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Ready, set, draw Australian Open pairings announced
Posted: Friday January 14, 2000 12:00 AM
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Andre Agassi's vaunted return of service will be under pressure in the Australian Open starting Monday as he faces an overload of big servers in his half of the draw. The top-seeded Agassi, trying to win his third Grand Slam title in less than a year after capturing the French and U.S. Open in 1999, was drawn Friday to face Australia's Mark Philippoussis in the fourth round. Philippoussis, who boasts the fastest serve in men's tennis, showed shortly after the draw that he's primed to challenge for the title in his hometown as he beat No. 3 Pete Sampras in two tiebreakers in an exhibition in Melbourne. "The court this year seems much quicker than a couple of years ago and every year that I have played here," said Sampras, who skipped the tournament last year, but won in 1994 and 1997. "So you are going to see a lot of big servers doing well in the next couple of weeks." Sampras opens against one of the biggest servers, Australian Wayne Arthurs. "He has got a huge lefty serve and he's going to be a very tough guy to beat in these conditions," Sampras said. "He cracks it very good on both sides of the court with first and second serves, so he is going to be tough to break. Hopefully, I can get on top of him early and get through." Agassi opens against Mariano Puerta of Argentina, while Philippoussis meets a qualifier. If Agassi and the No. 16 Philippoussis clash in the fourth round, the winner is likely to face either of two other big servers -- former Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek or Todd Martin, in the quarters. Sampras' quarter of the draw includes last year's runner-up, No. 6 Thomas Enqvist. Defending champion and No. 2 seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov could face an early test with a match against rising Russian compatriot Marat Safin in the third round. Other than that, Kafelnikov has a much less difficult path to the semis than Agassi. "Couldn't be any better," Kafelnikov said. "I'm not going to face any of those guys who have big serves up until probably the semifinal or final." Three-time defending women's champion and No. 1 seed Martina Hingis starts off against her friend and practice mate, Mirjana Lucic, one of the hardest hitting young players on the women's tour. No. 2 Lindsay Davenport has a relatively easy path to the semifinals, where she is seeded to meet No. 4 Mary Pierce. No. 3 Serena Williams, the U.S. Open champion, also drew an easy route to the semis, where she's seeded to meet Hingis.
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