Roddick stands a few points behind Juan Carlos Ferrero in the ATP entry ranking system but, whatever happens over the next few weeks, he will be able to look back on the season with great satisfaction.

After claiming the U.S. Open title, he can lay legitimate claim to being America's top player, with Pete Sampras and Michael Chang retired and even the evergreen Andre Agassi seemingly a little past his best.

The ambitious 21-year-old is not content with that, though, and he will be gunning hard for Ferrero over the remainder of the season.

"Even though I've accomplished a lot of my goals this year, I'm still in the hunt for the number one spot," Roddick said after a tense 6-1 6-7 7-5 win over Max Mirnyi of Belarus in the second round at Madrid on Wednesday.

"That's definitely a big motivation for me.

"If I had to choose one, give up an Open title but finish number one, I'd probably finish number two with a U.S. Open title but I'm glad that I won the U.S. Open and I'm now in position to make a push for it."

Roddick's profile received a huge boost with his U.S. Open title victory, particularly in America, and he is glad he no longer has to live with being his country's 'great hope'.

"It feels good to be the present of American tennis," he said. "I felt that I was part of the present before the U.S. Open but I guess that convinced people more.

"I'm no longer the kid who gets more attention than he deserves. It's nice to actually deserve some of the attention."