PARIS - The injury nightmare of triple champion Gustavo Kuerten and Lleyton Hewitt's doubts about the slow, red clay of Roland Garros look set to play right into the hands of veteran Andre Agassi when the French Open starts tonight.
Had Kuerten, 25, not been dogged by the hip injury which
has limited him to just five tournaments this year, then the bookmakers would have stopped taking bets on him becoming a four-time winner and a three-in-a-row champion.
For his part, world No 1 Hewitt admits that he is still learning the craft and guile required to tame the European clay.
As a result, Agassi, only one of five men to have won all four Grand Slam titles, knows his rivals are playing into his hands.
Just to prove the point, he popped into Europe this month, waltzed to victory at the Rome Masters without dropping a set, took two weeks off and then declared he is as fit and prepared as he was when he first played in the French capital 15 years ago.
After brushing aside the challenge of Tommy Haas in the Rome final 6-3, 6-3, 6-0, Agassi, 32, was asked whether he had ever felt so good going to Paris.
"No, that's pretty clear," said Agassi, seeded fourth here.
On the women's side, world No 1 Jennifer Capriati, of the United States, looks set for a fight to defend her title.
Despite her assertion that she will peak in time, the reigning French and Australian Open champion will have her work cut out against compatriots Venus and Serena Williams, seeded second and third respectively.
Irked by the assumption that they cannot play on clay, the Williams sisters have made the French Open one of their top targets this season.
Former champion Monica Seles, of the United States, is seeded sixth and could be ready for one last hurrah after indicating that she may quit after this year's tournament.
Seles, winner at Roland Garros in 1990, 1991 and 1992, missed last year's tournament because of injury.
- AGENCIES
