A great opportunity lies ahead for both Tomas Berdych and Andy Murray in the Australian Open semifinals. For Berdych, it’s been nearly five years since he last appeared in his only Grand Slam final at Wimbledon in 2010. He’s made two major semifinals since then but hasn’t been able to take that next step by reaching a final. Murray has been no stranger to Grand Slam finals over the last several years, but 2014 was the first year since 2009 that he didn’t reach that stage.

Berdych scored one of the most cathartic victories of his career in the quarterfinals when he snapped a 17-match losing streak to Rafael Nadal, winning in straight sets. Murray ended the hopes of young Aussie Nick Kyrgios, dominating the teenager in straight sets. Berdych has not dropped a set the entire tournament, while Murray has dropped just one.

Given Murray’s Grand Slam pedigree, it’s no surprise that he comes in as the slight favorite. On the worrisome side of things for the Scot is his 4-6 lifetime record against the Czech. Murray has also lost the last two matches he’s played against Berdych. Their record on hard courts is 3-3.

A lot of noise is going to be made about Andy Murray’s former coach/training partner and longtime friend Daniel Vallverdu being in Berdych’s box. In reality, I don’t think it will make that much of a difference that Berdych has Vallverdu on his side. These two guys have played each other enough and have seen enough of each other that there aren’t really any secrets.

Murray has gotten into trouble against Berdych in the past by playing too cautiously, relying on defense rather than attempting to take the initiative. Berdych will look to pull his forehand cross court into Murray’s forehand, whereas Murray will attempt to exploit Berdych’s weaker side with his world-class backhand.

Berdych has typically been troubled by supreme defenders who can neutralize his power and get that extra ball back into play. Murray is one of those players, but unlike Nadal and Djokovic, Murray has failed to consistently integrate a firm offensive element to his game against Berdych. If he reverses this trend, he should have a great opportunity to win this match.

Murray will additionally look to disrupt Berdych’s first-strike game plan with deep, hard returns, variety off the backhand side to keep the ball out of Berdych’s strike zone, and a steady stream of net approaches.

This one is a toss-up for me,  but given Murray’s abundance of experience at this stage of majors, he gets the nod here.

Prediction: Murray in four sets