STEFFI BETTER START PRACTICING FOR FRENCH MIXED DOUBLES

The road is wide open for Agassi … and spouse

By Alix Ramsay
Special to tennisreporters.net

Photo: Siggi Bucher Design: Ron Cioffi/tennisreporters.net

FROM THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN – Why is there never a politician around when you need one? Since that glorious day two years ago when Sebastien Grosjean, he who is short of leg but stout of heart, unhinged Andre Agassi at Roland Garros, he has never been quite the same when facing the great but balding one.

Back in 2001 little Sebastien was being hammered until Bill Clinton chose to make an appearance in the President's box. Once the ovation had subsided – the French regard a senior politician's peccadilloes as something to be applauded rather than impeached – Agassi frayed at the edges. Then Clinton wandered off for a tea break and Agassi came back. Twenty minutes later Clinton returned and Agassi fell apart. Grosjean mopped up the mess and headed purposefully into the semifinals.

The two met again six months later, but even then Grosjean needed friends in high places to help him out. At the Masters Cup in Sydney, Agassi was still getting used to the business of being a husband and a father – Steffi Graf had just presented him with Jaden Gil - and Grosjean was the last thing on his mind as he lost in straight sets. Even 8,000 miles away, Stefanie (as she prefers to be called nowadays) made the difference and Seb was grateful.

Should the little fellow from Marseilles by way of Boca Raton take on Agassi single-handedly, however, the result is always the same. Tuesday at the Australian Open was no different as Grosjean, left to fight his corner alone, was swept away 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. Next up is Wayne Ferreira, the 7-6, 7-6, 6-1 winner over Juan Carlos Ferrero. In 10 previous attempts Ferreira has only managed to claim one set from Agassi, and if that doesn't ensure the old boy has a decent night's sleep, nothing will.

Agassi is known for being something of a perfectionist but even he must be marveling at the way things are going out here. Increasingly at home in the land of Fosters, Four X and flies (not only is his coach Australian, his son is obsessed with The Wiggles, an Australian children's band whose
greatest hit is that international classic "Big Red Car"), he is looking extremely comfortable and very chirpy as this Grand Slam event unfolds.

SENDING THE SPOUSE A MESSAGE
As a well-married man, Agassi usually speaks of his wife with due deference (every husband, even a famous one, is, after all, just one misplaced comment away from the doghouse) but this week he has decided to have a little fun. Taking his courage in both hands, he has challenged the missus to a showdown.

Siggi Bucher

"For the record," he announced, "if I win here Stef has to play doubles with me in Paris. You can print that and I'll hold you to it. "He must be feeling confident, indeed. Then again, he has every right to.

So far he has dropped just one set on his way to the semifinals and even then he looked quite pleased to have done so. Only Nicolas Escude has managed to push him but the mere fact that Agassi knew he could have been in trouble and was able to find a way to extinguish the threat made him feel a lot better. Now, with his 32-year-old legs well rested, he is looking ominously good while the draw is looking rather ragged.

NO MATCHUP WITH HEWITT
The potential troublemakers removed themselves from his path early on and Grosjean was the first major seed he had to face. With Lleyton Hewitt being marmelised by Younes El Aynaoui on Monday night, the final everyone had been looking forward to – the old master against the young champion – was blown away. This may have done little for the ticket sales but it did a lot for Agassi's chances. Not that he would let himself see it that way.

"I can't really say it has an effect on me," he said. "Lleyton still had three matches to go before he was in the finals. I had two matches to win. I would sign up for that final any day because it would be a great final to be a part of but it also means I'm in the finals. I have one person on my mind right now and that's Ferreira. So it's a simple as that for me."

Looking at who is left to spoil his party, the contenders are few and far between. And of them, Agassi has the edge of all of them. Everything is falling into place nicely. Almost too nicely. He is two matches away from winning his fourth title here and, thanks to a little careful husbandry, he has the reserves to feel confident.

"Every slam you play has a different rhythm to it," he said. "There are a lot of variables that can work in your favor or work against you depending on how you take care of business once you're out there. "Getting through it is the first priority, but getting through it with fuel in your tank would be the second. That's where I feel it's been a good tournament for me up to now. When I've got out there, I haven't spent any useless energy, unnecessary energy."

Stefanie had better start practicing; she may be back at work by the end of May.

Alix Ramsay has been covering tennis for British national newspapers for the past 12 years. She was tennis correspondent of The Times for three years.