PREVIEW: US Open Men's Final

Roger Federer (2) vs. Andy Murray (6)
Head-to-head: Fed 1, Andy 2
Last meeting: Dubai '08 (hard), Andy 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-4

The semifinals have been decided and the final is all set but it isn't the meeting most would have imagined. Four-time defending champion and second seed Roger Federer will be going for his 13th Grand Slam trophy, putting him one behind Pete Sampras' record 14 majors, when he takes on first time finalist, sixth seeded Andy Murray, for the US Open championship.

How they got here: Fed seems to have finally found his stellar form just in time. The Swiss avenged his semifinal Aussie Open loss to Novak Djokovic when he outplayed the sluggish Serb 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2. Andy Murray looked brilliant during his clinical dissection of top seed Rafael Nadal. The Brit baller sliced, diced, and lobbed his way into his first Grand Slam final with a rousing 6-2, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4 two day defeat of the Spanish steamroller.

The last time these two met was earlier this season in Dubai, when the 21-year old shocked Fed in the first round with a 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-4 win. It was Andy's second straight defeat of the 12-time Grand Slammer after having won against the Swiss in Cincinnati '06.

Here's what Fed had to say about the possibility of facing Andy:

It will be interesting to see how [Andy] handles [his first major final], but I have a feeling he's a guy who plays well on the big occasions. That's why I need to be very, very careful how I play tomorrow if it is Andy.

Andy has this to say about battling Fed for the first time in a major:

I've played well against him in the past. I think a Slam final is different to the match that I played against him before. You know, he's obviously won, you know, over 30 matches in a row here, you know, so he's obviously going to be feeling confident going in.

He's got loads of experience in these situations and it's something new for me. I know I'm going to have to play great to have a chance of winning, but I've played well the last couple of weeks.

Outlook: No longer "Mopey Murray", the Brit baller has shown supreme confidence throughout the fortnight. After his narrow escape from a 5-set defeat against Jurgen Melzer in the third round, Andy crushed Stanislas Wawrinka, outlasted Juan Martin del Potro, and outplayed Rafael Nadal. He has every trick up his Fred Perry sleeves and could win this match if he can utilize his full arsenal of shots.

But Roger Federer has some tricks of his own, finding some of his best stuff (read: serve) when he needed it most. He possesses so much experience at this stage of a major which will give him a decided edge over his British foe.

But most importantly Fed has learned, as Brad Gilbert would say, to win UGLY. The Swiss got gritty when the going got tough, has been outwardly expressive when urging himself on, found ways to win when his game was lacking, and even sweated profusely!

Andy may have a winning record over Fed but they've never played in a major and defeating the Swiss stylist in a best three-out-of-five format is a completely different challenge. Fed wants to make a good year great and he will when he wins his fifth straight US Open championship.

(images via Getty)