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Andre Agassi advances at Australian Open
His hip didn't bother him much, and neither did his opponent. Andre Agassi, recovering from a torn tendon in his right hip that almost kept him out of the Australian Open, coasted past qualifier Dieter Kindlmann 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 Monday. That moved Agassi into a second-round match with another German, Rainer Schuettler — the man he beat here in the 2003 final.
"There's expectation — high expectation — for me to negotiate this stage of it and get better," Agassi said.
Other title contenders also raced through the first round Monday.
Top-ranked Roger Federer won the first 12 points and hit 54 winners en route to a 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 win over ailing Frenchman Fabrice Santoro. No. 4 Marat Safin had two long streaks — one of 16 points and one of 11 — in his 6-0, 6-2, 6-1 win over 17-year-old Serbian Novak Djokovic.
In her first match back at Melbourne Park since winning in 2003, Serena Williams was intent on intimidating any opponents watching her 6-1, 6-1 victory over Camille Pin.
Meanwhile, two Russians who emerged to win Grand Slam titles in 2004 — the first season since 1998 in which neither Williams sister won a major — also were impressive.
Fourth-seeded Maria Sharapova, who beat Serena in last year's Wimbledon final, opened with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Sesil Karatantcheva of Bulgaria, and U.S. Open champ Svetlana Kuznetsova, seeded fifth, beat American Jessica Kirkland 6-1, 6-1.
In Belgium later Monday, Kuznetsova was identified by Belgian regional sports minister Claude Eerdekens as having tested positive for the banned stimulant ephedrine during an exhibition tournament there last month.
Former French Open champion Carlos Moya was the biggest player upset on the opening day, losing to fellow Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-5, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
But most attention was on Agassi, who hurt himself last week against Andy Roddick in an exhibition tournament and was in doubt for the Open until Sunday.
The 34-year-old Agassi, trimmer and stronger than he's been in a decade, was ready to push the pain barrier, if needed. But he didn't need to extend himself on Rod Laver Arena, where he feels right at home.
Agassi lost only once in his last four trips to the Australian Open — a semifinal setback last year to Safin — and most of his matches have been on Melbourne Park's center court.
The 1-hour, 38-minute match against Kindlmann was a good workout, and part of a progression to be at peak fitness for an expected quarterfinal showdown with Federer.
"It was great to be on the court for three sets," Agassi said. "But, again, with anti-inflammatories and a little treatment, I think I can for sure get myself to 100 percent."
Agassi, who has won half of his eight Grand Slam titles in Melbourne, will need to be in top form against Federer. Asked if he could upset the 23-year-old Swiss star in the quarters, Agassi said that's further ahead than he's looking.
"To play Roger means I've beaten three more players, so that's something I'd welcome, for sure," Agassi said. Anti-inflammatories to ease the pain would be part of the regimen before and after that matchup.
"Oh, I'm going to have them every day," the American said. "I might have them every day the rest of my life."
Federer's win over Santoro was his 22nd in a row, since a loss at the Athens Olympics. He was the first man since Mats Wilander in 1998 to win three Grand Slam titles in a single year, and he's hoping to be the first since Pete Sampras to win three consecutive majors. Sampras added the 1994 Australian Open title to his wins the previous year at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Federer is in line for the same sequence. Racing to a 5-0 lead against Santoro "set the tone for the rest of the match," said Federer. "It was a perfect start — I'm sorry for Fabrice." Santoro had a bad reaction to an injection in his right wrist on the eve of the match and struggled when Federer turned up the heat. "It's as if Roger was saying to me, 'Right, that's what I'm offering you today, OK!'" said Santoro, who couldn't really argue. "You get the feeling that in each of his matches he just wants to show straight off who the boss is." Serena Williams once enjoyed the same aura in women's tennis that Federer has in the men's game. She won four consecutive majors through her Australian Open title two years ago. In Monday's opening match on center court, seventh-seeded Williams produced 27 winners, including some terrific backhand returns. Pin managed only two clean winners and didn't once hold serve. The only difficulty Williams encountered in the match was when her right shoe flew off in the second game, but it wasn't much of a handicap. She put the shoe back on, laced it up, and won the point when it was replayed. After the match, in between talking about fashion and her recent acting gigs, Williams gave her competition something to think about. French Open champion Anastasia Myskina, the first of three consecutive Russian major winners last season, says Serena and Venus Williams no longer have the fear factor in their favor. But Serena's not convinced. "I don't think there's a player out there who would see their name against mine (in the draw) and go, "Oh, my God, yes!" Williams said. She doesn't go looking for any feedback. "I don't hang out — I don't know," she said. "I feel that when I'm at my best, no one can beat me. That's just the bottom line." The third-seeded Myskina opens Tuesday against Kveta Peschke, while top-ranked Lindsay Davenport, coming off bronchitis that forced her out of the Sydney International, faces 1994 Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez. In the men's draw, second-seeded Roddick faces Irakli Labadze, and No. 3 Lleyton Hewitt faces Arnaud Clement for the third time in three weeks.
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