Second-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia will lock horns with World No. 19 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland on Tuesday to secure his berth in the last eight at this year’s last Grand Slam Tournament – US Open. The Serbian has not been tested much in his previous encounters here at Flushing Meadows this time, but now he is up against rejuvenated and improved Wawrinka, who has been producing some consistent results on tour this season and we can expect some scintillating tennis action.

The Serbian has had a dream run in the last season – with three Grand Slams and ten ATP Masters titles, Djokovic just looked way ahead of his opponents in 2011. His probing backhand was simply unplayable at times for even his greatest nemesis Rafael Nadal, whom he beat in six finals last season. Obviously, Djokovic set so high standards for him in the last season that we as tennis lovers expected more from him in the ongoing season. He started off brilliantly by defending his Aussie Open title where he beat Rafael Nadal yet again in an epic title final. Things did look pretty good for the Serbian afterwards but then we saw the reinvention of great Swiss Roger Federer. Once again Djokovic could not solve Rafa riddle at French Open and then he failed to reach the final at Wimbledon. With 58-10 win-loss record and three titles in 2012, Djokovic has certainly achieved so much but obviously his last year’s exploits will always come into comparison game, whenever we would scrutinize his progress in future.

Djokovic’s opponent is twenty seven years old Stanislas Wawrinka, who turned professional in 2002 and has won three titles on tour so far. The Swiss has always performed under the overwhelming shadow of his compatriot and World No. 1 Roger Federer. Both come from a same country and their performances are often compared. Though, Federer is way ahead of Wawrinka, still the comparisons are drawn between these two different contenders. The Swiss has a good 28-15 win-loss record for the season so far and he has been playing good tennis at Flushing Meadows this time.

This will be a thirteenth meeting between these two contenders and Djokovic apparently leads with 10-2 against Wawrinka. Last time they took on each other at Madrid Masters this year, where Djokovic topped the Swiss in straight sets. With his current form, the Serbian looks crushing favorite in this battle.