Roger Federer Will Return to Form with Appearance in 2013 US Open Final

Roger Federer appears to be approaching the twilight of his tennis career, but despite being No. 7 in the ATP rankings, the five-time U.S. Open champion is set up to bounce back in the year's final Grand Slam event.

While it's perhaps too bold to say that Federer will win the title in New York City, the draw sets up a scenario in which he could at least be on the brink of winning his 17th major tournament by advancing to the final.

Arguing for Federer with conviction is difficult, because it seems that all signs are pointing to the 32-year-old legend finally falling off after staggering consistency prior to the 2013 season.

After winning at least four singles titles in each of his previous six campaigns, Federer has only taken home the hardware at one event this year. He's also only made one of the past nine Grand Slam finals, though that did result in a victory at Wimbledon last year.

There is also a huge hurdle for Federer to clear in the quarterfinals against Rafael Nadal, the No. 2 seed who is widely considered the favorite:

Nadal has historically dominated Federer, holding a career record of 21-10 against his Swiss arch-rival. However, in the many times the two have squared off, none have been in the U.S. Open, where Federer has established himself as one of the premier hard-court players in the game's history.

Thanks to triumphs at Indian Wells, and most recently in Montreal and Cincinnati in Masters 1000 series events, many hold Nadal in high regard on this surface even though he did not compete in New York last year.

If the Cincinnati event were any indication, Federer may have a shot at beating the player who has frequently befuddled him—and prevented him from truly running away with the Grand Slam titles record.

No one has beaten Nadal on hard courts in 15 matches this season, but Federer did nab the opening set off him in the Western & Southern Open before losing two hotly contested sets 6-4 and 6-3 thereafter.

Federer had been on a two-week break to recalibrate, and he appeared to come back refreshed.

Of course, advancing to even the quarterfinal seems to be an achievement in and of itself from Federer as of now, but the toughest potential foes Federer could face before Nadal include No. 26 seed Sam Querrey in the third round and No. 11 Kei Nishikori in the Round of 16.

In two previous encounters, Federer has never lost to Querrey, and though Federer lost to Nishikori on clay this season, he disposed of him easily to win the Swiss Indoors Basel final in 2011 by a score of 6-1, 6-3 on hard court.

Considering how well American power player John Isner played, too, in valiantly challenging but losing to Nadal in the Cincinnati final, it's no guarantee that Nadal will get through to the quarters.

Isner is playing some of the best tennis of his career, and given Nadal's history of health issues, he's not exactly a lock to get through the grueling hard courts of Flushing Meadows unscathed.

Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray may tangle in the semifinals on one side, and should be in for another epic showdown if they both reach that juncture. Meanwhile, Federer would face No. 4 David Ferrer—a man he has never lost to before in 15 matches.

The legendary John McEnroe has just one fewer U.S. Open to his name than Federer, but as the USA Today's Chris Chase reports, he believes it will be "quite, quite difficult" for the Fed to win another Grand Slam tournament.

Even with this extraordinarily low seeding and a match with Nadal possibly on tap in the quarters, look for Federer to surprise the tennis world with an epic bounce-back performance.

Editor's note: Article has since been amended to reflect correct stats.

Match history with opponents is courtesy of MatchStat.com. All other statistics and draw information were obtained via ATPWorldTour.com and the U.S. Open's official website.