| Sampras and Safin Eliminated from Australian Open | |
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Martin, unseeded, is feeling fit and confident. At 6'6", he has little problem with a higher bounce, but he may have some problems with Andre Agassi, the sixth seed, whom he faces next. Agassi has been looking awfully sharp. He loves to run his opponents, and Todd Martin doesn't like to run. Martin's best, perhaps only, chance will be to strike fiercely on the first ball of each point, be it the serve or the return, trying to end the point before Agassi can start working the angles.
With top seed Gustavo Kuerten eliminated in the second round by Greg Rusedski, the highest seed remaining on the men's side is the fourth, Magnus Norman. Norman has a real chance at this event, as do the next two seeds, Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Agassi. Also playing well are Patrick Rafter (12) and unseeded Rusedski and Carlos Moya. Moya is coming back after a year off due to injury. He eliminated Australian favorite Lleyton Hewitt 4-6, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 in the third round.
As is so often the case, the women's draw is much more on form. The top seeds, Martina Hingis (1), Lindsay Davenport (2), Venus Williams (3), and Monica Seles (4), are all going strong. Seles had a tough fourth round, eking out a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over young Justine Henin (unseeded), but Henin has been on a hot streak lately, and she's one of the most promising of the emerging players. Hingis, Davenport, and Venus Williams are giving every indication that one of them will take the title. Seles is a four-time champ and has lost only one singles match at the Australian Open. I would put her in the second tier of contenders, though, along with Serena Williams, the sixth seed. In the next tier would be Anna Kournikova (8), and Jennifer Capriati (12), who are playing well enough to have a real, though remote, chance.
Right now our forum predictions are leaning toward Venus or Serena on the women's side and Andre or Yevgeny on the men's. Would you concur or differ?
