Most are familiar with the concept of a “war of attrition.” Thankfully, that will not literally be taking place on court, but Andy Murray and David Ferrer are poised to wage the tennis version of it.  They have both advanced to the final eight with relative ease, but come Wednesday, one of them will have found his Australian Open journey abruptly brought to a halt as the other advances to the semifinals.

Murray is the clear favorite in this contest.  He is back to his career-high ranking of No. 2 and has a couple of major singles titles in his pocket.  He has accumulated multiple Masters crowns and has been extremely solid Down Under, as illustrated by his four finalist appearances in Melbourne.  But while the Scot's list of accolades may outshine those of Ferrer, the Spaniard has accomplished more than enough to suggest he can be a threat in this quarterfinal.  He has been a mainstay in the top 10 for a number of years now.  He is also a former Roland Garros finalist and US Open semifinalist, and he has twice been to the final four at the Australian Open.  He has garnered his share of significant upsets to compile those statistics and will be hungry to add to them with a victory over Murray.

Ferrer is capable of earning the victory, but like Murray, he is going to have to be prepared to put in the hard yards to do it.  Each man does a remarkable job of tracking down balls, so they have to work and probe to gain the the upper hand in the rallies and not relinquish that control once they have it.  For Ferrer, that translates to a few key components for success.  First, he has to be exceptional on his serve, going big but also putting in a high percentage.  Second, his forehand must be dialed in as well as his backhand down the line.  He is generally more aggressive with his forehand than Murray, since that is the shot he prefers to use to dictate the rallies, and going down the line with his backhand will rob Murray of slightly more time than going cross-court.  Lastly, it is imperative that he take his chances on the return.  The Spaniard's return is a hair better than Murray's, and there will be opportunities to put the second seed under pressure from the start if Ferrer is deadly accurate with that stroke.

Naturally, Murray is going to want to have a good serving day if he is to taste victory in this quarterfinal and avoid giving Ferrer too many looks at a second serve.  Murray should also strive to get into more backhand than forehand exchanges with the eighth seed.  Ferrer has a great backhand, but it is not as good or as versatile as Murray's.  Murray should look to move forward to employ his superior net skills as well, and most importantly, he does not want to fall into the pattern of getting too passive or cute on the court.  He has worked hard to be more offensive-minded, and he needs to take it to Ferrer. Even if Murray does opt to grind it out, he is still going to like his odds of winning.  He has secured a plethora of victories by wearing opponents down, Ferrer included.  He also knows that he has been to this stage of a major far more often than the eighth seed and has won 12 of his 18 meetings with Ferrer, including their last five matches. 

But opting to go the long route with Ferrer and potentially allowing him to control a fair share of the rallies is a risky proposition.  Ferrer is apt to be the tighter of the pair, but he is aware this is a winnable match.  He has defeated Murray on six occasions, and all three of their meetings at the majors – including the semifinals here in 2011 – went four sets and featured multiple tiebreaks.  If Ferrer is able to squeak out a tiebreak and get on top early, he will feel he has a decent chance of breaking his streak of losses to Murray.

Will Ferrer end that losing streak?  He is certainly playing well enough to do it, and unlike Murray, he has yet to drop a set this year in Melbourne.  That said, Murray has to get the nod.  He has won his last five matches against the Spaniard, and he has been so rock solid over the years at this tournament.  Look for Murray to advance to the semifinals, but expect Ferrer to make him work very hard for it.

One of the peculiar aspects about tennis is that a player never knows when she will face a particular foe.  Unlike many other sports, there is no set schedule that guarantees that she will square off with a specific team or player.  Instead, it comes down to the luck of the draw and how she and her fellow competitors progress through that draw.  She might go years without seeing an opponent, or it may only be mere weeks.  For Angelique Kerber and Victoria Azarneka, it is the latter.  They met a few weeks ago in the Brisbane final, and they will do battle on Wednesday with an even greater prize up for grabs.

It should come as no surprise that either woman has reached this point.  In fact, not only has Azarenka been to the semifinals here before, she won back-to-back titles in Melbourne in 2012-13.  She has also been to the semifinals of Roland Garros and Wimbledon and twice finished runner-up at the US Open.  After injuries set her back the last couple of seasons, she appears to be playing closer to her best tennis and is keen to add a third Australian Open title to her name.

Kerber does not boast the same credentials as the Belorussian, but nobody would dismiss her chances in this match.  She is presently ranked No. 6, and that is thanks in no small part to her bagging an impressive four titles last year.  With her run here in Melbourne, she can now say that she has been to the quarterfinals of all four majors, and she has gone one better than that at Wimbledon and the US Open.  For a player with her skills, there is no reason why she cannot add a semifinal appearance at the Australian Open to that list and perhaps go even further.

In order for Kerber to continue on her journey, though, it is essential that she first and foremost not make the mistake of relying too heavily on her defense.  The German is undeniably a better mover than Azarenka, but that does not mean she should be the one constantly chasing down balls.  That is a losing proposition.  Instead, she should look to make the most of the advantage she enjoys with her lefty serve and aim to move Azarenka around the court by using her forehand to either pull Azarenka wide or pressure her by going down the line.  

For Azarenka, the road to victory lies with being patient and effectively employing controlled aggression.  The 14th seed is naturally more offensive than the German, so she is likely to be the one controlling the pace of the match.  But she has to remember that Kerber is quick, and she is going to be put a lot of balls back in play.  Azarenka cannot be goaded into going for too much but rather must practice patience and wait for her opportunity to strike and come in, where she can knock off the volley with her improved net skills.  

In addition to the successful execution of her game, the decisive mental edge Azarenka enjoys in this match-up is sure to play a role.  Azarenka has been to this stage of a major more often than the German, and she has also never lost to Kerber in six matches.  Granted, they played an epic three-setter in the third round of the US Open last year, but that was only the second time Kerber had managed to push her the distance.  The fact that Azarenka absolutely thumped the seventh seed a few weeks ago in Brisbane is unlikely to to bolster Kerber's morale either.  In short, Kerber needs to to avoid falling into a hole early and if possible jump out to an early lead if she is to make Azarenka feel anxious that this match could end differently from the previous six.

Kerber has the talent, and if she can couple it with the belief, she can secure her first victory over Azarenka en route to her first Australian Open semifinal.  But at the end of the day, Azarenka is the better player.  Irrespective of what the rankings and seeding say, this will be an upset if Azarenka fails to advance to the semifinals.