The last man not named Roger Federer to win the U.S. Open tennis tournament is Andy Roddick. If the next man to win the Open is named Andy Roddick, it will be an upset but maybe not a surprise.

The Open begins Monday with Federer the top-seeded player and winner this year of the French Open and Wimbledon. The 28-year-old from Switzerland is a new father of twin girls, owner of the most major tournament titles in history (15), and there is no reason to think he won’t become the first man since Bill Tilden to win six consecutive U.S. Opens.

Is there?

Federer’s archrival over the last three years, Rafael Nadal, is trying to recover from knee tendinitis that kept him sidelined at Wimbledon and took his ranking from No. 1 to No. 3. The Open’s second-seeded player, Scotland’s Andy Murray, has not won a major title yet. Novak Djokovic, the fourth-seeded player, hasn’t been past the quarterfinals of any major in 2009.

And then there is the fifth-seeded man, Roddick.

Andre Agassi, who will be honored at the Open on Monday night, was caught up by this year’s Wimbledon final.

“The way he represented himself against Roger,” Agassi said, “that proved to me Andy is one of the best competitors ever.”

After pushing Federer to a rousing five sets of memorable tennis, Roddick lost, 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14.

In the process, Roddick, who turns 27 today, earned favorable reviews for both his evolving game and his fighting spirit. Roddick proved he was capable of pushing Federer to great limits – which was a triumph – but the match could have destroyed that fighting spirit. It didn’t. Roddick’s game did not crumble in front of Federer, though ultimately Roddick couldn’t win, either.

Roddick is hardly the only challenger to Federer. Murray enjoys playing on hard courts and has found his stride this summer. Nadal has been Federer’s main nemesis through the 2009 Australian Open when Nadal’s win in the finals left Federer in tears. But the Spaniard is slowed not only by his sore knees but also a painful abdominal muscle that hampered him in his last tournament.

Roddick seems to have put the sadness of the Wimbledon defeat behind him. During a tournament in Cincinnati two weeks ago, Roddick answered a question about his leftover Wimbledon emotions and possible regret with a touch of humor.

“I’ve not been a lot of things during my career,” Roddick said, “but I have been extremely resilient. … If we’re being honest my worst day is playing one of the greatest Wimbledon finals, it’s a pretty good worst day.”

John McEnroe, who memorably lost an emotional 1980 Wimbledon final to Bjorn Borg, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (16), 8-6, said Roddick’s fighting spirit at Wimbledon is going to turn out well for him in New York.

“That was the best match I’ve ever seen Andy play,” McEnroe said. “That Borg match made me a hungrier player because what stayed with me was that fourth set. I came away from that match believing I could beat Borg and I’m seeing first-hand that Andy is a hungrier player. He’s also getting a lot more respect in the locker room. Players, fans, everywhere he’s getting more positive vibes.”

Still, Federer has done nothing this summer to indicate he has lost any edge.

At the Cincinnati Masters Series event last week, Federer beat Murray in straight sets in the semifinals and did the same to Djokovic in the final.

Meanwhile, Roddick has lost twice to 20-year-old Argentine Juan Martin del Potro this summer and once to on-the-rise 21-year-old Sam Querrey. But Roddick still has a sense of humor.

While appearing on David Letterman’s late-night talk show Thursday, Letterman congratulated Roddick on his Wimbledon effort against Federer. Roddick turned the praise into a joke about his 2-19 career record against the world’s best player. “Yeah, I’m in his head now,” Roddick said.

Not yet.