Roger Federer says he is looking forward to this afternoon's clash with Novak Djokovic, with a battle from the back of the court expected in the semi-final of the US Open.
Federer is anticipating a repeat of last year's thriller at Flushing Meadows, when the duo wowed fans with four hours of high octane stroke-play at the same stage of the competition.
Neither Federer or Djokovic like to give an inch from the back of the cour, and an afternoon’s worth of supreme shot-making and jaw-dropping defensive skill in New York is on the cards later today.
Speaking ahead of the match, Federer said: "I think we're both gonna play aggressive. He's moving well. He's probably taken his game up to a bit of a higher level, mostly in terms of confidence I think.
"But I think when we do play against each other it's always exciting. We have great rallies against each other. I like playing against him because it's a battle of the baseline a bit if you like.
"He's been having an amazing season so far, so it's a challenge right now in the men's game. That's what I like, who I like to play against."
Djokovic is deservedly the favourite and has beaten Federer three times this season, but the Swiss turned on the magic to upset his rival in the French Open semis and this is one of his favourite courts in the world.
"We're going to go out there and give it the best possible shot, at least myself," he continued. "I can only speak for myself. I don't know where Novak is coming from.
"These last two weeks he's had a pretty easy trip to the semis. Me too. I have been very dominant in my matches. I hope I can take all the confidence I have been able to build here during this tournament and use it against Novak.
"I'm looking forward to it. It's always a great matchup between the two of us. We've played over 20 times, I think. So there is no real secrets out there.
"We have had particularly good matches here at the US Open, and I have the feeling it's going to be something similar again.