Tennis: US Open draw released

Roger Federer is favourite to retain his title at Flushing Meadows.

NEW YORK - World No 1 Roger Federer was drawn today to begin the defence of his US Open tennis title next week against a somewhat less-than-frightening opponent in Taipei's Wang Yeu-Tzuoo.

The Swiss, who won his eighth Grand Slam title at Wimbledon last month, is bidding to become only the third man, after John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl, to win three consecutive titles at Flushing Meadows.

If the seedings go to plan, Federer is scheduled to meet American fifth seed James Blake in the quarterfinals.

Second seed and French Open champion Rafael Nadal, of Spain, will meet former US Open runner-up Mark Philippoussis, of Australia, in his first match, and is projected to meet compatriot Tommy Robredo in the quarterfinals.

Two-time former champion Andre Agassi, who will retire after the tournament, was drawn to play Romanian Andrei Pavel.

Eighth seed Marcos Baghdatis, the Australian Open runner-up and Wimbledon semifinalist, is likely to await him in round two.

Should Agassi pull off that upset, he is projected to face ninth-seeded fellow American Andy Roddick, the 2003 US Open champion, in the fourth round.

Women's world No 1 Amelie Mauresmo, who won the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles this year, will take on a qualifier in her opening match.

But the Frenchwoman faces a tough battle if she is to reach the final for the first time, with Serena Williams, Martina Hingis and Maria Sharapova all potential opponents along the way.

Former double US Open winner Venus Williams, the 30th seed who like her sister has been playing sparingly, is on the other half of the draw, where she is expected to face fourth seed Elena Dementieva, of Russia, in the third round.

Second seed Justine Henin-Hardenne, of Belgium, appears to have a relatively easy path to the quarterfinals where she could meet seventh-seeded Swiss Patty Schnyder.

Among the interesting match-ups in the first round is an all-Briton contest between Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski, with the winner getting the dubious reward of a likely second-round match against Federer.

Joining third seed Ivan Lubicic, of Croatia, Agassi, Baghdatis and Roddick in the competitive top quarter of the lower half of the draw is 2001 champion Lleyton Hewitt.

The 15th-seeded Australian is projected to meet Lubicic in the fourth round.

The US Open will be held from August 28 to September 10 and is expected to draw more than 650,000 spectators during the fortnight with a prizemoney pool of more than US$18.5 million ($29.39 million).

- REUTERS