Nadal, winner of this year’s French Open and Wimbledon, has never won the US Open and his form has been subpar in the weeks leading up to the of the year’s major championships.

Federer, the winner of this year’s Australian Open, had been in a free-fall until the past weeks.

He won the Masters Series title in Cincinnati on Sunday and the week before had made it to the final of the Masters Series tournament in Canada.

Seeded third is 2007 finalist Novak Djokovic while last year’s runner-up Andy Murray is seeded fourth. Rounding out the top five is Robin Soderling who has been runner-up at the French Open the past two years.

The top-ranked American, Andy Roddick, has been struggling all summer and was seeded ninth. He won the US Open in 2003. Besides Federer and Roddick, the only other past champion in the men’s field is 2001 winner Lleyton Hewitt who is seeded 32nd. Last year’s champ, Juan Martin del Potro, is injured and will not be able to defend his title.

While the field would seem to be competitive, the truth is when it comes to winning the sports four grand slam championship, Federer and Nadal are head and shoulders above the field.

They are two proud champions with a killer instinct who thrive on the sports’ big stages. This duo have competed against each other in three Wimbledon finals, three French Open finals and an Australian Open final.

Remarkably, if they both make it through six rounds at Flushing Meadows, it would mark the first time they have ever played each other at the US Open.

Since Federer won Wimbledon in 2004, the only players other than he and Nadal to win a major are del Potro last year, Djokovic at the 2008 Australian Open and the now-retired Marat Safin at the 2005 Australian Open.

Federer is the all-time record holder with 16 slam titles overall while Nadal is tied for sixth with eight – the same number won by all-time greats Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl during their entire careers.

At 24, Nadal would seem to have plenty of time to add more while Federer, who just turns 29, can still win several more if he stays hungry and focused.

The women’s seedings were delayed a day because a tournament in Canada is finishing behind schedule and could affect rankings. But really, who cares? Serena Williams is not competing and it will likely be a chokefest until someone finally has the game and the guts to stagger to the finish line.

Related posts:

** Roger Federer finally back in winner’s circle

** Serena Williams pulls of of US Open; Will be hard-pressed to live up to SI’s “greatest ever” claim

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