Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo of France is one of the favourites in New York. (Nick Laham/Getty Images)

The 2006 U.S. Open, the fourth and final event of the Grand Slam tennis tournaments, kicks off Monday with top players from around the world gathering in New York.

Several intriguing stories will unfold over the course of the two-week tournament.

World No. 1 Roger Federer is looking to become only the third men's player to win the U.S. Open three years in a row, while Andre Agassi will play in his final tournament as he prepares to retire.

The women's side is wide open – reigning champion Kim Clijsters won't be in New York because of a wrist injury. Martina Navratilova, who turns 50 on Oct. 18, is set to retire for a second time in her career after the tournament and will be vying for her 176th WTA doubles title when she pairs up with Nadia Petrova.

Here's a look at the men's and women's singles players to keep an eye on.

THE FAVOURITES

Men

Roger Federer – Switzerland
Tournament seed: #1
Best result at U.S. Open: Champion (2004 and 2005)
2005 result: Champion
Federer is the world's No. 1 and reigning two-time U.S. Open champion. He has won eight Grand Slams during his career and is shooting to become only the third man to win three consecutive U.S. Open titles – John McEnroe (1979-81) and Ivan Lendl (1985-87) were the others. The Swiss star won the Rogers Cup in Toronto in August, but followed that up with a second-round loss in the Cincinnati Masters at the hands of Andy Murray.

Rafael Nadal – Spain
Tournament seed: #2
Best result at U.S. Open: Third round (2005)
2005 result: Third round
The young Spaniard has a great offensive and defensive game, and you need to have both to succeed in New York. Nadal's defensive prowess allows him to stay in points longer and wear down his opponents. Federer has only lost five matches in 2006, four of which were against Nadal, so don't be surprised to see a Nadal-Federer final.

Women

Amelie Mauresmo – France
Tournament seed: #1
Best result at U.S. Open: Semifinals (2002)
2005 result: Quarter-finals
With last year's U.S. Open winner, Kim Clijsters, out nursing a wrist injury, the door has swung wide open for Mauresmo. The French star won Wimbledon this year, silencing critics who said she had a reputation for choking in tight situationsand failing to win bigmatches. She has played just one tournament since Wimbledon, so she's well rested.

Justine Henin-Hardenne – Belgium
Tournament seed: #2
Best result at U.S. Open: champion (2003)
2005 result: fourth round
Henin-Hardenne, who won in New York in 2003, was sidelined for six weeks with a knee injury following her run to this year's Wimbledon final. The U.S. Open is ideal for the Belgian – when you get into a two-week tournament with long matches and tough conditions, the one-handers (like Henin-Hardenne) tend to have more energy and suffer less from the physical grind.

ON THE RISE

Men

Andy Roddick – United States
Tournament seed: #9
Best result at U.S. Open: Champion (2003)
2005 result: First round
The young American cruised to a straight-sets victory over Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero in the finals of the Cincinnati Masters in August. Roddick has recently taken on five-time U.S. Open winner Jimmy Connors as an adviser. Since hooking up with Connors, he has become more of a complete player and proven to be more difficult to beat.

Andy Roddick has enlisted the legendary Jimmy Connors to help him with his game. (Robert Laberge/Getty Images)

Ivan Ljubicic – Croatia
Tournament seed: #3
Best result at U.S. Open: Third round (2005)
2005 result: Third round
Yes, the Croatian crashed out of the Rogers Cup early, but Ljubicic has climbed to No. 3 in the world rankings and seems poised for a major breakthrough in New York. Ljubicic is a tough competitor, he's physically fit and plays lots of tiebreakers because of the nature of his game.

Women

Elena Dementieva – Russia
Tournament seed: #4
Best result at U.S. Open: Finalist (2004)
2005 result: Semifinals
Her serve is erratic at times, but the Russian is still one of the top players on the women's circuit. Dementieva upset Maria Sharapova in the semifinals en route to capturing the recent JPMorgan Chase Opentitle in Los Angeles. She has reached the quarter-final round in the last five tournaments in which she has played.

Ana Ivanovic – Serbia and Montenegro
Tournament seed: #16
Best result at U.S. Open: Second round (2005)
2005 result: Second round
The young Serb upset former world No. 1 Martina Hingis in the final of the Rogers Cup to claim her first career singles title at a Tier-1 tennis event. The 18-year-old has a rocket for a forehand shot and is brimming with confidence after her big win in Montreal.

ON THE SLIDE

Men

James Blake – United States
Tournament seed: #5
Best result at U.S. Open: Quarter-finals (2005)
2005 result: Quarter-finals
Blake bowed out in the early rounds to unseeded players at the Rogers Cup and the recent Pilot Pen, a final U.S. Open tune-up. The American looked far from his best in Toronto.

Andre Agassi – United States
Tournament seed: Unseeded
Best result at U.S. Open: Champion (1994 and 1999)
2005 result: Finalist
The 36-year-old veteran plans to retire after this tournament, but don't expect him to make another miracle run to the final like he did last year. Agassi has a very spotty record and has been hampered by back problems all year.

Women

Nadia Petrova – Russia
Tournament seed: #16
Best result at U.S. Open: Quarter-finals (2004 and 2005)
2005 result: Quarter-finals
The athletic Russian was in fine form at the start of 2006, but she suffered a groin injury in the spring and has since lost her form. It's questionable whether she's fully fit.

Anastasia Myskina – Russia
Tournament seed: #11
Best result at U.S. Open:Quarter-finals (2005)
2005 result: Third round
The Russian reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon but has blown hot and cold since.

THE DARK HORSES

Men

Andy Murray – Scotland
Tournament seed: #17
Best result at U.S. Open: Second round (2005)
2005 result: Second round
The Scottish teenager stunned Federer in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters to become only the second player to defeat the Swiss star in 2006 – world No. 2 Nadal was the other. Murray is also coming off a strong run at the Rogers Cup in Toronto where he reached the semifinals.

Fernando Gonzalez – Chile
Tournament seed: #10
Best result at U.S. Open: Quarter-finals (2002)
2005 result: Third round
Gonzalez is one of the most improved players on the men's tour this season. The Chilean is coming off a strong performance at the Rogers Cup, reaching the semifinals in Toronto where he succumbed to eventual champion Federer. Gonzalez has one the biggest shots in tennis with a powerful forehand.

Women

Martina Hingis – Switzerland
Tournament seed: #8
Best result at U.S. Open: Champion (1997)
2005 result: Did not play
The former world No. 1 has climbed back into the top 15 in 2006 after taking off three years due to injuries. Hingis distinguished herself in Montreal by reaching the final of the Rogers Cup. Hingis is the smartest player on the women's tour and should never be discounted.

Lindsay Davenport – United States
Tournament seed: #10
Best result at U.S. Open: Champion (1998)
2005 result: Quarter-finals
Davenport will be playing in her first Grand Slam since the Australian Open, but she has a lot of experience and recently upset Amelie Mauresmo at the Pilot Pen tournament.

PETER BURWASH'S TAKE ON THE U.S. OPEN:

"The one thing that [makes the] U.S. Open different from [the other Grand Slams] is it's an enormous grind physically and mentally in so many ways. The French Open is mostly a grind physically. Mentally, it's Paris, it's well run, it's well organized, it's got great history, there's a lot of ambience to Roland Garros.

CBC tennis commentator Peter Burwash says Roger Federer has what it takes to handle the pressure of New York. (Don Emmert/ Getty Images)

If you look at the Australian Open, everything just really works because it's the start of the season, so everybody is really charged up. You go to Wimbledon and the points are shorter, so it isn't a physical grind.

But the U.S. Open is hectic and there's a lot of chaos … it's New York City, plus most of the pros stay in town, so you've got the traffic going over the bridges, so that by the time they get there, it's difficult.

The crowds are oppressive there. It's an aggressive venue and the players are under this constant stress and pressure. It takes a special player, like a Jimmy Connors, to come through, and that's why a guy like Lleyton Hewitt can win at the U.S. Open, because he can take the world on his shoulders and deal with it, and so can Roger Federer, and so can Andre Agassi."