PARIS - TOP two seeds Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are on course for a first showdown since May in the Paris Masters which started on Sunday.

The last time their rivalry was renewed on the court was when Federer defeated Nadal in the final of the Madrid Masters in May, after the Spaniard had been exhausted by his marathon semi-final win over Novak Djokovic. Since then their paths have not crossed.

Nadal crashed out early in the French Open, did not play at Wimbledon to rest his troublesome knees and both men fell to Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina at the US Open.

Federer played in the Davis Cup the week after Flushing Meadows but took a long break after that returning only this week where he lost his hometown title in Basel on Sunday to Djokovic.

Nadal was once more sidelined with injury after New York, this time to a abdominal stomach muscle strain, and has played just the once since then losing to Nikolay Davydenko of Russia in the final of the Shanghai Masters last month.

Federer, who has failed to make it past the quarter-finals in six attempts at the Bercy Indoors Stadium says he is at a loss to explain his lack of success at the tournament. -- AFP