Only eight men remain in Melbourne at the Australian Open and is it any surprise that Roger Federer seems to be picking up his game at the right time?

While I believed at the onset of the tournament that this could be where Roger's remarkable run of 22 consecutive Grand Slam semi-finals comes to an end, he clearly isn't playing as if that is a possibility.

After narrowly avoiding going down two sets to one in the opening round against Igor Andreev, Federer has been destroying his opposition just as we have grown accustomed to at the majors. Victor Hanescu, Alberta Montanes and Lleyton Hewitt were all sent packing easily in straight sets to set up the anticipated quarter-final match against confident Russian Nikolay Davydenko.

Davydenko started the tournament on fire by dispatching his first three opponents with ease, winning a set 6-0 on each occasion. Things seemed to be on-track against Fernando Verdasco in the fourth round as he took the first two sets before Verdasco stormed back to force a fifth and deciding set that Davydenko would ultimately salvage and emerge victorious 6-2, 7-5, 4-6. 6-7(6), 6-3.

Davydenko won his first tournament of 2010 by defeating Federer and Rafael Nadal along the way. He also won the season-ending championship in London at the end of 2009 by defeating the above two players and Juan Martin Del Potro in the finals. This guy is on a serious run at the moment and his confidence is at an all-time high. His comments in recent press conferences reveal a player who is believing in himself more than he ever has before.

While it is understandable that Davydenko is now mentioned among the favorites in this tournament and he has defeated the best players in the world recently, it remains to be seen how he handles himself in a five-setter against those same opponents. I'd back Federer or Nadal over Davydenko in a best of five format any day.

Roger gets my vote not only against Davydenko, but he looks focused on reclaiming the Aussie Open title from just about anyone at the moment. Grand Slam title number sixteen could be just around the corner.

In the remaining quarter-finals Novak Djokovic will face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Andy Roddick takes on youngster Marin Cilic and a huge match between Andy Murray and Nadal looms as well. All of these matches are incredibly tight and could go either way. We could even get fiver-setters in all of them.

Cilic and Roddick stand at one win apiece against each other and this could be Cilic's break-out Grand Slam. I give him the nod in five sets against Roddick, although I'm sure rooting for the American to make it deeper in the draw.

Tsonga holds the advantage over Djokovic 4-2, while Nadal leads Murray head-to-head 7-2. I think Djokovic has something to prove in this tournament and with Todd Martin now firmly in his corner he will find the composure required to move forward. With Murray, he still lacks the mental edge in the Slams and Nadal looks healthy which is a dangerous prospect. The Spaniard should advance closer towards a defense of his Aussie Open title.

Regardless of the end result, tournament organizers and tennis fans worldwide should be thrilled with the amount of big-name talent that has made it to the final eight.

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