US Open Tennis 2013: Projecting Men's Semifinals

While the U.S. Open has had its share of upsets, things have been a little more chalky than they were at Wimbledon. I see that trend carrying over into the semifinals.

For the men, the final stages of the U.S. Open are going to be dominated by favorites. While that robs fans of the fun of rooting for underdogs, it also provides for some amazing tennis with the game's biggest stars.  

So have a look at my predictions, which promise to deliver an amazing end to the Grand Slam season. 

Novak Djokovic vs. Andy Murray

The best rivalry in tennis will resume in the semifinals.

No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic has a stunningly easy path to the semi. He will face Joao Sousa in Round 3, where Sousa will be wildly outclassed. Djokovic will then face another unseeded opponent in the winner of Tim Smyczek vs. Marcel Granollers. 

At that point, he will likely face a seeded opponent. No. 12 Tommy Haas would be the highest seed. Djokovic has won the last two times those two have faced, but Haas does have a hard-court win over Djokovic in Miami earlier this year. 

Meanwhile, Andy Murray's path is more difficult, but it's one he can manage. He faces Florian Mayer next, and then it's likely nothing but seeded opponents. The toughest of those opponents would be a possible quarterfinal matchup with Tomas Berdych. 

That will be a fantastic match. Berdych has beaten Murray the last two times they have met, but I'm siding with Murray due to his recent ability to elevate his game for majors, which he displayed by knocking Berdych out of last year's U.S. Open. 

Rafael Nadal vs. David Ferrer

One of the matches many had circled when the draw was announced could happen prior to this semifinal. Rafael Nadal is on course to play Roger Federer in the quarterfinals, and the way those two are going, it seems inevitable. 

While there is the possibility of Federer digging into the reserves for one last epic moment on the Grand Slam stage, Nadal is simply playing too well for that to happen. He has only has only lost three matches all year and not one on hard court. He will put an end to Federer's run and then face David Ferrer. 

Ferrer has hard-serving Serb Janko Tipsarevic in the fourth round, and he clearly has Tipsarevic's number. In the six times they've met, Ferrer has lost only once. He has also won the last three times they have met, and all of those times have been on hard court. 

That will leave Ferrer to face the winner of Richard Gasquet and Milos Raonic.  Ferrer is 8-1 against Gasquet and 4-0 against Raonic, so he should have little problem advancing to the semifinal, where he will be promptly crushed by Nadal.