TENNIS/Australia Open: Defending Australian Open champion Andre Agassi has dramatically withdrawn on the eve of the Australian Open championships with a wrist injury.

"Defending men's singles champion and number three seed Andre Agassi has been forced to withdraw from the Australian Open due to the aggravation of an old wrist injury," Tennis Australian media manager John Lindsay said in a statement.

The shock announcement of Agassi's withdrawal came just a day after the American had said he felt in peak physical shape in a bid for his third successive Australian Open title at Melbourne.

"Tennis-wise I am where I want to be at the moment. I have had a great week of preparation," Agassi had said.

"Look, I am not looking ahead . . . I know it is a cliché, but it really is one match at a time.

"Come on, I am nearly 32 years of age - at my age you can't take anything for granted," he said, smiling.

His potential main opponents were Andy Roddick in the fourth round, Pete Sampras in the quarter-finals and Lleyton Hewitt in the semis.

"Yes there are some big hazards in the draw but you don't have to beat the whole draw, you just have to beat seven players," Agassi had had said.

He added: "For me physicality is a major aspect of my game. The way I hit the ball, play the game, the way I string my racket . . . everything about my tennis requires physicality."

The Las Vegan, a winner of seven Grand Slam titles, enjoyed a big year in 2001, which included his third Australian Open victory in seven years and his wife and former world number one Steffi Graf giving birth to their first child, a baby boy.

Agassi was drawn to play Zimbabwe's Byron Black in the first round.

The American's withdrawal follows the loss to the tournament last week of women's world number one Lindsay Davenport, who has a knee injury.

And Jennifer Capriati, who last year made a remarkable comeback to the sport to win the Australian and French Open titles, is struggling to get fit to begin the defence of her title.

The 25-year-old American has played just one tournament this year - the Sydney International, where she was beaten in the second round by Alexandra Stevenson, world ranked 61 - and aggravated a hip injury in the process.

She said she was pleased she had not had to play on the opening day of the tournament today at Melbourne Park.

"I've been getting lots of treatment and trying to recover it," Capriati said yesterday. "I feel 90 per cent, I think it's okay . . . but the extra day will help a lot."

When she does get on court, she will face the Croatian Silvija Talaja. Capriati, who is seeded one in the absence of the injured Davenport, said on here return to Melbourne Park that it felt as if she had never been away.

"I will always love this place forever. For my whole life this will always be the place where it all started. And it started such a year. I never knew there were so many awards."