NEW YORK: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, with 31 major titles between them, head for the US Open with their Grand Slam careers at the crossroads.
Despite turning 34, Federer was an impressive winner of a seventh Cincinnati Masters title last weekend, seeing off world number one -- and US Open favourite -- Novak Djokovic in the final.
It was the Swiss star's 87th tour title and revenge for losing a second successive Wimbledon final to the Serb last month.
But Federer has stumbled badly in New York in recent years.
A five-time champion from 2004-2008, he was runner-up to Juan Martin del Potro in 2009 but hasn't been back to the final since.
His record at the Grand Slams in 2015 has also been mixed.
The seven-time Wimbledon champion may have at least reached the final at the All England Club, but that run was preceded by a shock third round exit to Italian journeyman Andreas Seppi at the Australian Open, his earliest in Melbourne in 14 years.
He then endured a quarter-final loss at Roland Garros to compatriot Stan Wawrinka.
Federer's last Grand Slam title came at Wimbledon in 2012 and if he wins the US Open this year, he would be the oldest champion since 35-year-old Ken Rosewall back in 1970.
"I haven't been in a final (in New York) since 2009. So I got my work cut out," said Federer, who was beaten by eventual champion Marin Cilic in the semi-finals last year.
In contrast to the Swiss player's staying power is Nadal's swift, brutal decline.
The 29-year-old Spaniard, the 2010 and 2013 champion in New York, has endured a tough year, the knee joints and wrists looking stiffer and weaker.
After being deposed as French Open champion -- his quarter-final loss to Djokovic was only his second ever defeat in Paris -- Nadal slumped to 10 in the world, his lowest ranking for a decade.
He has recovered to eight, but he is no longer the player that once struck terror into rivals.
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