Not one to beat his chest and make bold predictions, Andy Murray certainly wasn't about to declare himself over the line against Rafael Nadal.
Still fresh after four straight-sets wins, Murray is aware he faces one of the toughest tasks in his craft. But the fifth seed can fuel belief that his two triumphs over the Spanish ace in the past two years were on similar true-bouncing surfaces as Rod Laver Arena.
"I've played him some really good matches on hard courts," Murray said. "I think I've got some tactics that work well against him."
On the Australian Open quarterfinal tactical plan, the Scot said: "It changes every time. You have to adjust to the surfaces. I've played him indoors, hard courts, clay courts and grass. Each time, obviously, it's a bit different.''
While Nadal holds a 7-2 record against Murray, he has been vulnerable against fellow top 10 players since losing to Juan Martin del Potro in the U.S. Open semifinals last September.
Russian Nikolay Davydenko has beaten him three times, Novak Djokovic twice and also Swede Robin Soderling. So Murray must like his chances of joining that select group of Rafa bashers.
"(Murray) is one of the most talented players on tour," Nadal said. "He can play offensive, he can play defensive. He can do a lot of things during the same match. So that's a very important thing. He's a big player and he's a winner.
"You have some ups and downs in your career. And probably the last eight months, I had more problem than usual with my knees, later with the abdominal (muscles). The important thing is don't have losses against the players that you have to win. So I did very well the last eight months. I didn't have bad losses outside the top 10 players.''
Much will depend how American Andy Roddick and Croatian Marin Cilic recover from grueling five-setters to set up their quarterfinal.
Cilic said he had worked hard in the offseason to improve fitness and stamina for this year.
"That helps to play these long matches in a more consistent way," Cilic said. "From the first few rounds, I had tough opponents, tough matches. So it just shows me how well I can play, how well I'm prepared."
Roddick knows he will have to be patient and wait for chances against the equally heavy-hitting Cilic.
"He's just a tough player," Roddick said. "He's one of those guys who just kills the ball from the baseline. He likes to play inside of the court. He's relentless, he goes after the ball every point.
"I remember I played him at Queen's (London) a long time ago, he played pretty badly. Then I played him in Canada and I played pretty badly. I don't think we can put much stock into our previous meetings.''
