Agassi hopes to tame No. 31 Schuettler

German town toasts Rainer KORBACH, Germany, Jan 24 (Reuters) -- Never before at Korbach School had tennis scores been announced through the public address system. But Friday was no ordinary day. Children at the secondary school in this small town in central Germany were avidly following Rainer Schuettler's semifinal battle with Andy Roddick at the Australian Open. In the end, the school's former pupil won 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 to become only the second German, after Boris Becker, to reach the men's final in the event's 98-year history. Schuettler's parents, Karl and Klara, watched the match on television with a few friends. Then came the phone call they had been waiting for, with a jubilant Schuettler on the line. "The chances that he would win were 50-50 in my view," Karl told reporters. "Even if he had lost, I would not have been disappointed. Whatever comes next is a bonus." Schuettler now plays American Andre Agassi, the overwhelming favorite. Schuettler's father said his son first wanted to become a football player. "There were a few times when he was disappointed because nobody picked him up to go to the football, so I took him to play tennis instead," he said. "That's how it started." In Melbourne, Schuettler is already preparing for Sunday's final. "I've turned the world on its head," said the 26-year-old, who had never before gone beyond the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament. "You have to have dreams, otherwise it's boring. Sometimes you have a chance to realize a dream." Once used to high-profile victories, German fans have had little to celebrate since the retirement of former world No. 1s Boris Becker and Steffi Graf, now married to Agassi. Tennis in Germany is going through a crisis with the national federation facing financial difficulties due to falling interest from sponsors and broadcasters. Schuettler's run to the Australian Open final has therefore brought an unexpected ray of hope. After Friday's win, German Tennis Federation (DTB) president Georg von Waldenfels immediately boarded a plane to Melbourne. Not since 1996 has a German man reached a Grand Slam final. That year Becker won the Australian Open for the second time and Michael Stich lost the French Open final.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Rainer Schuettler is playing a familiar roll as he prepares for Sunday's Australian Open final against Andre Agassi -- that of the grinning underdog.

"There's no pressure for me, even less pressure than the last matches."

Schuettler said, after picking off a wounded Andy Roddick in Friday's semifinal. "He's a huge favorite, but maybe I have a small chance.

"Maybe [Agassi] eats something wrong the day before, then I have a chance."

This approach has worked before. A year ago, Thomas Johansson was a longshot against Marat Safin and won in four sets.

But Agassi isn't Safin. His mind is on center court and not the nightclubs.

Agassi, seeded No. 2 to Schuettler's No. 31, is quoted at 1-8 to win his fourth Australian Open and eighth slam title in 14 finals. Schuettler is 9-2 to cause a boilover but Agassi, the son of a croupier, understands that odds guarantee nothing.

"It would be an unfortunate thing if you could sit in your home or hotel room and phone in the result because sports wouldn't be what it is if you could," Agassi said.

"You've got to come out and play and you got to come out and earn it. Regardless of how many times you've done it, it's still a job that needs to get done."

So far Agassi, 32, has approached his job thoughtfully and mechanically. He has spent 23 minutes longer on court than the 26-year-old Schuettler, but the German played one fewer match after Marat Safin gave him a walkover.

Agassi came here, for his 50th Grand Slam, in peak physical shape, eschewing indulgence over the holiday season and tackling a strict fitness regime with trainer Gil Reyes.

"You know it's not easy to come down here very prepared but it sure beats the alternative," Agassi said.

"Things do get more difficult the older you get. But, overall, I feel like I've gotten stronger."

Schuettler, too, worked hard, taking just two weeks off before resuming a rigorous schedule. He combines martial arts, running and weights with instruction from a former Olympic taekwondo champion.

His fitness was superior to Roddick on Friday as the American failed to bounce back from a five-hour epic against Younes El Aynaoui. But it's hard to see him edging the driven Agassi.

And while Schuettler has conserved his energy on the court, there is bound to be mental exhaustion.

He was back in front of the media Saturday and admitted he struggled to relax after beating Roddick, adding he could not fall asleep until 4am.

He slept like the dead for four hours, his title dreams on hold.

"I was even too tired to dream," Schuettler said.

Tennis in Germany has been about Steffi Graf, Boris Becker and Michael Stich. In the early days of this campaign, Schuettler felt he was having no impact on the German public.

Now he knows they are behind him, saying that in his hometown of Korbach, 180km (112 miles) north of Frankfurt, a huge screen was erected in front of the town hall and a few thousand turned out to watch his semifinal.

It is hard to find an Agassi weakness for Schuettler to exploit. There will be no mental meltdown of the Safin variety.

Of the beaten semifinalists, Wayne Ferreira gives Schuettler no chance, and Roddick gives him little.

"Rainer is going to do what he does," said Roddick. "He's going to make Andre work for every point. He's going to run down everything.

"He might have to step it up and be a little more aggressive at times, you know, selective aggressiveness. He's going to have to serve well, too."

The pair have met just once before, a world and five years away on clay in Munich, and Agassi won 6-1, 6-4.

"It was a totally different game," said Schuettler. "I think I've improved a lot."

Agassi could barely remember the match when asked. But his coach Darren Cahill has prepared him perfectly for every opponent here, and there's no reason to believe Schuettler will have any surprises.

Still, there are no sure things.

"Experience tells me that not a single day's promised to us," Agassi said. "Opportunities get fewer, so they become more special."

 

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