SURPRISES FROM THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN The caravan of worldwide tennis has set out on a new journey with the customary first major appointment of the season, that is the Australian Open 2001.And this event being rather close to the winter break, as usual there have been quite a number of surprises, no doubt due to lack of training on the part of the athletes.Not even this year has there been a change in the usual tendency during the great kermes in the "land of kangaroos". Those who reach Melbourne in rough conditions, even though among the world leaders, have to quickly pack their bags after being soundly beaten. And based on what has happened this year, the introduction of the new score-calculation system at a worldwide level has further increased the extent of the surprise. Since the year 2000, at the beginning of each season, a ranking is drawn up each week based on the results of the previous week's tournament. What has emphatically been renamed the "Champions Race" is no better than a race by easy stages which has slightly upset the real field values.Indeed what happens is that, one week the number one in the world is an average tennis player like Santoro or one who is slightly on the down grade like Rios. And that people like Sampras, Agassi or Rafter remain in the background.In short, the system rewards who plays more and not who plays better.Having a look at the results of the last season, which have then influenced the compilation of the seed player list here at the Australian Open, we find that, on the eve, Kuerten, Safin, Sampras and Norman were the four players on the short-list. And, as luck would have it, none of them managed to reach the second week of the tournament. Let us start from the last one in the short-list, that is Sampras. It should of course be said that he should be dealt with separately. After having won 13 Slam tests and having been number one worldwide for 5/6 consecutive years, the American champion now administers his energy with great care, trying to focus his attention on the tests where he can hit home. Of course, here in Melbourne, Pistol Pete has already pulled in the trophy twice as well as playing in another final. But his last hit here dates back to almost 5 years ago, in 1997, and this suggests that Sampras' physique is a bit worn and has by now triggered a self-defence system against the heat of "kangaroo land" which makes him save his strength and no longer offer top rate performances.This year, the defeat with his fellow countryman Todd Martin, with whom he had absolutely favourable partial results in one-to-one's, came straight after the small marathon which Pete had to face during the previous round against the Argentinean Ignacio Chela. Not even 48 hours later, what had been for years a perfect Slam machine did not get back its power and had to abandon the tournament.So we shall probably see a similar Sampras in the next major event, that is in Paris, on red clay, where he has never won so far. Whereas at Wimbledon and in the domestic Us Open, where the opportunities for victory by playing fewer strokes (Pete's show piece) greatly increase his reputation, we shall certainly see a different player. So Sampras will be investing there the residual supplies of physical and emotional energy left over from an extraordinary career, to enrich his Palmares in the Slam tests.The partial defeats suffered by Kuerten, Safin and Norman, even though different from each other, have in common the players' young age and their limited experience in major events. Of course, Kuerten has already won twice in Paris, on hard court, but his ability to adapt to fast surfaces still shows ample room for improvement. According to the Champions Race, he was the strongest tennis player of the last seasons. Here, based on the numbers of this very competition, he was tipped as the number one; in fact he was beaten by a recovered Rusedski, a player who on hard courts can give quite a few problems as well as another dozen tennis players.We were not surprised not to see him during the culminating week of the tournament, as well as Magnus Norman, number 4 on the scoreboard but rather inexperienced as regards important high-pressure matches. Besides, during the only game played on his favourite surface, that is red clay, he was eclipsed by Kuerten's personality in the Roland Garros 2000 final. It was not a surprise therefore that he should be overcome by the French player Grosjean, who is not capable of great strokes but is a fighter who can achieve significant accelerations.And we now come to Marat Safin, who many viewed as a revelation of the last season. He had won the Us Open with extraordinary decisiveness. But whereas no doubt existed about his talent, there should have been some questioning about his self-control and self-management abilities. Indeed, the Russian giant immediately sunk in the quicksand of the first test where he had been expected to confirm his New York exploit. Three sets to nil by the Slovak Hrbaty were absolutely not to be expected from his tennis, even though still in a warming-up phase. But it all falls within the logic of the premise; that the actual results of worldwide men's tennis do not reflect the real world values. It is not by chance that players such as Agassi, Rafter and Kafelnikov, who have had plenty of experience as far as Slam tests are concerned and who know how to discipline their strengths, are still busying themselves with the first Australian Open edition of the new millennium.