Federer, of course, has top seed in U.S. Open

NEW YORK -- The draw for the U.S. Open held as much drama for Roger Federer as most of his matches.

He didn't much care how it turned out, who he played in the first round on Monday or who he might play in the rounds that follow. He was off in his own world Wednesday, sleeping late, then practicing at the National Tennis Center while the draw went on with a bit of pretentious ceremony across the East River at the United Nations.

Federer's confidence couldn't be much higher than it is now after winning his 22nd consecutive tournament final by beating Andy Roddick in straight sets on the hard courts at Cincinnati on Sunday and remaining comfortably No. 1 in the ATP rankings for the 82nd week in a row.

"Any draw for him is a good one," Patrick McEnroe, the U.S. Davis Cup captain and CBS commentator, said of Federer. "For the men, it's Federer and everyone else."

No. 2 Rafael Nadal, the French Open champion from Spain, could meet No. 7 Andre Agassi in the quarters. Nadal beat Agassi in Montreal recently for his ninth ATP title this year -- tying him with Federer.

Roddick, seeded No. 4, appeared to have an easy draw as the through to the semis, where he could meet Nadal or Agassi.

Venus and Serena Williams landed in the same section of the women's draw -- setting them up for a possible fourth-round match -- with the winner potentially facing favorite Kim Clijsters in the quarters.

Though their father has suggested conspiracies against the sisters in the past, their seeded numbers for the year's final Grand Slam event were drawn out of the silver winner's cup in plain view of everyone in a U.N. auditorium.

Serena Williams is the No. 8 seed, and No. 10 Venus Williams opens against Japan's Rika Fujiwara.

No. 1 Maria Sharapova received a relatively easy draw to the quarterfinals, where she could meet defending champion and fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, who is troubled by a sore back.