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Open: Agassi and Davenport win again This edition of the Australian Open saw the victory of the men and women who in theory were the favourite at the eve of the tournament. Yet, when looking at the scoreboard, the last matches of the tournament offered the emotions and sparkles everyone was waiting for, mainly among the male seeded players who had less chance of success. André Agassi and Lindsay Davenport are the two Americans who have won the Australian tournament: but, leaving aside their common nationality, these are the only analogies between the two winners. If Lindsay's win in Melbourne was her first one in Australia, the Las Vegas tennis player has managed to repeat the success achieved in 1995. And Agassi currently deserves some more words, in order to analyze the radical change of an athlete that only two years ago seemed to be finished and who now appears instead to be invincible.  It is often said that in sport an instant can change the course of events. If this were true, then André has seen that instant to pass twice in the last season, and always in the same tournament. It is necessary to go back to 1999, when in late afternoon of a day at the end of May the American tennis player was playing with extraordinary calmness a match of qualifying heats at Roland Garros, in Paris. The outgoing champion, Spanish Moya, who was not even in a good condition, was dominating André in terms of both score and spirits. The fact of winning the second set, thanks mainly to his rival's demerits, represented the first turning point in André's career. After overturning the result of that match, current number one was then able to reach the final of the tournament also thanks to the support of a public who, as it always happens to extrovert persons, has always loved him also in the most difficult moments. In the last match against Ukrainian Medvedev, the fears of the past linked to the French capital, where Agassi even lost two consecutive finals, reappeared. Agassi also seemed to lose the final with Medvedev, until when with another incredible comeback he managed to achieve his first victory at Roland Garros. From here Agassi started his run towards the world top positions after a couple of disastrous years when he even felt to the 180th place in the world ranking. From then he reached a final at Wimbledon and won two tournaments, the US and Australia Open, one after another. Only the great Rod Laver had managed to do the same in 1969.  Agassi showed the same temper in Melbourne, where he was going to lose the semifinal against Sampras for only two points; yet, after winning this match, he also easily won against Russian Kafelnikov.  In the same way, the march of the two finalists of the women's singles, Davenport and Hingis, had no obstacles. The scoreboard turned out to be a mere formality for both of them, mainly after that Serena Williams did not manage to qualify. In the final Hingis was considered as the favourite by bookmakers, despite having lost the last three matches. No one would imagine that she would face a real steamroller: in less than 40 minutes Davenport served for the match, on the score 6-1 5-1. Martina proudly managed to draw 5 to 5, but she only delayed the end of the match of some twenty minutes. At this point one could ask himself how the Swiss athlete will react to the psychological crisis that has seized her, mainly at the eve of an important event. Indeed, her desperate tears in Paris, after Hingis lost the final against Graf, go hand in hand with her unexpected expulsion from the Wimbledon tournament and the two consecutive finals lost (the last one in Australia). Martina has always been an extraordinary example of tennis precocity associated with a mental strength typical of a veteran. Everybody thought that by gradually improving her tennis, Hingis would become nearly invincible, whereas the contrary is going to happen. One could even say that her trend is the opposite of that of Agassi. For the future it is more likely that Agassi's career continues rather than Hingis recovers her role of tennis champion to which she seemed destined. Paolo Ghisoni

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