US Open Tennis 2013 Results: Biggest Takeaways from Men's Quarterfinal Action

The men's singles semifinal of the 2013 U.S. Open is set, and it looks like fans will see a collision between the top two seeds in the final.

No. 1 Novak Djokovic advanced after beating No. 21 Mikhail Youzhny, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-0, on Thursday night. His victory followed No. 9 Stanislas Wawrinka booking his place in the semifinal after upsetting No. 3 Andy Murray, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. The two will meet on Saturday, with the winner facing off against either Richard Gasquet or Rafael Nadal.

Although there wasn't a high volume of action on Thursday, the men's quarterfinal play provided plenty of talking points. Here are three of the biggest takeaways.

Andy Murray Can Still Be Wildly Inconsistent

It doesn't matter how many Grand Slam titles he wins or how much history he makes, Andy Murray is still capable of putting in one stinker of a match, as evidenced by his straight-set loss to Stanislas Wawrinka.

When trying to dissect the loss, it's hard to decide where to begin. Normally such a good server and returner, Murray could do neither. He had trouble with his first serve, which had a knock-on effect as it allowed Wawrinka to tee off on Murray's second serve. Then when Wawrinka was on serve, the reigning U.S. Open champion had no answer.

The No. 9 seed didn't surrender a single break point opportunity and suffocated Murray when on serve. ESPN's Chris Fowler was impressed with what he had seen from Wawrinka.

In terms of his on-court demeanor, it was a bit of a vintage Murray match. He did well enough for most of the match, save for a racket-smashing after dropping the first set.

Later on, the anger began coming out, as well as the expletives. It was the kind of meltdown that has become a bit synonymous with Murray.

The 26-year-old Scotsman sounds as if he's just exhausted, both mentally and physically, per The Telegraph's Simon Briggs:

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Physically I have played some extremely tough matches.

Mentally, as well, the last few games of Wimbledon to you guys may not seem like much, but to me it was extremely challenging.

"

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A lot of work goes into not just those matches but the work you do to get yourself ready for them, as well. So, yeah, it’s tough.

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Murray should be able to recover from this loss without too many problems, and he'll certainly benefit from some time off the court. It's been a whirlwind year for him, and it's a shame his Grand Slam season had to end so ignominiously.

Stanislas Wawrinka Just Might Get Past Novak Djokovic

Wawrinka didn't need to be at his best to get past Murray. Those who are saying Murray lost more than Wawrinka won must not have been watching the same match. Sure, his opponent wasn't at his best, but that doesn't matter.

What was so impressive with the Swiss' win was that he didn't give Murray any room to breathe. Wawrinka stood on his opponent's neck and didn't take his foot off until he secured that match point. It was the kind of performance that makes you think that perhaps Novak Djokovic can be taken out before the final.

There's no doubting that Wawrinka will be the major underdog in the semifinal, as he rightfully should be. However, with the way he served and how quickly he dispatched Murray, maybe, just maybe, he's got enough to fuel a run to the final.

Wawrinka didn't have to expend much energy in the quarterfinal, so he'll be fully rested for the semis. With his confidence level where it is, who knows what he could be capable of in his next match.

His record against Djokovic isn't great, having lost 14 of the 16 meetings between the two. But it took five sets for Djokovic to beat Wawrinka at the 2013 Australian Open, and it could be a similarly tough match this time around.

Perhaps he's going to get some advice from his compatriot, Roger Federer, according to Sports Illustrated's Beyond the Baseline.

At His Best, Novak Djokovic Is Otherworldly

For 75 percent of his quarterfinal match against Mikhail Youzhny, Djokovic was scary good. He was playing so well that a capacity crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium was left speechless because of a lack of drama.

Then Djokovic slipped up in the third, which brought the crowd back into it. Having been humbled a bit and wanting to stick it to the fans against him, Djokovic flipped that switch and again became the best player in the world.

The Djoker has built himself a great record at Flushing Meadows, according to ESPN Stats and Info.

Djokovic's win over Youzhny was such a complete performance. He was serving and striking the ball well. He was also smart enough to work Youzhny around the court and make him expend tons of energy just to try to stay in the match.

Sure, the Russian was able to take the third set, but you could see how much it took out of him come the fourth set.

This match was a great reminder that when his head is in it and he doesn't let a partisan crowd get to him, Djokovic is far and away the best player on the planet.