Australian Open 2012: 3 Bold Predictions for Epic Federer vs. Nadal Match

Another Grand Slam, another battle between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Were you expecting any other result going into this year's Australian Open? 

I didn't think so, and there is honestly no better way than this to get the 2012 tennis season off to a great start.

Both players have been two of the most dominant forces the game has ever seen, and they should once again be putting on a great show for viewers when they play each other in the semifinals of this tournament.

Throughout the tournament thus far, neither man has really been troubled by their competition. Federer has yet to drop a set, while Nadal dropped his first of the tournament against Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals.

The Spaniard dropped the first set of that match, but he bounced back to win the second set, and then the third and fourth in typical Nadal fashion.

Here are some bold predictions going into the day 11 match.

Federer will drop a set

OK, so I guess this isn't too bold, but you know what, he has yet to drop a set and has looked ridiculously dominating in doing so.

He has handled everyone sent his way in vintage Federer fashion, seeming as if he took a time machine to go get 2006-07 Federer.

People were expecting big things from the young Australian Bernard Tomic in the fourth round, but Federer handled him with ease, winning 6-4, 6-2 and 6-2. 

His biggest challenge was supposed to be Juan Martin Del Portro, the man who defeated him at the 2009 US Open final. He finished him in three sets, dropping only a total of 10 games. Not to mention, he was only making 57 percent of his first serves.

This is Nadal though, and it is unlikely that either of these men will win in straight sets.

The winner of this match will win the tournament

It is very hard to go against world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, but both of these men are playing exceptional tennis.

Nole should have an easy time against the No. 4 seed Andy Murray, but he did trip up a little bit against David Ferrer in the quarterfinals, so it will be interesting to see how his leg holds up.

There likely will be no problems coming into his battle with Murray, as he won that match in convincing fashion, but one wrong move could potentially flair things back up.

Still, Federer and Nadal have played very well thus far given their competition, so there is no reason to think that either one couldn't win this tournament.

Federer has had to get through Tomic and Del Potro, while Nadal has had to beat Berdych and Feliciano Lopez. Not to mention, whoever wins this match has now beat the other, which would be a pretty convincing win going into the final.

The final against either Djokovic or Murray wouldn't be a walk in the park, (except either of these men could likely beat Murray in straight sets in a final) but both these players have proven so far that they are just as much the one to beat as Nole or Murray.

At least two sets will be decided by tie breakers

With both men playing extremely well on their service games, it is hard to imagine either one really being broken all that often, if at all.

The problem is, both have been breaking their opponents' service games like crazy, so it is hard to imagine them not breaking one another.

If Federer continues to serve at 57 percent, then he could have some trouble. But one has to imagine that he will be able to find some consistency given his history. If he doesn't, this one could get messy.

In their history of slam meetings, they have had at least one tie breaker in eight of their nine matches. There was at least two in three of them.

The only time there was a dominating performance by either man in a slam was when Nadal demolished Federer at Roland Garros (French Open) in 2008. The Spaniard won that match 6-1, 6-3, 6-0. 

Don't expect anything like that from either competitor when they clash down under for the tenth time in slam history.