Nadal broke Rublev’s serve seven times, won 92 total points to Rublev’s 53 and was very soon answering questions about whether he and Roger Federer will finally get to play at the United States Open. It is the only Grand Slam tournament where they have yet to face off.

For it to finally transpire, Federer needs to defeat Juan Martin del Potro on Wednesday evening in the final men’s quarterfinal of the tournament.

“It’s something a little bit strange that we never played here, because we played a lot of times in all the important events around the world,” Nadal said in an on-court interview. “Will be much more special if that can happen in a final, but it’s not possible this year. So we’re going to come back and try to make that happen.”

With Federer 36 and Nadal 31, the future remains very uncertain, but if they do finally meet here in New York, it will be not only a duel for a place in the final but a duel for the No. 1 ranking, currently held by Nadal.

It has been a throwback season from the start: Federer beat Nadal in a five-set classic to win the Australian Open in January. But Nadal, who did not have glittering hardcourt results this summer leading into the U.S. Open, has rarely had such a straightforward path to the semifinals in New York.

He did not face a top 50 player in the first five rounds, and though he lost a set to Taro Daniel of Japan in the second round and to Leonardo Mayer of Argentina in the third round, he has now won nine straight sets and looks physically fresh, which has often not been the case at the U.S. Open during his long career.