NEW YORK, NY August 27, 2009 —Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal could meet in the U.S. Open tennis final for the first time. Federer, the Number One seed, and Nadal, who's seeded third, were drawn into opposite halves of the field. At today's announcement of the draw in Midtown, a confident Federer dismissed what had been a shaky start earlier this season.

FEDERER: We had also crisis in financial world. I, too, had a little bit of a crisis. I only dropped to Number 2 in the world, but people were writing me off. I bounced back, and hopefully the same as the economy. We'll see.

Federer achieved a record 15 Grand Slam titles, with his five-set victory at Wimbledon over Andy Roddick. He's trying to become the first man since Bill Tilden in the 1920s to win the U.S. Open six years in a row.

In the women's field, Venus and Serena Williams are on the same side of the draw, and could face each other in a possible semifinal.

The U.S. Open starts Monday in Flushing Meadows.