Flushing Meadows, NY (My Sportsbook) - Roger Federer and Carlos Moya were among the winners Monday in the first round of the U.S. Open.

The top-seeded Federer had little trouble with former French Open champ Albert Costa, posting a 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 victory, while the third-seeded Moya rallied for a 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 triumph over American Brian Baker.

Federer is the top-ranked player in the world and has already won an amazing eight titles in 2004, including the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and a triumph on the hardcourts at Flushing Meadows would make him the first player to win three Grand Slam crowns in one year since Mats Wilander in 1988.

The Swiss star, however, has never advanced past the fourth round at the U.S. Open. He had also lost two of his previous three matches heading into this Grand Slam, falling in the first round at Cincinnati and losing in the second round at the Olympic Games.

Federer had no problems in his opening-round win Monday, finishing off Costa in just over two hours. He fired up 11 aces and 42 winners, compared to just one ace and 13 winners for the 2002 champ at Roland Garros.

Moya has three wins this year, but none since capturing the Masters event in Rome in May. He lost in the quarterfinals in the Olympics after a quarterfinal appearance at Cincinnati.

The Spaniard's best finish at the U.S. Open was a semifinal run in 1998, the same year he won the French Open.

After falling behind early in the first set and losing the tiebreaker, Moya regrouped against his lesser-known opponent. He broke serve twice in each of the final three sets and wore down Baker, who appeared to have trouble with the heat and humidity.

Other first-round winners on Day 1 were 19th-seeded Nicolas Kiefer and 25th- seeded Jiri Novak. Greg Rusedski, the 1997 U.S. Open runner-up, was eliminated in a fifth-set tiebreaker by Cyril Saulnier.