Australian Open 2012: Nadal vs. Federer Will Be Best Match of Tournament

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will be meeting in the semifinals of a Grand Slam event for the first time since 2005, and it promises to be epic.

Ever since the draw came out for the 2012 Australian Open, fans have been anticipating this looming showdown between the 25-year-old Spaniard in his prime and the 30-year-old Swiss legend, who has dominated the game like no one before him.

The two will be doing battle to get back into the finals of a tournament and most likely face a looming matchup with Novak Djokovic, a player who knocked them both out of major events last season.

The Swiss star is riding the hot hand into the showdown, having yet to lose a set against anyone in the Aussie Open and having an opponent retire due to injury.

On the other hand, Rafa had to battle his way into this position against Tomas Berdych and narrowly escaped the quarterfinals, 6-7(5), 7-6(6), 6-4, 6-3.

The Spaniard is also suffering a bit, playing through a knee injury for most of the tourney.

Do you think Federer, one of the craftiest and smartest players to ever pick up a racket, will not exploit this against a foe he has faced 26 separate times?

Of course he will.

The match also isn’t on a clay court, where Nadal holds a distinct advantage and has won much more often.

The hard courts of Melbourne Park will work in Federer's favor—unless it plays extremely slow, which it has shown a tendency to do—and should make it a much more even match.

Expect this to go back and forth and be one of the most anticipated matches of the tournament that actually lives up to all of the hype.