The Swiss is seeded second in the tournament, which gets underway today.

Federar, a 17-time Grand Slam winner, has not made it into the last four of the final Grand Slam of the year at Flushing Meadows since 2011, with his last of fives wins in 2008.

But, with defending champion Nadal of Spain out and Great Britain's low on form Andy Murray seeded eighth, things may be opening up for a fairytale return to winning ways on the biggest stage.

"I'm coming in with great confidence," said 33-year-old Federer.

"I can really rest now, rather than having to work on stuff.

"So it's just about maintaining, and that's also really good for the mind.

"I can just enjoy New York for what it is and go out to the practice courts and do the opposite of what I had to do last year when I went out there and did three‑hour practice sessions and went for extra practice sessions after matches sometimes."

Federer could face rising star and seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in the quarter-final.

Number one seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia faces arguably the tougher half of the draw, and will be looking to make it back-to-back Grand Slam wins after beating Federer in the Wimbledon final last month.

Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland is seeded third, with Spain's David Ferrer the fourth seed.

Serena Williams has not made it past the fourth round of any of the three Grand Slams contested this year ©Getty Images



The women's draw is headed by defending champion Serena Williams of the United States.

The 32-year-old, a five-time winner of the US Open, has not made it past the fourth round of any Grand Slam this year, and will face stiff competition from many of the sport's rising stars.

Romanian Simona Halep, a quarter-finalist in Australia in January, was the beaten finalist at the French Open and made it to the last four at Wimbledon, is seeded second.

Eugenie Bouchard of Canada has made it to at least the semi-finals of every Grand Slam this year, losing to Petra Kvitova in the Wimbledon final.

Bouchard is seeded seventh, while Czech Kvitova is seeded third.

Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland is the fourth seed, ahead of Russia's Maria Sharopova, winner of the US Open in 2006.

China's Li Na is out of the tournament in New York City through injury.

The final tennis Grand Slam of the year is due to end with the men's final on September 8.