Roger Federer & Rafa Nadal on same half of U.S. Open draw

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal has been drawn in the same half of the US Open draw as Roger Federer, who, alongside Andy Murray, could rise to the top of the Emirates ATP Rankings after the conclusion of the final Grand Slam championship of the year. The draw ceremony took part at the US Open Experience in the Seaport District of Manhattan on Friday.

Two-time former champion Nadal could meet Grigor Dimitrov, the recent Western & Southern Open titlist, or David Goffin in the quarter-finals prior to a semi-final showdown against Federer, who is bidding to capture his sixth US Open crown. Nadal and Federer have never met at the US Open, and while Nadal leads 23-14 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, Federer has won their past four clashes – including three hard-court meetings in 2017 at the Australian Open, the BNP Paribas Open and the Miami Open presented by Itau.

Top seed Nadal, who has a 46-10 record in New York City, including the 2010 and 2013 crowns, will face Serbian’s Dusan Lajovic in the first set and could potentially face No. 26 seed Richard Gasquet in the third round and No. 15 seed Tomas Berdych in the fourth round. The Spanish superstar, who picked up his 15th Grand Slam championship trophy at Roland Garros in June, has an ATP World Tour leading 49-9 record on the season.

Third seed Federer, who competes in the Big Apple for the first time since 2015 when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the final, plays #NextGenATP American Frances Tiafoe in the first round. Nick Kyrgios, the recent Cincinnati runner-up and No. 14 seed, or No. 17 seed Sam Querrey, enjoying a career-best year, pose a threat in the fourth round. Sixth seed Dominic Thiem, who opens against wild card Alex de Minaur, or No. 24 seed and 2009 titlist Juan Martin del Potro could be a potential semi-final opponent for Federer.

The Swiss superstar, who has the best winning percentage on hard courts (23-2, .920) this year of any player according to the FedEx ATP Performance Zone, is seeking to lift a third major trophy this year to add to his Australian Open and Wimbledon runs. If he does so on 10 September, it would mark Federer’s 20th Grand Slam championship crown.

Second seed Andy Murray, who captured the 2012 title (d. Djokovic), will be competing for the first time since a Wimbledon quarter-final exit to Sam Querrey. Murray, who is 44-11 overall at the final major of the year, faces Tennys Sandgren first up, while No. 16 seed Lucas Pouille or a resurgent No. 21 seed David Ferrer may be a potential fourth round opponent. Eighth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 2011, 2015-16 quarter-finalist, who meets Marius Copil in the fourth round, could pose a threat to Murray in the last eight.

Fourth seed Alexander Zverev, the first player to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan from 7-11 November, starts against a qualifier and may face No. 28 seed Kevin Anderson in the third round. Jack Sock, the No. 13 seed, who reached the Last 16 in 2016, will be hoping to continue a strong season that includes two ATP World Tour titles. The American or No. 19 seed Gilles Muller could face Zverev, a winner of two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crowns in 2017, in the fourth round. Fifth seed Marin Cilic, the 2014 titlist with a 27-7 record in New York City, also features in Zverev’s quarter of the draw and takes on Gilles Simon in the first round.

atpworldtour.com