MELBOURNE Australia -- Andre Agassi is starting to feel a
sense of deja vu at the Australian Open.
|  | | Andre Agassi hits a backhand to fellow American Paul Goldstein. Agassi was never pushed by Goldstein as he won 6-1, 6-3, 6-1. |
This time last year he arrived at the season-opening Grand
Slam on the back of a wave of success and duly won.
Now it seems Agassi, while not riding as high, is certainly
back in the groove on Melbourne Park's hardcourts.
He needed only 77 minutes Wednesday to dismiss fellow
American Paul Goldstein, 6-1, 6-3, 6-1, advancing to the third
round and a step closer to a quarterfinal clash with great
rival Pete Sampras.
The manner of Agassi's triumph was in stark contrast to the
previous night's epic five-set victory by Australian scrapper
Lleyton Hewitt.
While the home crowd bayed and cheered their local boy on
against Swede Jonas Bjorkman, there was little chance for them
to settle in as Agassi whipped the 24-year-old Goldstein, who
plays a similar style of game but a number of notches lower.
"I'm confident," Agassi said afterward. "For me it's all
about my game. If I continue striking the ball like I am,
moving like I am and concentrating the way I am, I'll be all
right."
The American has yet to drop a set in his first two rounds
but Goldstein, ranked 80 in the world, suffered more than Czech
Jiri Vanek had in the opening match of Agassi's title defense
Monday.
Watched as usual by girlfriend and former women's world No.
1 Steffi Graf, the tournament's sixth seed stormed through the
first five games against Goldstein.
Agassi took the opening set in 23 minutes and fought back
from a break down in the second to win 12 out of the last 14
games.
It was a display that had plenty of admirers, not least the
man on the other side of the court.
"I felt pretty overwhelmed," admitted Goldstein, a
righthander from Washington, who has has made steady progress
since his professional debut in 1998.
"It's important to start well against Andre. I think he's
the best front-runner in the world and him getting off to a
good start really didn't give me a play at all.
"My strengths are so much less than his. We have a similar
game... he got ahead, relaxed and it spelt trouble for me."
Agassi arrived in Melbourne last year on the back of three
straight Grand Slam final appearances including wins in the
French and U.S. Opens. He duly collected his second Australian
Open title and sixth Grand Slam crown.
But he then struggled to approach his best, hampered by a
nagging back injury following a car accident after Wimbledon.
Illness in his family also forced him off the tour.
But Agassi made the final of the Masters Cup in Lisbon last
month, losing to Brazil's Gustavo Kuerten, and last week beat
Russian Yevgeny Kafelinkov in the Kooyong Classic exhibition
event.
He has carried the momentum on to Melbourne.
"You can only judge yourself based on the matches you've
had and I like everything I did tonight," said Agassi. "I like
the way my game's coming around."
He is not looking too far ahead in the draw, however. Asked
about his potential quarter-final date with Sampras, he said:
"Just think if we don't play at all. We're still a couple of
matches away."
Agassi faces David Prinosil in the third round Friday
after the German beat American Cecil Mamiit in five sets.
Confidence is something Agassi has never been short of.
Asked when he first knew he would make the grade, he quipped:
"My dad kinda convinced me of that when I was 3."
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