Notebook

Agassi-Graf team part of group deal

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Andre Agassi has confirmed he will play mixed doubles with wife Steffi Graf at the French Open, if he wins the Australian Open final on Sunday.

Agassi was quizzed on the story by John McEnroe after winning his semifinal on Thursday. He confirmed it to 15,000 witnesses.

"Yes it's true," Agassi said. "But there's a string attached here. I have to win."

Agassi revealed the mixed doubles plan was part of a group deal if he wins the tournament.

"Everyone in my group has committed something," he said. "My coach (Darren Cahill) has to shave his head, (trainer) Gil (Reyes) has to finally drink a margarita that I make and Stef has to play mixed doubles at the French."

Agassi and Graf married in 2001. The German former No. 1 retired in July 1999, weeks after winning a sixth French Open title.

He was asked if their son Jaden Gil was being asked to make a sacrifice for the cause.

"We haven't discussed that yet," said Agassi. "I've shaved his head three times so it's not going to be that."

SERENA'S SLAM: Serena Williams isn't the only player getting sick of questions comparing her to her opponents.

Williams blew up when asked to talk about her semifinal opponent Kim Clijsters ahead of Thursday's match.

"Quite frankly I'm tired of answering these questions," said Williams, who came back from 5-1 down in the third set to beat Clijsters in a center court thriller.

At Clijsters' post-match press conference Thursday, she was told, "both Serena and Venus are getting tired of the questions about the gap between the players."

"So am I!" replied Clijsters. "You guys, you ask it once (each) but we have to answer it from each one of you, you know?

"We were actually joking about it in the locker room yesterday. She goes `Oh I'm so sick of all these questions'. I said `well so am I, why don't we just boycott it all."

Judging from Thursday's match the difference remains the same as it has been for a while. Serena has the ability to close out a match when in front or find inspiration when she is behind.

Clijsters was looking at the positives, however.

"I think this match shows, and other matches have shown before, that more players are getting close to them, not just me."

ERROR AVALANCHE: Serena Williams stacked up an incredible 65 unforced errors in her semifinal win over Kim Clijsters.

They were spread evenly through the three sets and dwarfed the 33 errors made by Clijsters.

The Belgian put up 15 of hers in the final set as she blew a 5-1 lead to miss her chance of making the final.

The error stats make interesting comparison to the previous night's five-set epic between Andy Roddick and Younes El Aynaoui.

The men's quarterfinal was 83 games long, including the record 21-19 fifth set won by Roddick, and the women's match was 31 games.

Roddick made just 31 errors and El Aynaoui made 55. Between them their 86 errors bettered the women's 98 errors.

The men's match was not only dramatic but of an extremely high quality as El Aynaoui shaded Roddick in winners, 107 to 102.

DOUBLE DELIGHT: The Williams sisters had no sooner completed contrasting semifinal singles wins at the Australian Open Thursday, than duty called again.

Unlike Saturday, when they will square off in their fourth straight Grand Slam singles final, the Williams' sisters were on the same side of the court.

They came away winners again -- the top-seeded pair beating Lindsay Davenport and Lisa Raymond, seeded sixth, 6-2, 6-2 in a semifinal.

They take on Spain's Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suarez of Argentina, seeded second, in Friday's final.

Serena was asked how hard it was playing doubles after the high of Thursday's dramatic win over Kim Clijsters.

"I won my first U.S. Open (in 1999) and had to go out and play doubles a half hour later," she said. "I was able to win. I'm just going to do it again.

"That was a bit more of a high back then."

TUNING IN: Andy Roddick's dramatic five-hour, 83-game quarterfinal win over Younes El Aynaoui on Wednesday had Australians sitting bleary-eyed in the early hours.

Roddick was not the only one smiling after his win. Host broadcaster Channel Seven said over 1.4 million people had tuned into the coverage of the match, which finished at 12.47am local time Thursday.

The network said its audience share for this year's coverage of the Australian Open was up 27.3 per cent on last year.

Serena Williams' dramatic comeback semifinal win over Kim Clijsters Thursday will have proven another ace in a sports-mad country.

FIT TO FIGHT: A rigorous and unique offseason fitness campaign is paying dividends for the young battalion of French juniors competing in the boys singles at the Australian Open.

Of the four French players who made the main draw of the junior singles, fourth-seeded Mathieu Montcourt, No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and No. 14 Gael Monfils have all advanced to the quarterfinals.

For more than a month from last November, the trio took part in a heavy program of weight training at schools around France.

They were also put through a series of grueling long-distance runs.

The trio are trying to follow in the footsteps of talented compatriots Richard Gasquet and Clement Morel.

The 16-year-old Gasquet won both the junior French and U.S. Open singles titles last year before joining the senior tour. He was given a wild card into the main draw here and was beaten by Russian Mikhail Youzhny.

Morel won last year's Australian Open junior title.

 

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