Although Roger Federer has his number, I like Andy Roddick to repeat as champion at the U.S. Open. Roddick hasn’t dominated on hardcourts like he did last summer, but the fiery 21-year-old seems to be a perfect fit for the loud and often zany confines of Flushing Meadows.

Behind top-ranked Federer and second-ranked Roddick, I’d put former U.S. Open champions Lleyton Hewitt and Andre Agassi as well as Argentina’s David Nalbandian.

There are also a number of ambitious darkhorses looking to make a name for themselves.

Andy Roddick
While some analysts have noted how tough Roddick’s draw is, it’s nothing compared to Federer’s, who could meet up with crowd favorite Agassi in the quarterfinals.

The charged-up Roddick should have a cakewalk in his first-round meeting with 17-year-old Scoville Jenkins of Atlanta. Roddick's second-round match against Spanish phenom Rafael Nadal could be tricky, but the teen-ager might be overwhelmed playing on the big stage against America’s greatest hope.

Roddick’s toughest early test may come against 2000 titlist Marat Safin in the fourth round, but the mentally suspect Russian has had a lousy summer and hasn’t showed the desire he displayed in reaching this year’s Australian Open final. But Safin’s certainly talented enough to give Roddick trouble if he’s focused.

Roddick has the booming serves, ferocious forehand and competitiveness to repeat. But he’ll need to return serve and paste his backhand and volley with the sure-handedness that he has been missing since Wimbledon.

He could meet Hewitt in the semifinals and then either Federer or Agassi in the final. Roddick has losing records against all three of those players.

Roger Federer
The smooth Swiss has never done well at the U.S. Open, perhaps because his polite European demeanor doesn’t fit well in the intense confines of New York.

The reigning Australian Open, Indian Wells and Toronto champion obviously has the game to dominate on the hardcourts, but none of those locations match Flushing Meadows’ macho and sometimes distracting conditions.

Federer has a rough first-round match against 2002 French Open champion Albert Costa, and he could meet U.S. Open stalwart Todd Martin in the second round and strong-legged Romanian and No. 16 seed Andrei Pavel in the fourth round.

Then Federer could face Agassi in the quarterfinals and Agassi may be playing in his last U.S. Open, so he will have the crowd loudly in his corner.

But if Federer wins against Agassi, I feel he’ll have enough confidence to storm to the final and try to become the first man since Sweden's Mats Wilander in 1988 to win three Grand Slams in a year.

That would be a heady achievement.

Andre Agassi
The 34-year-old Agassi would love to get a shot at Federer in the quarterfinals, but he’ll have a rough time getting there.

While Agassi made a major statement in winning at Cincinnati a few weeks ago with back-to-back wins over Roddick and Hewitt for his first title in 16 months, he had a disappointing loss to the obscure Gilles Muller of Luxembourg in the semifinals of Washington last week.

Agassi has a dicey first-round match when he goes up against young American Robby Ginepri, a solid retriever who would love to impress the crowds at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

In the fourth round, Agassi might have to come up against the gutsy Olympic gold medalist Nicolas Massu or American Taylor Dent, who's also coming off a fine Olympics.

While Agassi has the head and the strokes to win best-of-three set matches against the top players, he has worn down in the late stages of the U.S. Open the past two years.

Whether he has the legs to survive two weeks of brutal three-out-of-five set matches is very debatable.

But if his draw opens up and he gets some easy matches, he does have a Las Vegas showman’s chance of repeating Pete Sampras’ feat and winning the title in what will likely be his last appearance at Flushing Meadows.

Lleyton Hewitt
While this 2001 U.S. Open champion hasn’t had a standout year by his standards, he’s been very consistent.

At this year’s Grand Slams, Hewitt has lost to every eventual champion — Federer, Gaston Gaudio and Federer again.

Hewitt has a very decent draw and shouldn’t be pushed until the fourth round, when he could face Olympic bronze medalist Fernando Gonzalez of Chile.

But while Hewitt is quick and super-consistent, he can still be overpowered. He’ll need to find some extra firepower on his forehand and serve if he is to win his third Grand Slam crown.

David Nalbandian
With top Argentine Guillermo Coria out of the event with a shoulder injury and French champ Gaudio just coming off an injury, it’s up to Nalbandian to try and repeat his strong run here last year, when he upset Federer and held a match point against Roddick in the semifinals.

But as accomplished as he is on all surfaces, the tricky Nalbandian is also battling an aching body.

However, the smooth Argentine has a good draw and if he can make his way to the quarterfinals against Hewitt, he could find himself with a shot at the final once again.

Mardy Fish
This Olympic silver medalist made a huge statement in Athens about his improvement, but he should have won the gold. As good as the American was in getting to the final, he mentally collapsed against the cramping Nicolas Massu in the last two sets.

Yet, Fish does have the all-court game to take out Tim Henman in the third round, Gaudio in the fourth round and then third seed Carlos Moya in the quarterfinals.

Fish making a run to the semifinals is not out of the question.

Nicolas Massu
The Chilean has been quietly improving for the past two years, but he didn’t show hard-court abilities until the Olympics.

He certainly has the groundstrokes to go deep, but will he be able to regain his fire after expending so much energy in Athens?

Marat Safin
After a fast start to the year, the big and volatile Russian has had a miserable summer. But he has all the tools to win the title and should he find a way through the first couple rounds and find his groove, he’ll be very dangerous.

Gaston Gaudio
The French Open champion has been virtually AWOL since his title run in Paris, but he has the repertoire and the draw to reach the semifinals. The key will be whether he has the emotional stability to be more than a one-Slam wonder.

Fernando Gonzalez
With a great serve and a huge forehand, Gonzalez can knock off anyone when he’s on. But he has yet to find the type of consistency it takes to win a Grand Slam.

After displaying a big heart at the Olympics, this could be his coming-out party.