| | MELBOURNE, Australia -- Top-seeded Andre Agassi says
mentoring is an important link between seasoned pros and
up-and-coming players. Although he admits he neither sought nor
received much advice when he was coming through the ranks.
"When I was young, it was (Ivan) Lendl, (John) McEnroe and
(Jimmy) Connors. You'd be hard pressed to figure out which one
would give you the time of day," he said. "I was hard pressed to
figure which one I wanted the time of day from."
Agassi apparently made a big impact on fourth-seeded Nicolas
Kiefer after the pair joked earlier in the tournament about meeting
in the final. The 23-year-old German said just meeting and talking
to the top-ranked American had given him more confidence.
Agassi says older players should make an effort to help their
younger rivals.
"By the same token, you do find yourself having a special
interest in a few players that you feel are coming close to
maximizing their potential, especially if they are from your
country," he said.
"There's a lot you gain from helping somebody along maybe a
little bit quicker."
Top seeds
The top four men's seeds have advanced to the
quarterfinals for the first time since 1988.
Twelve years ago, No. 1 Ivan Lendl, No. 2 Stefan Edberg, No. 3
Mats Wilander and No. 4 Pat Cash reached the quarters, and then the
semis. Wilander beat Cash in the final.
This year, No. 1 Andre Agassi, No. 2 Yevgeny Kafelnikov, No. 3
Pete Sampras and No. 4 Nicolas Kiefer reached the quarterfinals.
Agassi is already in the semifinals, where he could face Sampras.
Business relationships
Jennifer Capriati is sticking to tennis
in conversations with doubles partner Jelana Dokic.
"We've only really talked about the tennis," said Capriati
Tuesday after moving into her first Grand Slam semifinal in nine
years with a 6-0, 6-2 quarterfinal victory over Ai Sugiyama.
Capriati and Dokic advanced to the third round of the doubles
before they were ousted by Els Callens and Dominique Van Roost.
Last week, Dokic was fined for failing to fulfill postmatch
commitments and was embroiled in further controversy when her
father snatched equipment from a television camera man and refused
to return it until the police intervened.
She also reportedly claimed that tennis officials were
conspiring against her by giving her tough draws.
"It's difficult to come out and just talk about that kind of
stuff, especially with me still in the singles," Capriati said.
"I have other stuff on my mind I want to think about." | |
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Agassi stays on top, advances to semifinals in Aussie Open
Capriati charges into semifinals at Aussie Open
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