Agassi show gets back on the road

Wimbledon's Court No. 1 exploded in a crescendo of noise, the majority of those present desperate to vociferously acclaim a returning hero. Andre Agassi indulged an adoring public with a power packed, baseline assault on 25year-old debutant, Spain's Alex Calatrava, and in doing so offered hope for those who cherish more than a frenzy of serve and volley tennis at these championships.

The nightmares of 1997, when injury and personal pecadilloes conspired to threaten his career, appear to have been dealt with on both physical and emotional levels and the Las Vegas showman is ready to embrace centre stage once again. Excellent early season form pre-empted a struggle at Rolland Garros and a subsequent shoulder injury which prevented him from taking part at Queen's.

Having slipped to 140th place in the world rankings last season, the American is back in the top 20 and by virtue of his Wimbledon triumph in 1992 received a fillip from the committee at the All England club, when seeded 13th for the tournament.

Agassi, who displayed a ready willingness to leave the sanctuary of the baseline when the occasion demanded, yesterday hinted that a serious competitive challenge is possible over the two weeks, particularly if he survives the opening seven days when the grass is green and fresh and the courts are considerably quicker.

The double-fisted backhand and the explosive, abbreviated forehand swing were very much in evidence as the American pounded his opponent from the baseline, winning 43 points from the back of the court. The crowd frequently displayed their appreciation of two players who were prepared to use every inch of the playing surface.

It was in marked contrast to most of the fare that adorned the showcourts in the men's competition. Potency of service was very much de rigeur, from defending champion Pete Sampras's emphatic victory over Slovakian Dominik Hrbaty to Mark Philippoussis's potent dismissal of seventh seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

Agassi remained defiant when asked whether the tournament could be won from the back of the court. "I think that it is certainly more difficult to do it from the back of the court, but I think it is possible. I think the first week is a very crucial week. Once you get into the second, it's not playing like, you know, grass any more.

"It's a little unpredictable and if your ball is a lot slower then ... I feel grass helps a serve game," he added. "If you have a good return you can still sneak breaks every set and if you do that you are going to be in a good position to win.

"You have to be able to hold serve and you have to be able be break, and there's no question it's harder to hold, serving and staying back. I think that it's more difficult to do that in the first week than the second."

Agassi agreed that game had evolved in terms of increased power since his Wimbledon triumph in 1992 but disagreed that it made winning this time more difficult.

"I don't think it is any more difficult outside of the fact that you just don't see a lot of players who do it.

"My game has always been one that has been able to deal with the power. When you talk about the Spanish guys, from the back of the court, who slice backhands and have big swings on the forehand, it's not so much that they stay back that's a problem, it's that they have real big swings. They don't have time to use their biggest strength which is their speed, the Corretjas, the Mantillas, Moyas: Moya is a little bit more adaptable. So that's more the typical baseliner these days."

Agassi experienced little difficulty in accounting for the cosmopolitan Calatrava - German born with Spanish and French parents - whose 62 unforced errors facilitated a popular 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 victory.

Defending champion Sampras had a similarly facile outing easing past Hrbaty, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 by virtue of powerful serving and his customary assuredness at the net. At 26, Sampras has 10 Grand Slam titles under his belt. Australian Roy Emerson is the record holder with 12. Despite a rollercoaster year of disappointing results, Sampras thinks he can top that.

"I think it is something that is realistic," he said. "I am just going to give it my best shot. I am young enough, you know, that I can do it and we'll see over the course of the next four or five years if I can do it," he said.

The defending champion feels invincible on Centre Court, the magical sporting stage that he has called home for so many years.

"This place over the years has brought out the best in me and you get a little bit more keyed up and fired up going out there," he said.

Motivation is everything to Sampras. The single-minded determination and tunnel vision needed by a real champion really come out in him at Wimbledon.

"If you cannot get up for an event like this, you shouldn't be playing," he said.

Kafelnikov became the first high profile casualty in the men's event when, despite winning the first set on a tie-break, he crashed out to the big serving and appropriately nicknamed `Australian Scud' Mark Philippoussis on Court 1.

There was also defeat for the 1997 French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten, while the home crowd were kept on tenterhooks by a careless and profligate Tim Henman who managed 99 unforced errors on the way to a 7-6, 7-5, 5-7, 4-6, 6-2 five set marathon victory over Jim Novak.