As a prelude to the men’s final between Rafael Nadal and Stanislas Wawrinka, here is a countdown of the best men’s matches of week 2 at the 2014 Australian Open.  There were upsets to be found and some high-quality battles to relive.

5) Grigor Dimitrov d. Milos Raonic 6-3 3-6 6-4 7-6(10)

Dimitrov would go on to reach the quarterfinals, and his third-round win over Raonic, another relatively young player with potential, was one of his best matches of the tournament. The Bulgarian played an exceptionally clean match, his ball-striking producing 49 winners to just 13 unforced errors. Dimitrov also fired 15 aces, and this match was mostly a matter of holding serve. Dimitrov produced just two breaks across the entire match, and Raonic produced just one. While Raonic served well with 21 aces, he won just 20% of his return points. Dimitrov moved better along the baseline and deployed a razor-sharp backhand that was clicking in this match.

The turning point seemed to come at 4-5 in the third set, when Dimitrov broke Raonic to take it. But then they ground their way to a fourth-set tiebreak, and it would be a long one. Raonic finally cracked under pressure serving at 10-11 when he netted his first groundstroke off Dimitrov’s return. 

4) Rafael Nadal d. Roger Federer 7-6(4) 6-3 6-3

This blockbuster match was not an instant classic, as many expected, but it makes it onto my list for a different reason. This is the high-quality performance of Rafael Nadal against a newly energized, aggressive Roger Federer, who came out fighting in this match with belief. Federer was still sent packing by the Spaniard, who knows how to beat him and seems to have his number at this point in their legendary rivalry. Nadal faced questions about the blister on his hand and his movement after he showed some weaknesses in his wins over Kei Nishikori and Grigor Dimitrov. Still, he made the final and put the doubters to bed with this result.

The first set was tense and of very high quality. Federer played aggressively and served well, as he needed to do, but Nadal also dictated with his forehand and held with ease, coming up with impressive passing shots. Federer would be tested first but wouldn’t crack until the tiebreak as he saved multiple break points across a pair of service games. Nadal was forced to deuce in the first set on serve, but he did not face a break point. When the tiebreak came, Nadal raced out to a quick advantage as Federer came out slow.

The Swiss would save three break points admirably to hold for 2-2 early in the second, but Nadal would break for 4-2 and win the second set to take a firm grasp of the match. A series of breaks would unfold in the uneven third set, although the Spaniard would lose serve just once in that set and in the match. Nadal won the vast majority of the medium and long rallies, while Federer had a 34-50 ratio of winners to unforced errors, which just wasn’t good enough to survive. Nadal heads into the final as the firm favorite, but Federer was back to competing at a top-five level during these two weeks.

3) Roger Federer d. Andy Murray 6-3 6-4 6-7(6) 6-3

This match was notable for Federer’s resurgence in form in Melbourne. It made the list over his win against Tsonga in the round of 16 because it was slightly more dramatic and had a couple of plot twists in it.

 Federer came out aggressive and strong, while Murray was subpar and far too passive. The Swiss rushed the net regularly, kept inside the baseline on his return, and served very well in the first two sets. Federer would break the two times he needed to take those sets, winning over 40% of his return points, and the match looked headed for a straight-sets finish. Murray was donating too many errors and not rotating enough on his shots to be consistent enough to win. But he staved off four break points in the third set, only being broken once. He then prevented Federer from serving out the match and saved two match points in the third-set tiebreak to force a fourth set.

For a time, it seemed suddenly that Murray was surging and Federer fading. The Swiss veteran then collected himself and showed his mettle, winning a fourth set of attrition. Murray started slow but worked his way into the match, and Federer had a hiccup here and there. In general, though, he dominated the proceedings and earned a well-deserved win that showed he still has plenty of solid tennis left in him.

2) Rafael Nadal d. Grigor Dimitrov 3-6 7-6(3) 7-6(7) 6-2

Nadal was tested by the rising Bulgarian. He passed the test, but Dimitrov left his mark in Melbourne with this strong quarterfinal performance. Racing out to a one-set lead and kept the match close for two additional sets. Nadal had the edge in the tiebreaks as Dimitrov fought hard until the end but struggled to be clutch. Grigor was in tears after the match about some missed forehands on key points that could have turned the tide. That emotional outpouring showed his commitment to competing in this match.

Nadal, who was struggling with a bad blister on his hand, was tenacious and clutch to shut the door when he needed to do so, even though he didn’t play near his best. The biggest moment came in the third-set tiebreak when Dimitrov couldn’t convert his three set points. From there, it was one-way traffic for Rafa.

1) Stanislas Wawrinka d. Novak Djokovic 2-6 6-4 6-2 3-6 9-7

In the match of the tournament, barring an incredible final, Stanislas Wawrinka finally got over the hump of beating quasi-rival Novak Djokovic in a major. Twice they met last year, in Australia and at the US Open, and twice Djokovic rallied to win in five sets. The Serb had left Wawrinka gasping for air after he threw everything at his opponent, but this time things were different.

Djokovic looked solid in the first set, rolling out to a 6-2 lead after a cascade of errors from Wawrinka. But the Swiss came back with a vengeance, breaking with a huge backhand for 4-3 in the second set and serving it out for 6-4. He would continue the momentum by breaking Djokovic twice in the third set to claim a two-sets-to-one lead. But Djokovic would not throw in the towel, coming back in the fourth set and cleaning up his game to force yet another final set of a major.

In that fifth set, the momentum stayed with Djokovic early. He broke for 2-1 in the fifth set, but things swung back as Wawrinka broke back in the next game. Wawrinka then saved a break point in the next game after a long rally, and things would be steady on serve until a match point at 7-8 30-40 on the Djokovic serve. The defending champion hit a volley long, and abruptly it was over. Wawrinka had conquered his nemesis, and he is now into the final. He also will become the top-ranked Swiss player now, surpassing Roger Federer, after a great 2013 and a tremendous start to 2014. Wawrinka has earned everything that he is getting in attention and popularity, having risen to the top through hard work to maximize his talent.