New York, August 26 (IANS): Spanish top seed Rafael Nadal and Swiss third seed Roger Federer are in the same half of the US Open men's singles draw - released Friday - and could meet in the semi-finals. On the other hand, Russian Maria Sharapova, playing her first major tennis tournament since returning from a doping suspension, will square off in the first round against Romanian second seed Simona Halep. A match-up between Nadal and Federer - arch-rivals, all-time greats and winners of the first three Grand Slam events of 2017 - would be their first-ever meeting at Flushing Meadows, reports Efe. Nadal leads their career head-to-head 23-14 but Federer has won their last four matches, three of which were played on hard court this season: in the Australian Open final, the Indian Wells round of 16 and the Miami Open final. Nadal will take on Serbia's Dusan Lajovic in the first round, while seventh-seeded Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, fresh off capturing his first-ever ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati, looms as a possible quarterfinal opponent. Federer, meanwhile, has a tricky draw that begins with a clash against talented 19-year-old American Frances Tiafoe and could see him square off against Australian rising star Nick Kyrgios in what would be a blockbuster round-of-16 contest. Second-seeded Andy Murray of Scotland, who has been battling a hip injury, appears to have a less threatening draw, with eighth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 12th-seeded Spaniard Pablo Carreño Busta and French No. 16 seed Lucas Pouille the biggest threats on paper.
