ESPN.com reports that Andre Agassi has withdrawn from the Australian Open citing a wrist injury.

Agassi Out!

So does that make Lleyton Hewitt the new favorite?

Pete Sampras has an easier draw now.

It does make it a little easier, though there are still plenty of hazards in that section of the draw (Safin, if he can get by Santoro, Roddick). I'd have to pick Hewitt over Sampras, if it comes to that as a semi-final matchup. I think Hewitt's the best player in the world right now, but it's hard to know how ready he is for this tournament. He could go down to Tommy Haas or Roger Federer, who has also beaten Sampras (at Wimbledon, no less!). If you can beat Sampras there, you can beat him anywhere...

If Serena Williams is out (or a bit hobbled by the ankle), Hingis' stock surges a ton in my opinion. Maybe I'm overreacting to one week's results, but Hingis obviously likes the surface. After Venus, I think Hingis is the next most likely candidate to win.

It's official Serena's out. Hingis's path to the semifinals seems assured.

Agassi and Serena OUT! What a shock. Two real contenders down for the count. Agassi's half of the draw is so loaded that this only makes things slightly easier for all those guys. Obviously, Serena's exit helps Hingis tremendously. If she meets Venus in the semi's, Venus will have had a much tougher match in her quarter than Hingis..most likely, this is looking a little far ahead, especially with the way grand slams go...Testud already looks like she may be out in the first round...as does Kiefer....the rain delay is only as long as it takes to close the retractable roof...Venus, Martina and Monica are still to play...

The press release from the Aussie open site on Serena's withdrawal (link below) contained this rather description of Serena's last Australian open appearance:

"Williams, who bowed out in a gruesome quarter final against Martina Hingis last year..."

Gruesome?

http://www.ausopen.org/news/articles/20020...41000c8844.html

I'm not surprised my darling Kiefer is out--Novak has been playing quite well. If Grosjean isn't sharp, I think Novak could go quite a ways into this tournament.

What a bum what to start the first Slam of the year! Damn, damn, damn!

Well, with Agassi out, I've put my $$$ on Sampras. Pete has to realize this is a golden opportunity for him. Hewitt is the only player in his half that can really hurt him. I think rematches with Roddick and Haas will go Pete's way. So all he really need to worry about en route to the final is who he plays in the semi's. And I really do think Haas can take care of Hewitt for Sampras, so I think Pete has an excellent chance this year.

If what I read is correct this morning, Venus is out as well. I gotta go with Roddick, Gambill, and Sampras for the men!

puckman45 what did you read? Venus won her match last night... Does she have an injury or something? Please advise!!!

bman. Ooops. My mistake. It was Serena who withdrew because of an ankle injury. not Venus, my mistake..