Nadal and Roger Federer eye the US open
Their rivalry has stretched 13 years and 37 matches but Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have never met at the US Open, a staggering anomaly which seems certain to be corrected at 2017’s concluding Grand Slam. Nadal, back on top of the world rankings for the first time in three years, is a two-time winner in New York, his 2010 and 2013 titles forming part of his 15-Slam portfolio which was embellished by a record 10th French Open in June.
Federer, the five-time US champion from 2004-2008, is bidding for a 20th major and third of the year after capturing the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles.
Victory in the men’s final on September 10 would also make the 36-year-old the oldest US Open champion of the modern era and oldest overall since Bill Tilden in 1929.
Nadal, 31, heads to New York on the back of a quarter-final loss to Nick Kyrgios in Cincinnati and a Montreal last-16 defeat to Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov.“New York is a completely different event,” said Nadal, who has not got past the fourth round at the US Open since 2013.
“Different ball and in the history of my career in New York I played much better.
The path to the title for Nadal and Federer has been eased by the removal of two-time champion Novak Djokovic, the former world number one who has shut down his season to recover from an elbow injury.
