Dream team

Now for the hard part -- getting Graf on court

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Beating Rainer Schuettler was the easy bit. Now things get really tough for Andre Agassi.

Agassi's tight-knit support crew -- wife Steffi Graf, trainer Gil Reyes and coach Darren Cahill -- all had to make a commitment to his cause at the Australian Open.

Non-drinker Reyes must sample a margarita, Cahill gets his head shaved by the boss but the most anticipated promise involves Graf, who now finds herself slated for a comeback in mixed doubles at the French Open.

"I don't think anyone appreciates how hard it's going to be for me to get her out there," said Agassi. "Hopefully I'll have 50 years with her to be mad at me about more things.

"I got to make it up to her somehow, count on me to work on it."

Agassi's part of the bargain was supposed to be a victory in the tournament, one he wrapped up in three sets and just 23 games against Schuettler on Sunday.

He let the deal slip early last week and then repeated it in front of 15,000 witnesses on center court.

It's a matchup everyone wants to see, including Schuettler, who said, "There's one positive thing: I think everyone's looking forward to the French Open."

Everyone, except Graf.

"There is nothing about this she's going to enjoy," said Agassi.

Andre and Steffi married in 2001, two years after Graf quit the professional circuit.

Agassi expects their doubles combination to be well short of the sum of its parts.

"I can assure you, if we do play we don't have much chance, definitely not," he said.

"First of all, I don't play doubles. Secondly if did play doubles I don't usually play against women. Thirdly, I could never aggressively hit at the woman, I just couldn't."

On top of that Graf hasn't played a match in years, instead just "stroking the ball."

"But I guarantee you," said Agassi, "you would see a big smile on my face and we would have a lot of fun."

Team Agassi went about their work Sunday with the same quiet efficiency as the player.

Graf sat impassively throughout, never raising her voice, until Agassi won the match.

Only then did she rise with the crowd and let out a couple of short "whoas". Reyes, having done his job by getting Agassi physically ready for the job, was silent too.

"Andre did not let up and he did not slow down," Reyes said later. "That's why I was most proud of Andre ... because toward the end there were several shots that went way wide and he was running with a passion.

"It's easy to run after a shot when you have to, but when you don't have to get it but you have promised that you would, now you're not looking at the flow of a match, you're looking at the character of the guy holding the racket."

Cahill almost seemed embarrassed to raise his voice to a cheer. The Australian, who was dumped by No. 1 and fellow Aussie Lleyton Hewitt 13 months ago, restricted himself to saying "good shot, Mate" -- though not loud enough for Agassi to hear.

Cahill joined Agassi soon after he was forced to miss last year's Australian Open because of injury and this was their first grand slam victory together.

"I'll never forget it," said Agassi of Cahill's help. "It's been the greatest year and thanks for everything."

So at the end of the match, Agassi had said thank you Gil, thank you Darren, thank you sponsors, thank you linesmen, thank you ball boys.

"What about Steffi?" shouted a man in the crowd.

"Hey," replied Agassi, "I don't talk about your wife."

But then, that guy's wife isn't about to make the biggest comeback in tennis history.

 

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