It’s hard to imagine that a final four that consists of the Nos. 2, 3, 4, and 6 seeds would be considered a surprise, but that’s the state of the men’s semifinals at the 2012 United States Open. It’s the first time in 33 Grand Slam events in which neither Roger Federer nor Rafael Nadal reached the semifinal round, though the cast of remaining characters is hardly an obscure one.
At 11 a.m. Eastern (CBS), the first semifinal pits Olympic gold medalist Andy Murray of Britain, the No. 3 seed, against six-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic. Berdych upset the top-seeded Federer in the quarterfinals to become the only man outside the top four seeds to reach the semifinals. Berdych has a 4-2 career record against Murray, but has a disadvantage in big match experience. He will be playing in only his third career Slam semifinal compared to the 11th for Murray.
The second semifinal features defending champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia, the No. 2 seed, against No. 4 David Ferrer of Spain. Djokovic is only 8-5 against Ferrer in his career, but has not lost a set to him in the seven matches played on outdoor hard courts.
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