Men's U.S. Open Quarterfinal Previews

Roger Federer (1) vs. Tomas Berdych (6)
Head-to-Head: Federer leads 11-4

What Federer needs to do to win:

Work the width of the court and apply his superior variety to disrupt the 6’5” Czech's rhythm and make him bend for low balls. Berdych is at his best playing off pace, so Federer will want to mix up the spins of his shots. Federer can create sharper angles and would be wise to play some short angles early to try to stretch Berdych, who moves well for his size.

What Berdych needs to do to win:

Try to attack second serves: Berdych won more than 50 percent of points played on Federer’s second serve in two of his last three wins over the Swiss. Command the center of the court, establish an edge in backhand exchanges, and serve at least 60 percent. Berdych has met that mark in two of his tournament four wins and has hit 57 aces against just six double faults in reaching the quarterfinals.

The Pick: Federer in four sets

Though Federer has dominated this rivalry, the result is not a foregone conclusion. Berdych has beaten Federer on big stages—at the Athens Olympics and at Wimbledon in 2010—and has won two of their last four hard-court meetings. Still, the five-time U.S. Open champion possesses more shots, covers the court quicker, has dropped serve just once in this tournament, has won 20 of his last 21 matches, will be fresh after his walkover win over Mardy Fish...and is the pick to reach his ninth straight U.S. Open semifinal.

Andy Murray (3) vs. Marin Cilic (12)
Head-to-Head: Murray leads 6-1

What Murray needs to do to win:

Engage the bigger man in running rallies, attack Cilic’s weaker forehand wing with some low slices and off-pace balls to force him to generate his own pace, and make the world No. 13 work to defend his second serve. Murray, who defused big-servers Feliciano Lopez and Milos Raonic in succession, has broken serve 22 times in four matches, which ties him with  Berdych for the tournament lead.

What Cilic needs to do to win:

Come out of his comfort zone and press the issue to shorten baseline rallies, win at least 50 percent of his second-serve points, and mix up his first serve. Cilic, who favors the kick serve, will want to vary his spins on serve so Murray cannot block back returns. The 6’6” Croatian has been successful attacking net—winning more than 70 percent of his net approaches this week—and will need to attack occasionally and wisely (Murray is a sniper on the pass, but predictably plays the forehand pass cross-court) to shorten points.

The Pick: Murray in four sets

Cilic swept Murray at the 2009 U.S. Open, but has not beaten him since. This has been a challenging match-up for Cilic because his strengths—a bold two-handed backhand, baseline consistency, movement and agility—are all qualities Murray does bit better. If the sometimes ornery Scot stays positive and is hitting his first serve with conviction—Murray served 49 percent in his opening match, but has been better than 60 percent in two of his last three wins—he should prevail.

More men's quarterfinal discussion: Listen to our new podcast, recorded at the U.S. Open.