Once it would be a given that they would arrive here, pitted against each other deep into a Grand Slam event. But this time so many dots needed to be connected. The draw needed to align with them in the same half. Federer needed to adjust to the new coach and the new racket and overcome doubts about whether he could still compete for major tournament titles. Nadal needed to knock off two opponents while playing with a cherry-red blister taking up much of his left palm.

Murray needed back surgery last year, which made him a less formidable foe. Mostly, though, Federer got himself to this point. He dismissed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Murray in succession because of the level at which he played, a level between high and somewhere above that. On court after beating Murray, Federer declined to compare the 2014 Fed to the Fed of “my good years,” but he did say that his movement felt off last season. Maybe only by a little bit. But by enough.

“You can still play,” he said, “but it’s not quite the same.”

After surgery, Murray knew what Federer meant. Movement is the key in this era of men’s tennis — the ability not only to chase shots but also to position one’s body to deliver them. That was more evident than ever as Federer and Nadal resumed their perpetual tennis collision course.

Day 10 of the Australian Open belonged to the creative set, to the artists, to the bold. It was not acceptable to stand deep in the court and trade monotonous groundstrokes like some sort of baseline drone.

On Wednesday, players won with verve, with drop shots and lobs and chips, with backhands sliced and then hammered, with the kinds of shots that deserved multiple replays. The faster courts here certainly played into that, but so, too, did the athletes who competed.