Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are one round away from a semifinal showdown in New York. They are first set for respective Thursday meetings with Mikhail Youzhny and Stanislas Wawrinka.

(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (21) Mikhail Youzhny

Djokovic and Youzhny will be facing each other for the ninth time in their careers when they collide in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open on Thursday night. The head-to-head series stands at just 5-3 in Djokovic’s favor, but he has won three of their last four hard-court meetings and Youzhny has never gotten the best of his favored opponent outdoors. They most recently clashed this spring on the clay courts of Monte-Carlo, where Djokovic survived 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. Youzhny’s last victory came at the Rotterdam event in 2010.

Not surprisingly, it has been a different kind of fortnight so far for these two competitors. Djokovic has cruised past Ricardas Berankis, Benjamin Becker…