MELBOURNE, Australia -- Don't be misled by the bald head. At
age 30, Andre Agassi is in the best shape of his life.
The results of an arduous training regimen are evident in his
thighs, which like a sprinter's are disproportionately thick and
muscular. Clearly this is not a player on his last legs.
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Andre Agassi
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Age: 30
Lives: Las Vegas
Plays: Right-handed, double-handed backhand
Grand Slam titles: Six (Australian Open 1995, 2000; French Open
1999; Wimbledon 1992; U.S. Open 1994, 1999)
Australian Open record: 2000-Champion, 1999-Fourth round,
1998-Fourth round, 1996-Semifinals, 1995-Champion
How Agassi got there:
First: Jiri Vanek 6-0, 7-5, 6-3
Second: Paul Goldstein 6-1, 6-3, 6-1
Third: David Prinosil 7-6, 5-0 ret.
Fourth: Andrew Ilie 6-7, 6-3, 6-0, 6-3
Quarter: Todd Martin 7-5, 6-3, 6-4
Semis: P. Rafter 7-5, 2-6, 6-7, 6-2, 6-3
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Agassi appears capable of playing 10 sets a day, and he'll be
required to go no more than five in Sunday's Australian Open final.
The trim defending champion is a heavy favorite to win his seventh
Grand Slam title and his third at Melbourne Park when he faces
15th-seeded Frenchman Arnaud Clement.
With an impressive run to the final, Agassi appears poised for a
big year. Younger rivals have gone into retirement (Jim Courier) or
are contemplating it (Patrick Rafter), and even Pete Sampras shows
signs of decline. But the enigmatic Agassi, whose interest in
tennis has waned at times during a 15-year career, now seems
committed to making the most of his remarkable talent.
"As you get older, you make choices and hopefully take a step
closer to who it is you want to be," he said. "I have goals. I'm
out here to win. I'm out here to hopefully add some more titles and
hopefully handle myself in a certain way in the process.
"I fall short many times, and that's the part that I think
inspires you to get up the next day -- that you can do things a
little better."
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Arnaud Clement
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Age: 23
Lives: Geneva, Switzerland
Plays: Right-handed, double-handed backhand
Grand Slam titles: None
Australian Open record: 2000-Fourth round, 1999-Second
round, 1998-First round
How Clement got there:
First: Tommy Robredo 6-3, 6-2, 7-5
Second: Alberto Martin 6-2, 6-1, 6-1
Third: Roger Federer 7-6, 6-4, 6-4
Fourth: Greg Rusedski 6-3, 6-2, 7-5
Quarters: Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6-4, 5-7, 7-6, 7-6
Semis: Sebastien Grosjean 5-7, 2-6, 7-6, 7-5, 6-2
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It's unlikely the sixth-seeded Agassi will fall short Sunday.
There's no French word for underdog, but Clement might not have many
groundstrokes left after needing 4 hours, 8 minutes Friday to beat
countryman Sebastien Grosjean 5-7, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5, 6-2.
"If you play Andre, you've got to be physically at your best,"
Clement said. "I'm fairly confident against him."
The final lacks the sizzle of Agassi's semifinal matchup against
Rafter, the golden boy of Australian sports who was playing in
Melbourne for perhaps the last time.
But there's slim chance of a letdown by Agassi, who remembers
well last year's U.S. Open. Shaken by illnesses in his family, he
lost to Clement in the second round.
"He's certainly playing better now than when I beat him," said
Clement, the first Frenchman to reach the Australian Open final
since Jean Borotra in 1928.
So far, Agassi has avoided the upsets that weeded out other top
players. The stars of tennis' new generation -- Gustavo Kuerten,
Marat Safin, Lleyton Hewitt, Magnus Norman -- were all gone by the
fourth round, while Agassi advanced to his 12th Grand Slam final
and his first as a thirtysomething.
His staying power was particularly evident in a five-set win
over Rafter on a warm, humid night. The Aussie, sweating profusely,
was hobbled by cramps in the final two sets, while Agassi remained
fresh at the finish.
"Andre," Rafter said, "makes you work very hard."
He does it by hitting the ball cleanly and consistently set
after set until his opponent's strokes break down. Always regarded
as a great front-runner, Agassi twice has come from behind at
Melbourne.
He might have won the tournament in December. While many players
take the month off and enter the year's first Grand Slam event
rusty and flabby, Agassi stepped up his training back home in Las
Vegas.
"It's really only enjoyable at the end of the day, when the
work's behind you," he said. "Putting your feet up and knowing
you worked hard -- that part always feels good."
Does he have the stamina to remain at his best all year? After
winning the 2000 Australian Open, he failed to reach another Grand
Slam final.
But if he can sustain his level of the past two weeks, he'll be
a threat at the other major tournaments. The last player to sweep
all four in a single year was Rod Laver in 1969, when he was 31.
Agassi turns 31 in April.
"It requires a lot," Agassi said. "There's no saying it can't
be done, but I think we're a lot closer to seeing Mark McGwire's
home run record being beat that we are to seeing someone win four
Grand Slams in the same year in the men's game."
Agassi knows this: He has no chance for a sweep in 2001 if he
loses Sunday.
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ALSO SEE
Andre Agassi's career Grand Slam finals
Washington: Final pick
Andre Agassi vs. Arnaud Clement head to head
Clement saves two match points, advances to final
Clement upsets Kafelnikov, advances to semis
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