French Open champion Andre Agassi is the second seed, marking the fifth time in the Open Era (since 1968) that two American men have been seeded 1-2 at the U.S. Open.

Australian Open champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia is the third seed, followed by two-time defending champion Patrick Rafter of Australia.

For the first time since 1988, three American women are among the top four seeds. Defending champion and reigning Wimbledon champion Lindsay Davenport is the second seed, followed by 1997 runner-up Venus Williams and two-time champion Monica Seles.

Sampras missed the early part of the year due to mental and physical exhaustion and lost his No. 1 ranking, but has returned with a vengeance to reclaim the top spot in men's tennis.

After his second-round loss at the French Open, Sampras won 24 consecutive matches and four straight tournaments, including his sixth Wimbledon title, tying former Australian star Roy Emerson's all-time record for most Grand Slam titles.

However, Sampras may not be 100 percent after suffering a strained hip flexor last week in Indiana.

A four-time champion, Sampras is seeded No. 1 at the U.S. Open for the fifth time, tying the Open Era record of John McEnroe (1981-85). This is also the eighth straight year that an American male is the top seed at the U.S. Open.

The 1994 champion, Agassi became only the fourth men's tennis player to win all four Grand Slam tournaments with his triumph at Roland Garros. He was beaten by Sampras in the Wimbledon final and lost to his longtime rival again in the final of the Mercedes-Benz Cup in Los Angeles and the semifinals of the ATP Championship in Cincinnati.

But Agassi enters New York with some momentum, winning his third title of the year at last week's Legg Mason Classic in Washington. After plunging to No. 141 in the world two years ago, Agassi climbed back to No. 1 for three weeks last month and currently is ranked No. 2.

Kafelnikov claimed his second Grand Slam title at Melbourne, Australia in January and held the No. 1 ranking for six weeks spanning May and June. He has fared well in the summer hardcourt season, reaching two finals and a semifinal.

Rafter will look to become the first male to win three straight U.S. Opens since Ivan Lendl in 1985-87. But like Sampras, Rafter arrives in New York ailing. He aggravated a right shoulder injury during his match with Sampras in Cincinnati two weeks ago and played two matches before pulling out in Indianapolis.

Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil is the fifth seed on the men's side, followed by Britain's Tim Henman, American Todd Martin and 1998 semifinalist Carlos Moya of Spain.

A finalist in 1997, Britain's Greg Rusedski is the ninth seed, followed by Marcelo Rios of Chile and last year's runner-up, Mark Philippoussis of Australia. Philippoussis may not be able to compete due to the knee injury he suffered at Wimbledon which has not fully recovered and forced him to pull out of this week's Hamlet Cup event in Long Island.

Rounding out the 16 seeds are Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands, Spain's Alex Corretja, Germans Tommy Haas and Nicolas Kiefer and Australian Open semifinalist Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador, fresh off a victory at last week's RCA Championships in Indiana.

The 1997 champion and last year's runner-up, Hingis is the top seed at the U.S. Open for the third straight year. She captured her third consecutive Australian Open title in January but suffered back-to-back defeats in the French Open final and the first round at Wimbledon and took a temporary break from the game.

Hingis has been impressive in her return, winning two titles and reaching the semifinals in another, and will seek her sixth Grand Slam singles title.

Davenport did not drop a set at last year's U.S. Open and became the first American-born woman since Chris Evert to win the event. She defeated the now-retired Steffi Graf in London to capture her second Grand Slam title and has won four titles overall in 1999.

Venus Williams has looked strong in her U.S. Open tuneup events, reaching the final in California events at Stanford and San Diego. Two years ago, she became the first unseeded female to reach the U.S. Open final since Pam Shriver in 1978. Last year she lost to Davenport in the semifinals.

A nine-time Grand Slam champion, Seles missed a month of action with an arm injury before reaching the final at last week's du Maurier Open in Montreal, but she was denied a fifth straight title there by Hingis.

Seles won back-to-back U.S. Open titles in 1990-91 and was runner-up in 1995-96.

Mary Pierce of France is the fifth seed for the women, followed by Amanda Coetzer of South Africa, American teenager Serena Williams and Jana Novotna of the Czech Republic, a semifinalist last year.

Julie Halard-Decugis of France, who has reached five finals and won two tournaments this season, is the ninth seed; 1994 champion Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario of Spain is seeded 10th; and Nathalie Tauziat of France is No. 11.

Rounding out the 16 women's seeds are Austria's Barbara Schett, Belgium's Dominique Van Roost, France's Sandrine Testud and Australian Open runner-up Amelie Mauresmo and Spain's Conchita Martinez.