Andre Agassi and Todd Martin may not be quite ready for the Senior Tour just yet but with a combined age of 60 they are not far off. And Martin's hair, already turning white at the temples, went a shade greyer yesterday when Agassi gave him a straight-sets pasting in the quarter-finals.
Agassi's 7-5 6-3 6-4 win was his 13th victory over his compatriot and, both players said, his most convincing. Poor old Martin. After beating Pete Sampras in the fourth round he might have fancied his chances against another old foe but Agassi says he feels fitter at nearly 31 than he did at 21, and he looked sprightly enough yesterday.
All the trademarks were there: the frighteningly quick reflexes, the lethal backhand and the speed of both thought and feet which often made Martin look as though he was playing in slow motion.
Brad Gilbert, Agassi's voluble coach, was there too, chatting away to Steffi Graf and saying things to his charge that were totally incomprehensible to everyone else. "Good change up, Rock", "Right here", and, most puzzling of all, "Good legs!", which may have been just been a reference to the cut of Agassi's new slimline shorts.
Agassi's legs do appear to be getting even better with age. When he brought his career back from the dead in 1999 and went on a run that included three grand slam titles and a Wimbledon final in 12 months, he became something of a fitness bore, endlessly talking about workout routines.
These days he takes peak fitness for granted, but since lifting the trophy here a year ago his mental state has been open to question. A cancer scare involving both his mother and his sister distracted him for much of last year and it looked as though his career might take another nosedive.
But Agassi has started 2001 like a new man, with mind and body both finely tuned for the task ahead. At 30 he is anxious to notch up a few more grand slam titles while he can, starting here.
To do that he will first have to get past Patrick Rafter in front of 15,000 delirious Australians in the semi-finals. Rafter, Tim Henman's nemesis in the previous round, was a 6-2 6-7 7-5 6-0 winner over Dominik Hrbaty in a late-night quarter-final which had most of Australia on the edge of their seats.
Rafter's relentless serve-and-volley game worked well for a set and a half until he forgot how to do the serving bit. At set all, Hrbaty had Australia's favourite son on the rack and in severe danger of going two sets to one down, before Rafter broke him twice to take the set, killing off the Slovakian's hope.
If this is Rafter's final Australian Open at least he has saved the best for last. In eight attempts he has never before got past the fourth round. Agassi is used to being the sentimental favourite everywhere he plays but he has some serious competition this time around. At least he can count on Gilbert in his corner, saying nice things about his legs.
