Agassi
1995: WON, defeated Greg Rusedski in third round, Patrick Rafter in round of 16, Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the quarters, and Pete Sampras in the final
1996: lost in semifinal to Michael Chang (defeated Jim Courier in five-set quarterfinal)
1998: lost in fourth round to Berasategui
1999: lost in fourth round to Vince Spadea
2000: WON, defeated Mark Philippoussis in round of 16, Pete Sampras in a five-set semifinal, and Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the final
2001: WON, defeated Todd Martin in the quarters, Patrick Rafter in the semi's, and Arnaud Clement in the final

Ferrero
2000: lost in third round to Younes El Aynauoi in five sets
2001: lost in second round to Andrew Ilie in five sets

Grosjean
1999: lost in five sets to Bohdan Ulirach in first round
2000: lost to Tim Henman in fourth round
2001: lost to Arnaud Clement in semifinals (defeated Magnus Norman in the round of 16 and Carlos Moya in quarters)

Haas
1998: lost in first round to Albert Costa
1999: lost in semi's to Yevgeny Kafelnikov (defeated Hewitt in second round)
2000: lost in second round to Younes El Aynaoui
2001: lost in second round to Lleyton Hewitt

Henman
1996: lost in second round to Jonas Bjorkman
1997: lost in third round to Michael Chang
1998: lost in first round to Jerome Golmard
1999: lost in third round to Marc Rosset
2000: lost in fourth round to Chris Woodruff
2001: lost in fourth round to Patrick Rafter

Hewitt
1997: lost in first round to Sergi Bruguera
1998: lost in first round to Daniel Vacek (five sets)
1999: lost in second round to Tommy Haas
2000: lost in fourth round to Magnus Norman
2001: lost five set third round match to Carlos Moya (defeated Tommy Haas in second round)

Kafelnikov
1994: lost second round five-setter to Pete Sampras
1995: lost quarterfinal to Andre Agassi
1996: lost quarterfinal to Boris Becker (!)
1999: WON, defeated Jim Courier in third round, Todd Martin in quarters, Tommy Haas in semifinals, and Thomas Enqvist in the final
2000: lost final to Andre Agassi
2001: lost in quarters to Arnaud Clement

Kuerten
1997: lost in second round to Neville Goodwin
1998: lost in second round to Nicolas Escude
1999: lost in five sets in second round to Marat Safin
2000: lost in five sets in first round to Albert Portas
2001: lost in five sets in first round to Greg Rusedski

Philippoussis
1994: lost in first round to Grant Stafford
1995: lost in first round to Stefan Edberg
1996: lost in fourth round to Mark Woodforde (defeated Pete Sampras in third round)
1998: lost in second round to Hicham Arazi
1999: lost in fourth round to Thomas Enqvist
2000: lost in fourth round to Andre Agassi

Safin
1999: lost in third round to Karol Kucera
2000: lost in first round to Grant Stafford
2001: lost in round of 16 to Dominik Hrbaty

Sampras
1989: lost in first round to Christian Saceanu
1990: lost in fourth round to Yannick Noah
1993: lost in semifinals to Stefan Edberg
1994: WON, defeated Ivan Lendl in round of 16, Jim Courier in semifinals, and Todd Martin in the final
1995: lost in final to Andre Agassi (defeated Jim Courier in five sets in quarters, and defeated Michael Chang in the semi's)
1996: lost in third round to Mark Philippoussis
1997: WON, defeated Thomas Muster in semi's and Carlos Moya in the final
1998: lost in quarterfinal to Karol Kucera
2000: lost five-set semifinal to Andre Agassi
2001: lost in round of 16 to Todd Martin

There were some other interesting performances I wanted to note...

Gambill
Has never won a match at the Australian Open!
1998: lost in first round to Alex O'Brien
1999: lost in first round to Thomas Enqvist
2000: lost in first round to Wayne Black
2001: lost in first round to Chris Woodruff

Ivanisevic
Has played on and off since '89. Just wanted to list his best performances here...
1989: reached quarterfinals, where he lost to Miloslav Mercir
1994: reached quarterfinals, where he lost to Jim Courier
1997: reached quarterfinals, where he lost to Thomas Muster

Kiefer
The adorable German doesn't have a bad record, really...if his pattern continues this year, he'll go far into the draw
1996: lost in first round to Philippoussis
1998: lost in quarterfinals to Nicolas Escude
1999: lost in third round to Fabrice Santoro
2000: lost in quarterinals to Magnus Norman
2001: lost a heart-breaking 5 setter to Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the second round

Wow, that's some ugly reality for Gambill. Here's hoping he breaks that streak. I'll bet the bounce doesn't suit Goran's game so well, he'll go down in the early rounds...I can't believe Agassi hasn't played any warmup tournaments; that doesn't bode well for his chances at all..he needs matches to be tough...Oh, yeah, Keifer! What a cutie!

I hadn't realized Guga had been that horrible at the Australian open--he's played better at Wimbledon, even.

Isn't it odd how none of the Australian players seem to be able to play well at the open?
Brits not winning Wimbledon is no big surprise, since there are so few top British players. But you'd think Rafter, Philipoussis, and Hewitt would have done more.

Yeh, Bryan, I was really surprised by Gambill's piss-poor record, too...I also hope he advances at least a little bit further this year. Maybe this whole 32 seeds thing actually helps Gambill--he's the 19th seed, so maybe he won't face such tough competition in the first round...

And JC, you're so right about the Aussies, esp. when you consider that Hewitt, in particular, has played consistently well in the tune-up events prior to the Oz Open...

[quote]Originally posted by Bryan:
I can't believe Agassi hasn't played any warmup tournaments; that doesn't bode well for his chances at all..he needs matches to be tough...!

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Andre beat American Taylor Dent in straight sets and Thomas Enqvist in 3 sets at the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament.

He'll play Sampras in the finals.

GO ANDRE!!!!!!!!!!!!


[quote] Oh, yeah, Keifer! What a cutie!

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Absolutely! Nico's a hottie!

One of my favorite players James Blake will play in Oz for the first time this year. Many will remember him for the thrilling and controversial five-setter he played with Lleyton Hewitt in the second round of last year's US Open. He also played pretty damn well during our Davis Cup tie with India, too...

There's a great interview/"chat" between him and Jon Wertheim over on CNN/SI's tennis page:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/inside_ga...rtheim_insider/

I'm glad to hear Andre's getting in the groove - He's a joy to watch during the Aussie Open...

I'm really glad that James Blake's tennis is starting to emerge..all that talent combined with all that sexiness....Bring him on!

I would love to see Blake and Dent join Roddick as top players - it's very possible...They're the new American generation...

The two men I will have my eyes on, as well as rooting for will be Jan Michael, and Roddick.....

Guga has not played well down under, but if you look at his losses, they are to quality opponents. Bad draws have hurt him, especially since he does not usually play warm-up events at the beginning of the year. The surface is actually really good for his game.

The Aussies have never done well. Pat Cash was a finalist in 1988, but not much since. One of the things I hear quoted in the press a lot is how different it is for them at home compared to Americans at the US Open. Australia (like many countries) does not have as many professional sporting leagues as the U.S. And, as a nation, they place emphasis/importance on sports other than those most Americans do.

Therefore, tennis is relatively more important in Australia than it is here. When Lleyton or Patrick or Mark walk out on court, there is a ton of pressure on them. The same reason that the French long for a home-grown champ (Mary Pierce was gladly accepted despite being Canadian), and Wimbledon is still waiting for a British champion. Our tennis players are not facing the same sort of adulation/expectations, so it is much easier for them to step on the court at Flushing Meadow.