In the last 25 men's Slam singles finals, starting with Wimbledon 2004 - Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal, have won 22 between them.

There has never been such domination by two players, in the history of the sport.

Federer was won 14, Nadal eight.

Only Marat Safin (2005 Australian Open), Novak Djokovic (2008 Australian Open), and Juan Martin del Potro (2009 US Open) have been able to break through the Federer-Nadal barrier.

Just five Slam champions in the last 25 tournaments compared to 14 golf major champions, where Tiger Woods (6), Phil Mickelson (4), Padraig Harrington (3), and Angel Cabrera (2), are the only multiple winners - with 10 one-timers.

The spread is far greater with the little white ball.

So Slam tennis is unique, and the way the current US Open is panning out, Federer and Nadal will again do battle in the decider.

To put the Federer-Nadal era in perspective, the only 25-Slam bracket that's come close is between the 1983 and 1990 Australian Opens:

* Where Ivan Lendl won eight.
* Mats Wilander - six.
* Boris Becker - four.
* Stefan Edberg - three.
* John McEnroe - two.
* Michael Chang, and Pat Cash - one each.

Two dominated, with five others in the mix.

In between the 1959 and 1965 US Opens bracket:

* Roy Emerson won nine.
* Rod Laver six.
* Neale Fraser, and Manual Santana - three.
* And Rafael Osuna, Chuck McKinley, Nicola Pietrangeli, and Fred Stolle - one each.

Two players dominated, but six others played a part.

In between the 1976 and 1982 US Opens:

* Bjorn Borg won eight.
* Jimmy Connors. John McEnroe, and Guillermo Vilas - four each.
* With Mats Wilander, Johan Kriek, Brian Teacher, Vitas Gerulaitis, and Roscoe Tanner - one each.

Four outstanding. with five others.

In between the 1951-1957 US championships:

* Tony Trabert won five.
* Ken Rosewall, and Lew Hoad - four each.
* Frank Sedgman - three.
* Jaroslav Drobny, and Vic Seixas - two each.
* With Ken McGregor, Mervyn Rose, Ashley Cooper, Sven Davidson, and Mal Anderson - one each.

Three dominated, with seven others.

But the biggest spread of champions in the modern era surfaced between the 1996 and 2002 French Opens:

* Pete Sampras won six of the 25 Slams.
* Andre Agassi - four.
* Gustavo Kuerten - three.
* Patrick Rafter, and Yevgeny Kafelnikov - two each.
* And Thomas Johansson, Lleyton Hewitt, Goran Ivanisevic, Marat Safin, Carlos Moya, Petr Korda, Richard Krajicek, and Albert Costa - one each.

All up 13 champions in 25 Slams, way out of the Federer-Nadal league.

So what's so special about this talented duo?

First-up, they are never beaten until the central umpire calls game, set, and match.

No other players on the circuit come within cooee of that credit - that's why they are so hard to toss.

Factor in their uncanny anticipation, pin-point serving at pace, crisp strokeplay off both wings, and their mobility - and the package is almost perfect.

Their Achilles heels are the volley, and break-point conversions - which are a staggering weaknesses, when all the other components are so strong.

Neither are confident moving forward, so they jab at their volleys - and if there's one time when both take the cautious route, it's on break-point.

So far in this tournament, both Federer, and Nadal, have won all four matches in straight sets.

Neither have played top-ranked opponents - yet their volley, and break-point, stats are ordinary, at best:

* Federer has made 106 visits to the net for 68 winners - a 64% success-rate isn't acceptable to the five-time US Open champion.

* And he's converted just 18 of 35 break-points - for a lowly 51%.

* Nadal has made 45 successful volleys from 64 visits - 70%.

* But his break-point conversion rate is abysmal - 12 of 34 for 35%.

Those break-point failures could well become vital, as the Slam moves into the business end.

More especially if they meet in the final, when break-points will be as hard to find as hen's teeth, and must be converted.

Whatever the outcome, one of them will win at Flushing Meadows to increase the domination to 23 of 26 Slams between them.

By any standards, that's incredible.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"I'm taking aim at Federer," Robin Soderling, who meets the Fed Express later today, in the quarters.