Perhaps the match that most fans remember between Andy Murray and Fernando Verdasco was the epic quarterfinal meeting at the Australian Open.  This match had a weird final score: 2-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.  Murray had not been feeling well during the Australian Open, reporting that he was mostly bed-ridden.  Even so, he gave Verdasco all he could handle.

If you were to guess their head-to-head, you might imagine the hard hitting lefty from Spain would have a slight losing record to Murray.  Verdasco has a big serve and one of the biggest forehands in the game, up there with another Fernando, Fernando Gonzalez.

You’d be wrong.  Murray leads their head-to-head 6-1, including a win at Miami later in 2009, a decisive 6-1, 6-2 win.

Verdasco decided that they way to beat Murray was to overpower him.  Murray spent parts of the first set trying to exchange blows with Verdasco, but really played a peculiar style of defensive tennis that is vintage Murray.  Murray’s defense is a very different sort compared to Borg.  When Borg was at the top, he’d run down shots and spin another shot up.  Few players went for big winners because frankly, the racquets and playing style did not make it possible.  Either that or players lacked the imagination to hit hard shots over and over.

That style extended to Borg.  Many Europeans played Borg by trying to outlast him, hitting more and more balls.  Borg wasn’t the kind of player that would try to hit winners on you either.  His style of defense was to hit shot after shot back, with low risk.

Murray’s defense, on the other hand, must be played against opponents who can hit winners from anywhere.  He must run and run.  He has learned how to hit a slice backhand that dances close to the baseline but rarely crosses.  Perhaps Murray lacks the power to play with Verdasco which is why he plays the way he does.  Perhaps Murray prefers to beat Verdasco by making Verdasco beat himself.

In a way, Verdasco controls how his matches turn out.  If Verdasco makes too many errors, then he loses.  If Verdasco finds the lines again and again, then he wins.  This was the story of the match.  Murray took the first set 6-3.  Verdasco used his accuracy and power to break Murray twice and took the second set 6-2.  For a while, there was some concern whether Murray would finish the match.  He grimaced apparently bothered by some leg pain but didn’t call for the trainer.

Murray had opportunities to break Verdasco early in the 3rd, but Verdasco held, then Verdasco’s forehand started to go awry and the hard accurate shots that had won him the 2nd set suddenly disappeared as errors crept in his game, and Murray secured a break, a break he would hold to win the match, 6-3 in the 3rd.

Although Davydenko was seeded second and has historically given Murray some problems, it was Mikhail Youzhny, who has been having something of a late season resurgence after a few years of mediocre results that Murray will face in the final.  Davydenko lost to the equally speedy Youzhny in 3 sets: 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Over in Switzerland, the trend of players from a nation playing well in their national tournament held solid for two Swiss players: world number 1 Roger Federer and childhood friend, Marco Chiudinelli.  Federer and Chiudinelli played a very tight first set, one that went to a tiebreak, but which Federer won 9-7.  Federer then took control of the second set and won it comfortably, 6-3.

There might have been 3 Swiss in the semifinals had Novak Djokovic not spoiled the party.  Djokovic beat Wawrinka in the quarterfinals in three sets.  He then faced Czech, Radek Stepanek, in the semifinals.

Stepanek had won the first set, 7-6.  In the second set, Djokovic found himself servingg down 5-4, 0-40, second serve.  He played an aggressive shot to Stepanek’s forehand, 15-40.  On the next point, Stepanek again had a chance at a second serve, and played an aggressive return that landed a foot out, 30-40.  The third point was nearly identical to the first except Djokovic had a first serve.  He played an aggressive shot to Stepanek’s forehand which he missed again, deuce.  At deuce, Stepanek again missed a return long, ad Djokovic. Djokovic and Stepanek then had an exchange which ended up in Stepanek netting a slice backhand.  Game to Djokovic.

Djokovic would squeak out a win: 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-2.  He gets Roger Federer in the finals.  Federer won their last two meetings: once back in Cincinnati and once at the US Open.  Djokovic has also been struggling with three setters at Basel.  It will be interesting to see what shape Roger Federer is in to play Djokovic.

So, Murray vs. Youzhny in the Valencia finals and Federer vs. Djokovic in the Basel finals.