ESPN Tennis

For the first time, Andy Roddick will be the No. 1 seed in a major when the Australian Open begins on Sunday evening. However, the year ended with several players close on his tail. None closer than No. 2 seed Roger Federer.

Unfortunately for Roddick, he's only managed to beat Federer once in six meetings. Fortunately, he cannot run into Federer until the final. If they do, Roddick will have to find another weapon in his arsenal besides his serve, which Federer has figured out how to return.

If it comes to that, coach Brad Gilbert plans to break out the tapes to help Roddick be better prepared.

"The big problem sometimes, is if you focus on that one (person) it becomes a lot of stress and then there'll be other problems," Gilbert told ESPN.com from Melbourne this week. "(Roddick) needs to get better, and then when he plays Roger, address the situation. If he obsesses over Roger, he'll start having problems with others."

It could become easy to obsess over Federer's game. He's often compared to Pete Sampras.

"He's doing everything great," Andre Agassi said after losing to Federer twice at the Masters Cup in Houston. "You know, he's a great mover, great striker of the ball off both sides. He's a factor from the back of the court, when he comes to the net. His serve is very effective. He knows the game real well, knows court position. As good as it gets out there."

"He's gotten the better of me so far," Roddick said in a conference call earlier this week. "I feel like the first, you know, three times we played it was earlier on in both of our careers and he was just much better at that point, plain and simple. & The last two times I have lost to him have been first set tiebreakers and I think that's crucial; whereas normally I can find a way to win those, he's gotten the better of me."

Federer isn't Roddick's only potential problem. Gilbert says he's never seen such depth in men's tennis before. Whoever takes the title is going to have to earn it by taking down some of these guys:

Seeded third is Juan Carlos Ferrero. Just when you think he's pulled his head together, he goes 0-3 at the Masters Cup and then loses to a guy ranked 447. It's like he's forgotten how to win on a hard court. A clay-courter with the potential to win on other surfaces, Ferrero has yet to do it in the big moment.

No. 4 Andre Agassi quite simply continues to amaze. To watch him continue to adapt his game to something that will win is a lesson in fortitude. Realizing that as he ages he needs to finish off points faster, the king of the baseline game is actually coming to net more, even though he still doesn't like it. First, he figured out a way to be fitter than everyone and now this. If Agassi defends his title here, for a fifth overall, he'll become second only to Roy Emerson who earned six titles Down Under.

Former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt -- Hello, mate, where you been? People keep asking what happened to Lleyton Hewitt. Setting aside the distractions of lawsuits and strife, in actuality, the aberration probably was Hewitt being the No. 1 player in the world for two years. One of the smallest men on the tour, Hewitt maintained his ranking by sheer force of will and a dogged perfection. That level of intensity is difficult to maintain. Meanwhile, as he struggled to find his mojo last year, the quality of play on the tour increased. Not to mention that while successful at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, he's not showed his best yet at his home major (although in fairness, playing with chicken pox is not conducive to winning titles). He's recently engaged. Ranked 15th now, he's reportedly healthy and telling reporters that playing in Davis Cup has made him feel comfortable with carrying the standard for Australia.

No. 10 Mark Philippoussis is Australia's other hope. After going through hip surgery that left him sitting in a wheelchair for months, Philippoussis says he regrets not focusing more on his career. That's changed. Finishing the year ranked No. 8 in the world, Philippoussis might just give the Aussies something to cheer about for the first time since 1976. Neither Philippoussis nor Hewitt has been past the fourth round.

German Rainer Schuettler doesn't get that much press in the United States despite being last year's runner-up. He's a dangerous player to face in the draw.

No. 7 Carlos Moya was runner-up here in 1997, and his career seems to be peaking now. He's won eight of his 15 titles since 2002.

Argentina's David Nalbandian actually likes fast surfaces rather than clay. He's been a runner-up at Wimbledon and could cause some problems in Melbourne. Luckily for Roddick he's in the other half of the draw. Nalbandian is the player who nearly cost Roddick his U.S. Open title. Just this week, Nalbandian sent Roddick packing at an exhibition tournament.

Guillermo Coria is injured but also had an outstanding season in 2003. The little man from Argentina was arguably the most improved player on tour, jumping from No. 45 to No. 5 in one year, and notching 60 match wins.

Back from injuries are Marat Safin and Thomas Johansson. Along with Agassi, Johansson is the only other former champion in the draw. The runner-up that year was Safin, who only played 13 tournaments last year causing his ranking to fall to No. 77.

Roddick wasn't the only American man to have a good season in 2003. Mardy Fish improved his ranking from No. 81 to No. 20. Vincent Spadea, ranked 29, had his best year since 1999 with 34 match wins. Robby Ginepri climbed from No. 106 to No. 30. Taylor Dent won three indoor titles to raise his ranking from No. 57 to No. 33. Although James Blake dropped to No. 37 last year, he had a personal best major performance as he reached the fourth round of the Aussie last year. Unfortunately, he faces Moya in the opening round.

One other name to watch out for is Rafael Nadal. At 17, he reached his first ATP final this week. He has a hard-hitting, thoughtful all-court game.

Cynthia Faulkner is the tennis editor for ESPN.com.