U.S. Open men's seed report
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Federer, Roddick will meet again with familiar result
Updated: Thursday August 25, 2005 4:58PM
Sports Illustrated senior writer Jon Wertheim breaks down the men's and women's seeds at the U.S. Open. Read on for the top first-round matchups, dark horses to keep an eye on and his predicted winners.
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Top 16 seeds
1. Roger Federer. It's hard, in good conscience, to pick anyone else. Defending champ has lost three matches on the year and he comes in having won his last 22 finals. And, as if he needed more love, his draw is awefully tame.
2. Rafael Nadal. Convincing as his French Open title was, Nadal also turned a corner in Montreal, winning a hardcourt tournament -- his serve was broken only twice all week! -- to buttress the eight other titles he's won in 2005. Still second fiddle to Federer, but certainly no one else.
3. Lleyton Hewitt. To Hewitt's credit, he has become a model of consistency in Slams. He won't lose to anyone beneath him, grinding out wins even when he's far from his best. Then he'll try like hell, but won't have the requisite weapons to beat the eventual tournament winner.
4. Andy Roddick. Play has picked up considerably since he got off clay. The 2003 U.S. Open champ showed both guts and a versatility advancing to the Cincinnati final. Unfortunately, he banged up his body in the process. And one of the players to beat him this summer -- Robby Ginepri -- looms in the second round.
5. Marat Safin. The most talented player this side of Federer is always a threat. But he comes in hobbled by a knee injury (Surgery? no one seems to know) and is back in mental no-mans land. Which of course means he'll turn things around and do well. So it goes on Planet Marat.
6. Nikolay Davydenko. Interesting prospect. Russian quietly has had a terrific year and, contrary to belief, can play on surfaces other than clay. Not a threat to win the big prize, but don't be surprised if he snakes into the quarters, where he'd meet Federer.
7. Andre Agassi. For a player rumored to be on the brink of retirement, Agassi has to be thrilled with his summer, a run that included a title and a tear to the Montreal final. The conditions and the best-of-five format are ill-suited to a 35-year-old man, especially one battling a chronic back condition. But if Agassi gets through the first week, look out.
8. Guillermo Coria. The fastest man in tennis can get to every ball, but doesn't always do much once he arrives. Given his play in the tune-ups and his track record in Queens, he'll be lucky to live up to his seeding.
9. Gaston Gaudio. The stylish former French Open champ is, for our money, the most aesthetically appealing of the Argentines. But catch him while you can: Like most of his countryman, his history at the Open does not augur a deep run.
10. Mariano Puerta. Could even lose to a qualifier in Round 1.
11. David Nalbandian. El Mullet hasn't been able to stay healthy for years now, but he's always dangerous.
12. Tim Henman. If there's one player due for a strong tournament, it's Henman. He's been a non-factor in the three Slams and was 1-3 in tune-up matches. A semifinalist in '04, Henman can play on asphalt. But he'll need to overcome a serve that seems to get incrementally weaker each year and faltering confidence. And a first rounder against Fernando Verdasco doesn't help.
13. Richard Gasquet. Last year, Gasquet was defaulted from the qualifying draw for nearly beheading a linesman with a thrown racket. This year, he's the 13th seed. Pretty remarkable. The French teenager is due for a Slam breakthrough, but he didn't get much help from the draw gods.
14. Thomas Johansson. Not unlike Davydenko: a solid, versatile player with a low profile who wins a lot of matches. You hate to see him in your section of the draw.
15. Dominik Hrbaty. Always dangerous, seldom delivers on promise.
16. Radek Stepanek. An underrated player we would like a lot more if he weren't nursing an injury.
Seeds 17-32
18. Ivan Ljubicic. Cooled off dramatically since start of the year. But he has a big game and he's always a threat on cement.
20. Juan Carlos Ferrero. A finalist two years ago, Spaniard is slowly regaining his mojo.
22. Mario Ancic. Baby Goran (or Baby Pau Gasol, as the case may be) has a big serve and young legs.
27. Oli Rochus. Our Man comes in with a career high ranking No. 29. Is New York ready for Rochus Time?
32. Tom Berdych. Teenager is the only player to have beaten both Federer and Nadal in the past 13 months.
Dark-horse nation
Nicolas Kiefer. A week removed from taking a set off a Federer.
Rob Ginepri. Can he cement a terrific summer with a deep run in New York? Too bad (or is it?) he meets Roddick in round two.
Gael Monfils. French teenager belongs in the Bigs. Played well this summer.
Paul-Henri Mathieu. Another young French who arrives on a hot streak.
Victor Hanescu. Watch this guy play and kindly explain why he's not a top 20 player.
James Blake. Was gifted as a wild card but arrives as a top 70 player.
First-round matchups to watch
Paradorn Srichaphan vs. Younes El Aynaoui. All nice guys match
Max Mirnyi vs. Justin Gimelstob. Two lumbering serve-and-volleyers.
Blake vs. Greg Rusedski. Two Brits. Imagine the coincidence.
Gus Kuerten vs. Paul Goldstein. Beating a name player would prolong Goldstein's summer of love.
Mardy Fish vs. Ivo Karlovic. Best treatment for fish's bum wrist surely isn't facing a barrage of 140 mph serves.
Henman vs. Verdasco. Has upset written all over it.
Doubles Winner
Bob and Mike Bryan. Losing finalists in the first three Slams, it's time they broke through.
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