It’s a measure of Roger Federer’s greatness that the tennis world – and, undoubtedly, Federer himself – sees his 2005 season as a disappointment.

The world no. 1 has lost just three matches this year and won 51. He has won seven titles, 20 consecutive finals, and 29 straight matches on grass. As fabulous as these figures are, we are more apt to remember that Federer buckled when he was one point from the Australian Open final (which he no doubt would have won), and when he was a few service games from a decisive fifth set in Paris against the best young clay-courter since Mats Wilander.

All this is to say that there’s no doubt that Federer remains by far the best tennis player in the world, and the odds that we will witness another near-miss at Wimbledon, which begins Monday, are nearly nil.

Considering the results of yesterday’s draw, something remarkable would have to occur for Federer to be anywhere other than Centre Court two Sundays from now. The two-time defending champion, to put it bluntly, is on easy street until the final days of week two.

In the fourth round, Federer could face Juan Carlos Ferrero, Fernando Verdasco,or, less likely, Tommy Robredo – all Spaniards who are ill-suited to grass. Hard-serving Joachim Johansson, whose health is less than 100%, could light a few firecrackers in the quarterfinals. And that’s about it. With so little standing in Federer’s way, he could well reach the semifinals without dropping a set.

Vying for a chance against the no. 1 seed in the semis are no. 3 seed Lleyton Hewitt and no. 5 seed Marat Safin.

Hewitt returned to the tour last week after missing nearly three months. Considering how much the Australian relies on timing and precision – and how much more important those skills are on faster surfaces like grass – he should not be expected to accomplish much this year. However, his draw is fair or better until the quarterfinals. Perhaps James Blake, his likely second-round opponent, will at last win one of their meetings (Hewitt leads 6-0), or maybe serve-and-volley artist Taylor Dent, whom Hewitt could play in the fourth round, will carry the ailing American contingent (sans the injured Andre Agassi and Mardy Fish) into the quarters.

Safin, whose knee remains gimpy, has a much more challenging task at hand. In the first round he’ll play Thailand’s Paradorn Srichaphan, followed by the winner of Karol Beck and Mark Philippoussis, the ace-slinging Australian and former finalist who is trying to play himself into shape after time off with injuries.

But the most formidable opponent for Safin and Hewitt – and later, Federer – likely will be Mario Ancic, the 6-foot-5-inch Croatian known as “Baby Goran.” When he is playing well, Ancic produces fluid, stylish tennis to go along with his booming serve. Look for him to reach the semifinals against Federer, as he did last year against Andy Roddick.

Roddick, the no. 2 seed, should return to the final weekend for the third straight year, though his path is considerably more difficult than Federer’s. The 6-foot-10-inch Ivo Karlovic,a grass-court killer, looms in the second round, where he will try to avenge last week’s double-tiebreak loss to Roddick in the final at Queen’s Club. From there Roddick will face challenges from Ivan Ljubicic and England’s own Tim Henman.

Besides difficult opponents, Roddick must contend with the recent failures that are still rattling around inside his head. In Australia, he sputtered against Hewitt in the semifinals. In Rome, he wasted three match points in a disheartening third-round defeat. In Paris, a two-sets-to-love lead was not good enough in the second round. Those defeats no doubt shook Roddick’s confidence.

Should Roddick regain the swagger that carried him to the U.S. Open title nearly two years ago, he can expect nothing less than a second straight appearance in the finals. And if he wants to win, he might hope that Ancic wins the lottery against Federer.

Last but not least, what of the aforementioned clay-court prodigy and French Open champion, Rafael Nadal? The Spaniard is still seen as easy prey on grass, but his draw is quite favorable. More important, his energy on the court – the electricity he produces point after point – is something to behold. We’ll be bold and say that if the 19-year-old survives the tricky Vince Spadea in the first round, he will motor on to the quarterfinals.