If we compare their career progresses so far then it is pretty easy to deduce that Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer are similar in many manners. Both are equipped with some of those latent weapons, which spoil the game plans of their opponents –during those decisive moments of the matches, when you need a little bit of luck and a lot of mental strength. Both set a tennis court on fire with their swiftness and turn it into a marathon track. And, yes both are humble to the core and know that every startling triumph paves the path for high responsibilities and further escalate the expectations of their followers. So, you cannot ask for more when these two great grinders of the game will be up against each other at the 2012 US Open in the second semi-final encounter.

Second seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic is playing in his sixth straight US Open semi-final. The Serbian is also looking to secure his 60th match win of the season, as he has a remarkable 59-10 win-loss record in 2012 so far. Djokovic is appearing in his tenth straight Grand Slam semi-final. With this feat, Djokovic equaled the record of great Rod Laver, who reached the semis at Majors from 1960 Wimbledon to 1962 US Championships – on ten occasions. The Serbian has won four of his past seven encounters against Top 10 contenders and he claimed his fifth major title at the Australian Open in January. Djokovic has a stellar 34-3 record on hard-courts this season.

On the other hand, defiant warrior David Ferrer is the third Spaniard to reach multiple US Open semi-finals after Rafael Nadal and Manuel Santana. The Spaniard came back from a break down in the fifth set to earn a 6-3, 6-7(5), 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) win over Janko Tipsarevic in four hours and 31 minutes, Thursday on Arthur Ashe Stadium. The 30 year old Spaniard has an impressive 18-3 win-loss record at Grand Slams this year. He also reached the semi-final at Roland Garros earlier this year, where he lost to Rafael Nadal. He has a 23-9 win-loss match record at the US Open and is 58-11 in 2012.

In head-to-head, Djokovic leads with 8-5 against the Spaniard with 7-2 in hard-court clashes. The duo has clashed three times at Grand Slams – 2007 US Open and 2008, 2012 Australian Open. They have met twice earlier this season, with Serbian triumphing on both occasions. Thus, the Spaniard must be looking forward to avenge those losses.