Statesman Agassi leads by example
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MELBOURNE, Australia (Reuters) -- Andre Agassi, once the great showman of tennis but now its elder statesman, continued his no-fuss Australian Open title defense with a commanding defeat of Czech qualifier Tomas Berdych.
Agassi dismissed the big-serving Berdych 6-0 6-2 6-4 to reach the third round of the opening grand slam event of the year.
Fourth seed Agassi faced few problems against his inexperienced opponent, safely serving out the match after 82 minutes on a sweltering Rod Laver Arena center court and then politely saying 18-year-old Berdych had a bright future.
"Sometimes the scoreline is not reflective of the work that's going into the match," Agassi told reporters.
"I like his game a lot, he has a lot of potential. He's not scared to take chances, he has a lot to look forward to," said Agassi, who is chasing his fifth Melbourne title.
Agassi will face a sterner third round test against 1999 Open runner-up Thomas Enqvist. Sweden's Enqvist, unseeded this year, beat Slovakia's Karol Beck 7-5 4-6 6-3 6-4 on an outside court.
The popular American has not dropped a set in his opening two matches and now has an unbeaten stretch of 23 consecutive wins at Melbourne Park after winning the title in 2000-01 and 2003.
Injury kept him out of the 2002 tournament.
Elder statesman
Agassi was styled as a flashy Las Vegas showman when he burst on to the scene in the late 1980s in a blur of long hair and mid-riff shirts but has lately become the elder statesman of tennis, polite and respectful of the game's many traditions.
Agassi won the Australian Open on his first trip to Melbourne Park in 1995 and now rues the nine years at the beginning of his career that he stayed away.
"I wish I had played here every opportunity I had," he said. "Apart from the fact that this place has been so amazing for my career, I just enjoy being here so much."
"I think I didn't play at the time for reasons that were questionable. I was young and I wanted time off," Agassi said.
He also famously stayed away from Wimbledon after losing in the first round in 1987, only to reach the quarterfinals on his return in 1991 and then claim his one and only grass court title a year later.
"I didn't have the respect for the traditions of the game I should have had. I did the same at Wimbledon, those are times you can't have back," he said.
Determined to make up for lost time, Agassi always returns to Melbourne in perfect physical shape, and his performances in his first two matches mark him out once again as a strong favorite.
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