Andy Murray has admitted he finds it a 'shame' that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal never locked horns at the US Open.
The two players came within one match of meeting at Flushing Meadows on six separate occasions earlier in their respective careers.
However, in the end, the stars failed to align.
Now, speaking ahead of his US Open showdown with Corentin Moutet on Tuesday, Murray has bemoaned that and admits it's a 'shame' Federer and Nadal were never able to face off at Flushing Meadows.
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer never met at the US Open
PA
“It was a shame, yeah,” said the 36-year-old, who beat Nadal prior to losing to Federer in the final of the competition back in 2008.
“It’s just one of those strange things.
"I mean, those guys were obviously dominating the sport for a number of years, and it just, you know, never quite happened.
“I mean, Roger won five times, Rafa won four, so yeah, pretty amazing really that they never crossed paths.
“It’s unfortunate because it would have been an amazing, amazing atmosphere.
"And those two when they played, it was like a proper, like clash of everything, like game styles, personalities and everything.
"And I think it would have been a great match.”
While Federer and Nadal didn't meet each other at the US Open, they still faced off a huge 40 times prior to the Swiss' retirement last year.
Nadal won their first-ever meeting back in 2004, beating Federer in straight sets at the Miami Masters.
And the 37-year-old beat Federer 24 times in total, with the former tennis star winning on 16 separate occasions.
Nadal won three of his four matches against Federer at the Australian Open.
And he secured victory in all six of their French Open showdowns, too.
Federer does have the advantage when it comes to Wimbledon, however, beating Nadal on three separate occasions.
Nadal arguably won the biggest of those matches, however, beating his long-term rival in 2008 to claim the biggest prize in tennis.
Murray, meanwhile, has admitted he was unhappy with the scheduling of Wimbledon last month.
“I had multiple conversations before the start of the tournament and asked not to play the third match every single day because that’s what is going to happen with the 1.30 start and the breaks in between the matches," he said.
“The roof, in my opinion, was there for when it rains – that there is always matches that can go on for the fans and for TV and everything and it’s great.
“It feels like it’s getting used now for darkness to play matches later in the evening and when you get that third slot you have no way of practising on an indoor grass court.
"It’s not possible. You spend your whole time preparing for Wimbledon – I skipped the French Open to prepare to play my best tennis at Wimbledon – but then you’re playing every match under different conditions than what you’re preparing for.”
Murray added: “I don’t think it helps the sport that much when everyone’s leaving because they have to go and get public transport home and you finish a match like that in front of like 10 per cent of the crowd.
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Andy Murray previously won the US Open back in 2012
PA
"You don’t see it in other sports so it’s clearly wrong."
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