When it comes to head-to-head rivalries, Roger Federer owns Stan Wawrinka.
The Fed Express will carry an 18-3 winning record over Wawrinka into their all-Swiss Australian Open semi-final blockbuster on Thursday night.
But don't expect such dominance to be any source of comfort for Federer, who knows his Davis Cup-winning teammate and Olympic gold medal-winning partner has taken his game to new levels since becoming a triple major winner.
"Like a lot of guys, I was able to play them when they were young, which is, I guess, for the head-to-head an advantage," the four-time champion said after advancing to a mind-boggling 41st grand slam semi-final.
"In the beginning, he was really struggling on faster courts. I played him in Rotterdam and other places. You could sense in his footwork, the way he was returning, that he was uncomfortable on them.
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"That's why it was incredible for me to see that his first grand slam he was going to win was the Australian Open (in 2014).
"If I would have called any grand slam for him to win it was always going to be the French, because he moved so effortless on clay. That's his base. That's his DNA really.
"He's done incredibly well on all the other surfaces, including grass actually, also indoors, hard and fast. He's become such a good player, I super respect that.
"I don't care much about head-to-heads."
Nor does Wawrinka these days.
Once in awe of his legendary countryman, and still duly respectful, the 31-year-old's extraordinary rise from top-10 journeyman to Australian, French and US Open champion and world No.4 has given him newfound belief.
Until last week, Wawrinka was the only man in the past seven years to conquer Novak Djokovic at Melbourne Park.
He also upended the great Serb in the 2015 Roland Garros final and last year's US Open title match and is on track to become the first man other than Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic to win back-to-back grand slam crowns since Andre Agassi in 1999-2000.
He is a proven force to be reckoned with, a clean hitter capable of blowing past any rival when he's on.
"Now I'm more confident with myself. When I step on the court, doesn't matter who I play, I know what I have to do if I want to win," Wawrinka said.
"For sure, against Roger, it's always special because he's so good. He's the best player of all time. He has answer for everything.
"But I managed to beat him in a grand slam, so we'll see."
