Tennis Australian Open: André Agassi will be nervous. "There's not a match I play in when I'm not but I'm excited too. This match offers me the opportunity to push myself more than I've ever been pushed in a long time and that's a great feeling." For Pete Sampras, now read Roger Federer, his opponent in a mouthwatering Australian Open quarter-final clash tomorrow.
Sampras held a 20-14 career advantage over Agassi; Federer leads 4-3. The meeting of the two Americans was always a super-charged affair and it is clear that Agassi regards playing the Swiss world number one with a similar sense of electric anticipation.
Federer won 6-3 in the fifth set of their US Open quarter-final last autumn when Agassi was perhaps the marginal favourite. Tomorrow he will be the underdog. "I suppose it was a matter of time," he said, smiling. "Roger has earned the respect he deserves and I want to make him go out there and prove it to me again."
Federer reached the last eight with a stroll in the park against the 19-year-old Paris-based Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis. Federer won 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 without having to extend himself beyond trying to hit a winner through his legs. He failed. He is, apparently, human.
In contrast Agassi had to withstand four sets of astounding serving and hitting from 22-year-old Swede Joachim Johannson, who hit 51 aces, a record.
"It wasn't fun," said Agassi, who won 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, 6-4. "You have to admire it but there's not a whole lot you can do. It's a phenomenal weapon, as well as his forehand. He has a lot to look forward to."
And so does inner-city tennis in Australia, which picks up a donation for every ace hit in the tournament. "I'm a team player and I won't undermine his efforts by saying I let a lot of them go by. I'll just say that all the money is going to a good cause," Agassi joked.
Deprived of rhythm, or semblance of a rally, Agassi edged his way back into the match, step by small step, refusing to relent under the barrage. "Along with his winners came lots of errors," he said, "and I had to make sure I didn't give away any of the points that I did have control over."
The match against Federer will be altogether different. There is no doubting Federer's power and his ability to change up several gears in an instant but it is death by a thousand cuts rather than the bludgeon. "He's been playing the best tennis in the world for some time now but somebody has to beat him sooner or later, right?" said the veteran.
Federer's confidence is such that, when asked if he was at the right level to defeat Agassi, he replied, a touch waspishly: "I know my game is good enough and, even when I'm not playing perfect, I know I can beat him. He's not as good as he was when he was at the top of the rankings, otherwise he would still be there. I think he has to raise his game, not me."
The other quarter-final tomorrow will be between Marat Safin and Dominic Hrbaty of Slovakia. Hrbaty beat Thomas Johansson, who in 2002 surprised himself and the tennis world by defeating Safin in the final here.
Briefly yesterday, against Belgium's Oliver Rochus, it appeared Safin was in danger of a serious lapse in self-composure. But after losing the first set he won three successive tie-breaks. In the old days the breaks were to his rackets.
Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela has been fined 1,533.30 by tournament officials for unsportsmanlike conduct after he spat towards Lleyton Hewitt during their tense match on Saturday. The Australian won 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Day seven results:
MEN'S SINGLES: fourth round: (1) Roger Federer (Swi) bt Marcos Baghdatis (Cyp) 6-2 6-2 7-6 (7-4); (8) Andre Agassi (USA) bt (11) Joachim Johansson (Swe) 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-3) 6-4; (4) Marat Safin (Rus) bt Olivier Rochus (Bel) 4-6 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-2); (20) Dominik Hrbaty (Svk) bt (30) Thomas Johansson (Swe) 7-5 6-3 6-1.
WOMEN'S SINGLES: fourth round: (5) Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) bt Vera Douchevina (Rus) 6-4 6-2; (4) Maria Sharapova (Rus) bt (15) Silvia Farina Elia (Ita) 4-6 6-1 6-2; (7) Serena Williams (USA) bt (11) Nadia Petrova (Rus) 6-1 3-6 6-3; (2) Amelie Mauresmo (Fra) bt Evgenia Linetskaya (Rus) 6-2 6-4.
WOMEN'S DOUBLES: third round: (6) Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) and Alicia Molik (Aus) bt Milagros Sequera (Ven) and Melien Tu (USA) 3-6 6-3 6-3; (7) Anastasia Myskina (Rus) and Vera Zvonareva (Rus) bt (10) Ting Li (Chn) and Tian Tian Sun (Chn) 6-1 7-5; Jennifer Russell (USA) and Mara Santangelo (Ita) bt (8) Elena Dementieva (Rus) and Ai Sugiyama (Jpn) 6-4 6-4; (15) Lindsay Davenport (USA) and Corina Morariu (USA) bt Eva Birnerova (Cze) and Andrea Vanc (Rom) 6-2 6-2; Daniela Hantuchova (Svk) and Martina Navratilova (USA) bt (14) Shinobu Asagoe (Jpn) and Katarina Srebotnik (Slo) 6-4 6-4
MEN'S DOUBLES: third round: James Blake (USA) and Mardy Fish (USA) bt Karol Beck (Svk) and Sargis Sargsian (Arm) 6-3 6-4; (2) Bob Bryan (USA) and Michael Bryan (USA) bt (13) Jonathan Erlich (Isr) and Andy Ram (Isr) 6-1 4-6 7-6 (10-8); Jurgen Melzer (Aut) and Alexander Waske (Ger) bt Yen-Hsun Lu (Tpe) and Takao Suzuki (Jpn) 7-5 7-6 (7-3); (3) Mahesh Bhupathi (Ind) and Todd Woodbridge (Aus) bt Albert Costa (Spa) and Rafael Nadal (Spa) 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-4; (5) Wayne Black (Zim) and Kevin Ullyett (Zim) bt Alex Calatrava (Spa) and David Ferrer (Spa) 7-6 (7-2) 6-2.
- Guardian Service
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