Federer, Roddick seeded 1-2

LONDON — Roger Federer and Andy Roddick were seeded 1-2 for Wimbledon on Wednesday, setting up a possible rematch of last year's final.

Federer, a two-time defending champion, got the top seeding in line with his world No. 1 ranking.

Roddick was seeded two spots above his ATP ranking, ahead of 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt of Australia and French Open champion Rafael Nadal.

Hewitt was seeded No. 3, with Nadal — who has little experience on grass — at No. 4.

Federer beat Roddick 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-4 in last year's final. He has four Grand Slam titles. Roddick won the 2003 U.S. Open.

Among the women, Lindsay Davenport was seeded No. 1, followed by defending champion Maria Sharapova, Amelie Mauresmo and former two-time champion Serena Williams.

Last weekend, Federer won the Wimbledon grass-court tuneup at Halle, Germany, for the third straight year. He's won 29 straight matches on grass; his last loss on the surface was in June 2002 against Mario Ancic in the first round at Wimbledon.

Roddick won the Queen's Club title in London for the third consecutive year on Sunday. He said he thought Hewitt would get the No. 2 seeding.

"You know, either way, I don't think either one of us can be too upset," Roddick said a few days before the seedings were announced. "Common knowledge is that you're going to have to beat the best players somewhere along the way."

The Wimbledon draw, to be held today, will determine whether Hewitt or Nadal will be in the top half and could face Federer in the semifinals. Roddick would be paired against the player drawn in the bottom half.

Andre Agassi, the 1992 Wimbledon champion, withdrew Tuesday because of an injury.

Roddick is the only American man seeded in the top 16, with Taylor Dent at No. 24. It's the first time since Wimbledon has had 16 or more seeds that at least two Americans didn't make the top 16.

Last year, even after Agassi's withdrawal, there were two Americans in the top 16 and five in the top 32. Wimbledon began seeding 16 players in 1968 and expanded to 32 seeds in 2001.

The All England Club followed the WTA Tour's ranking for the top eight women.

There are seven Russians among the top 13 seeds.