In each of the previous two Australian Opens, Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka played the match of the tournament. Those breathlessly exciting five-setters raced deep into the Melbourne night. Both times, the man who won eventually claimed the title. Here is a look at the third installment in their dramatic miniseries Down Under.

Nick Nemeroff discusses who has the edge in each department, and why:

Forehand- Even

Wawrinka’s forehand, while his weaker wing, can still produce a ton of winners and consistently put opponents in defensive positions. If it weren’t for its potential to break down, I’d give Wawrinka the edge here. Djokovic’s forehand is not as much of an offensive weapon because his ball doesn’t penetrate through the court as quickly, but he does a superb job of working over opponents left and right off the forehand side.

Backhand- Even

These are arguably the two best backhands in the game today. Wawrinka’s one-hander is one of the most aesthetically pleasing shots. He can crack it from almost any position on the court, whether the ball is coming in high or low, slow or fast. Likewise, Djokovic’s two-hander is a very capable offensive weapon. He doesn’t produce the flashy winners that Wawrinka does, but he also defends off the backhand side better than anyone ever has in the history of this sport.

Serve- Wawrinka

Wawrinka has one of the most simplistic yet deadly serves in the sport. He can nail ace after ace after ace. Just ask Kei Nishikori, one of the best returners in tennis, how good Wawrinka’s serve is after a straight-sets loss in the quarterfinals. The Swiss can reach back and annihilate the ball, leaving the most capable of returners frozen. Meanwhile, Djokovic’s serve has improved so much over the years. He has wonderful direction and variety and has started to boost up the speed he gets on it as well. His second serve has a ton of kick, something that will be very effective against Wawrinka.

Return-Djokovic

This is the easiest category to decide. Outside of Milos Raonic, Wawrinka is probably the weakest returner in the top 10. He chips a lot of balls back into play, opening up prime opportunities for his opponents to dictate. He’ll have to keep his chips low or deep if he hopes to have a shot in Djokovic’s service games. It goes without saying how good Djokovic’s return is. The most impressive thing about Djokovic’s return for me is how much better he handles difficult serves than anyone else. It just seems impossible to bypass him at times.

Net play- Wawrinka

Watch the last two points of Wawrinka’s and Djokovic’s 2014 quarterfinal match and you’ll get your answer as to who has the better net skills. Djokovic’s net skills leave a lot to be desired. It’s no coincidence that he does almost all of his heavy lifting from the back of the court. Wawrinka demonstrated that his game possesses a certain level of delicacy in his match against Nishikori, when he hit some beautiful touch volleys and drop volleys. He’ll need to move forward against Djokovic whenever an opportunity to do so presents itself. The chance of overhitting against Djokovic is high because he defends so well. Moving forward will make ending the point a lot easier for Wawrinka.

Defense- Djokovic

Djokovic’s flexibility is a sight to behold. He can stretch and extend his limbs in freakish ways. Push him laterally, and he’s there blasting back an open-stance forehand or backhand with unbelievable pace from a defensive position. His ability to turn defense into offense is uncanny. Watching the power of Wawrinka match up against the defensive skills of Djokovic is something any tennis fan can appreciate.

Movement- Djokovic

One of the reasons Djokovic is such a great defender is because he can cover so much court. His ability to execute so many different shots from different stances also contributes to his tremendous court coverage. Wawrinka’s movement is solid. He isn’t going to get to every ball, but his speed is sufficient for what he is attempting to accomplish.

Intangibles- Djokovic

This is a close one, but Djokovic has won this tournament four times, while Wawrinka has only won it once. In addition, Djokovic demolished Wawrinka in their most recent meeting at the World Tour Finals and has won 16 of the 19 matches they have played overall. Both guys will feel confident entering this match, but Wawrinka knows he’ll need to produce something special to replicate last year’s outcome.

Prediction: Djokovic in four sets

This will be a very good match for a while, but look for Djokovic to extract revenge from their match last year and pull away at the end in four sets.