NEW YORK -- A year ago, Andy Roddick looked like a 20-year-old kid when he was schooled in the U.S. Open quarterfinals by eventual champion Pete Sampras.

	Andy Roddick was patient against Tim Henman, a virtue he has recently learned.

"I don't remember much from it -- it was over too quickly," Roddick said last week of the 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 loss. "He just hit me like a ton of bricks and I didn't really know how to respond. I kind of panicked a little bit, and I don't know if I would panic if I was in the same situation this year."

"I think a year has made a big difference."

Actually, Roddick is still a 20-year-old kid. He has four days to go before his 21st birthday. That said, a year has made a monstrous difference for Roddick.

In his first match of this 2003 U.S. Open, a venue that many expect will produce the first Grand Slam in the career of the Omaha, Neb., native, there was no panic in Roddick's attack. The No. 4 seed hit Tim Henman with his own ton of bricks, beating him 6-3, 7-6 (2), 6-3 in a match curiously devoid of passion and energy.

In 24 hours, Arthur Ashe Stadium featured an abrupt transition in American men's tennis. Michael Chang (playing) and Pete Sampras (not) formally retired and then Roddick followed in the featured night match. Who says the USTA doesn't know what it's doing?

"Irony?" Roddick answered when asked about the timing of his ascent. "I think it's more of a coincidence. I haven't done anything yet. I'm just in the second round."

Said Henman: "In my opinion, he's playing better than anyone in the world right now. He is going to be very tough to beat. He's so confident right now. He's got such a big game. But he's using it very, very well."

Imagine the symmetry and synergy a Roddick-Andre Agassi final would create. Agassi did his part Tuesday, beating Alex Corretja 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. If Roddick managed to defeat the No. 1-seeded Agassi -- who already has crept past his 33rd birthday -- the torch passing would be complete.

But we're getting a little ahead of ourselves.

In terms of quality, the matchup with Henman was more appropriate for the second week of a Grand Slam. The pride of British tennis was the No. 5 seed here a year ago and offseason shoulder surgery probably was the only thing separating him from a seed -- and, thus, separation from a first-round match with Roddick.

Henman, who is under enormous pressure every year to bring home the title at Wimbledon, came into the National Tennis Center swinging easily. With Roddick feeling a similar burden to win at home, the prevailing wisdom went, Henman had an advantage. There was also the matter of their only previous meeting, about a month ago in Washington. After losing the first set 1-6, Henman saved a match point and won that semifinal match in a third-set tiebreaker. It was Roddick's only hardcourt loss this summer, against 20 wins.

In that previous match, Henman -- one of the last serve-and-volley players -- was able to pressure Roddick into trying to make perfect passing shots. Henman's aggressive play and volleying ability allowed him to neutralize Roddick's massive forehand and control the match. Maybe it was the lesson of last year's loss to Sampras, perhaps it is the guidance of new coach Brad Gilbert ... whatever it was, Roddick was actually patient against Henman. Sometimes, he waited for Henman to approach net, then pounced after the first and, sometimes, second volley.

Henman cracked in the match's third game, double-faulting on break point, and never quite recovered. He had a break point in the eighth game but a tentative backhand found the net and Roddick finished him with forehand winner down the line for a second break. Henman gamely broke Roddick to open the second set, but wound up in a one-sided tiebreaker. In the big moments, Henman simply wasn't strong enough to do any damage. The match ended when Henman sent a sloppy forehand long.

Roddick said he returned "a lot better" than in the Washington match and consciously tried to mix up the speed of his serves; at times, he threw in kick serves that didn't break 100 miles an hour, which made his 140-mile-an-hour offerings more difficult to see, much less return.

Roddick has another relatively tough opponent in the second round, the troublesome Ivan Ljubicic, but he has a 3-1 lifetime mark against the hard-serving Croatian. The good news? No. 8-seeded Rainer Schuettler is the most dangerous player in Roddick's quarter of the draw. Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, the No. 2 seed, could oppose him in the semifinal. That would reprise their much-anticipated semifinal match at Wimbledon that went to Federer in straight sets.

The recent numbers clearly favor Roddick. He is 30-2 since Gilbert came on board and has now won 13 straight matches, including back-to-back Tennis Masters titles in Montreal and Cincinnati.

There is also a growing sense that Roddick's incremental improvement will continue. Before this year, Roddick had reached two Grand Slam quarterfinals -- the last two years here at the U.S. Open. This year, he has already reached the semifinals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. You do the math.

Roddick is doing his best to deflect the mounting attention.

"It's always going to be Andre's tournament until he retires," Roddick said.

And yet, when he was asked if he ever felt this confident before, Roddick shook his head.

"No," he said, rolling a lollipop around in his mouth. "No."

Greg Garber is a senior writer at ESPN.com.