% net point winning percentage. No wonder he has rolled through Montreal and Cincinnati for the first time in his career, and looks ominous as ever in New York.

To rein in this merciless Rafa is no doubt a tough task for Richard, but he is drawing inspiration from their junior match. “It’s good to win under-14, but is better to win on the pro [tour], and I didn’t… [but] we are only 27 years old,” said Gasquet. “So why not? We will see.”

In producing his best performance at the US Open, Gasquet has shown superb tenacity and resilience after securing two back-to-back wins in five-setters. What is perhaps even more satisfying for the Frenchman is he has been very consistent throughout the Slam, registering 200 winners against 151 unforced errors. His ethereal backhand down-the-line stung David Ferrer like a bee in the quarter-finals, as he pounded winner after winner on that side, and he can boast of 63 winners off the backhand.

Gasquet does have it in him to trouble Rafa initially, especially if he keeps on using that backhand effectively, but unlike Ferrer, the World No. 2 won’t play the waiting game. He has to out-think Rafa, which at the moment, with the oodles of confidence that Rafa has, looks unlikely. Something else that might work against his favour is the four hours more that he has spent on the court than the French Open champion.

Prediction: Rafa wins in straight sets.

Novak Djokovic (1) v Stanislas Wawrinka (9) (Head-to-head: Djokovic leads 12-2)

Serbia Novac Djokovic and Switzerland Stanislav Wawrinka meet at the net after Men’s 4th Round match at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia 1/20/2013 (Photo by David Callow /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images)

As the World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and Stanislas Wawrinka prepare to take their rivalry to a new level, it was a certain unforgettable match that these two warriors played that keeps coming in all the discussions. It was the epic five-setter in the fourth round of the 2013 Australian Open that remains etched in everybody’s minds and became pivotal for the Swiss’s career. He lost the match, but it instilled him with a lot of belief and conviction about his game.

“It’s one of the key [matches] of the season, for sure,” said Wawrinka. “That was a really tough moment, but at the end I was really positive with that match because all Australian Open my level was better than ever.’’

Wawrinka surely has kept building on it, winning a title and reaching a Masters final, and in his US Open quarter-final match against the defending champion Andy Murray, all that he has been tirelessly working on with his new coach Magnus Norman came to the fore. The Swiss No. 2 played a brutally attacking game, serving and volleying and putting Murray off-balance.

His transition game from defence to offence was beautiful to behold, and with 45 winners and no break points to concede, he played an almost perfect match. At 28, by reaching his first ever career major semi-final, Wawrinka has finally come out of the shadow of his illustrious compatriot Roger Federer, and started holding his own against the world’s top players.

But how much will that help him to push through the seemingly insurmountable barrier called Novak Djokovic? The 2011 US Open champion arrived in Big Apple on the back of two unsatisfactory results at Montreal and Cincinnati, but always expect the Serbian to redeem himself as quickly as no other. He hired Ivan Lendl’s former coach Wojtek Fibak as his new consultant to help him with his tactics and concentration during his quest for his second US Open.

And the results have been showing! Novak has been thoroughly aggressively defensive in his matches, pulling the trigger with his angling forehands and returning excellently.

He has a 55% return game winning percentage and has been serving at a solid 70% as well. In his first four matches he was yet to drop a set too – in other words, Novak Djokovic has looked as threatening as possible for his opponents.

That surely does not make Wawrinka’s life any easier. To have a chance of putting Novak under pressure, the Swiss has to keep up his raw aggression and see to it that nerves don’t impede his progress. Having said that, Novak Djokovic hasn’t been totally impenetrable. He did show his moments of lapses and sudden weariness that cost him a set against Mikhail Youzhny. Wawrinka has to hope that the Australian Open winner does come up with an encore of such moments!

Prediction: Novak Djokovic in four sets.