From the moment it was official that Roger Federer would be the third seed at this year's Australian Open, speculation immediately began as to whether he would fall in Novak Djokovic's half or Andy Murray's.  As luck would have it, he landed in the Serb's half, and it is probably safe to assume that of the three, Murray was the only one happy with that outcome.  But the misfortune of Djokovic and Federer is every tennis fan's gain.  It is a match worthy of a Grand Slam final, although when it is over, only of them will have the opportunity to vie for the championship.

When Djokovic and Federer meet, it can truly be classified as a marquee match.  They are two of the biggest names in the sport with Djokovic as the reigning No. 1 and Federer the man to have held that top ranking more than any other player in the Open era.  Between them, they have 27 major singles titles along with numerous Masters titles.  They have battled each other 44 times in the past with things all even at 22 wins apiece.  There is obviously little to choose between the pair, so the outcome of this match is going to come down to the finest of margins.

If Djokovic hopes to put his nose out in front in the 45th edition of this rivalry, it is imperative that he have a high first-serve percentage and be prepared to take a few more risks on his second serve.  Federer is going to be looking to attack, particularly when he gets a look at a second serve, and Djokovic needs to be ready for it and minimize the odds of that happening whenever possible.  Additionally, while Djokovic is more than capable of inflicting damage with his forehand, he is going to make more headway against the Swiss when he can get him to engage in a battle of the backhands.  Djokovic must make sure he maintains a good balance between offense and defense, looking to move forward when he can to take the net away from Federer and avoiding the pitfalls that come with becoming too passive and allowing Federer to dictate play. 

Federer will undoubtedly look to be the aggressor in this contest, and he has the game to do so.  He can be especially lethal from the forehand side, which he has increasingly hit flatter to make it a more penetrating stroke in recent months.  Like Djokovic, he needs to have a good serving day, because Djokovic is the best returner in the game right now, and he will force Federer onto his heels quickly if the third seed gives him too many looks at a second delivery.  Lastly, Federer must guard against taking too many risks and sacrificing consistency as a result.  It is true that Federer is the player who has to venture a little more out of his comfort zone in this match, but he can ill afford to give away too many free points either if he wants to cause the upset.

Weighing risk and reward is difficult for Federer in this encounter, however, since he is apt to feel more anxious under these circumstances.  It is not that he doubts that he can beat the top seed.  He has been one of the few players to regularly challenge Djokovic in the last 12 to 18 months, and he defeated the Serb in three of their eight meetings in 2015.  The issue for Federer is that it is much tougher to beat Djokovic in a best-of-five format, and it is the Serb who has won all of their recent meetings at the majors, often pulling away from Federer in the latter sets.  Factor in Djokovic's greater success in Melbourne, and he ought to be the man feeling slightly more confident about his chances on Thursday.

Of course, even if he feels optimistic, Djokovic will wisely have a healthy dose of respect for Federer's ability to get the better of him.  The Serb has been nearly unbeatable the last 12 months, but Federer was one of the few to prove he could be defeated.  Either could walk away the victor.  Both deserve it.  It is likely to come down to just a few key points, but even so, look for the top seed to get through to another final.

Let the comparisons to David versus Goliath commence!  Serena Williams, a mystery coming into Melbourne thanks to a knee issue and a lack of match play, finds herself yet again in the final four of the Australian Open.  Her next opponent is Agnieszka Radwanska, who has been flawless thus far in 2016.  It is the heavyweight against the lightweight, but they are both hungry in equal measure to reach the final.

While no one doubts the desire of both women to fight tooth and nail to advance in Thursday's match, one would be hard-pressed to find many who favor Radwanska to be the player to do so.  It is not that the Pole is not deserving of a place in the championship on Saturday.  On the contrary, she is the fourth seed and has been ranked as high as No. 2.  She won the title in Shenzhen before arriving in Melbourne, and more importantly, she was crowned champion at the 2015 WTA Finals, a tournament that has often proved to be a springboard to even greater success.

But as impressive as the Pole's career has been to this point, it pales in comparison to what Williams has accomplished.  She is one of the most decorated players in the history of the sport, and among her numerous tournament victories are 21 Grand Slam singles titles alone. She is far and away the most dominant player on the women's tour right now, and based on her level of play last season, that is a reality that does not look like it is going to change any time soon.

The difference in their career achievements is not the only reason why Williams will be considered such a heavy favorite in this contest, however.  There is also the matter of Radwanska not really having anything with which to hurt Williams.  The American hits noticeably bigger than the fourth seed in every facet of her game.  She is not only in a better position to regularly hold her serve with ease, but she is theoretically going to have a look in every one of the Pole's service games. 

Radwanska is going to have to be the player taking more risks by putting more on her serve and playing closer to the lines in the hopes of keeping Williams off balance and outmaneuvering the top seed.  If possible, Radwanska needs to not only refuse to give up real estate on the baseline but also force herself to move forward at every opportunity.  Her play in the forecourt is the only area of her game that is better than the American's, but it is going to be difficult for her to get up there to utilize those skills.  Even if Radwanska finds her game firing on all cylinders, she is still apt to need help from Williams to pull off the upset.

Williams typically is not in the mood to provide charity at this stage of a major, though, and it is unlikely that the magnitude of the moment will find her leaking unforced errors either.  Radwanska may have been here before, twice reaching the semifinals in Melbourne and once in Paris, as well as reaching the final of Wimbledon.  But she has been at this juncture of a major far less than Williams, and unlike the American, she has yet to prove she has what it takes to win on this stage.  Radwanska has also lost all eight of her previous encounters with Williams, and only when they met in the Wimbledon final did she manage to take a set off the American.  In essence, there is little reason for Williams to believe she is going to lose this match and perhaps even less reason for Radwanska to believe that as well.

Not surprisingly, Williams enters this contest – as she does most matches – a heavy favorite.  Could Radwanska cause the upset?  A lot of strange things have happened the last couple of weeks, but a victory for the Pole would be the biggest stunner of them all.  Short of a bad day at the office for the top seed, there is next to no chance that Williams falls short of the championship match.