At the age of 32 — and turning 33 this year — American tennis ace Andre Agassi is well aware that he is nearing the end of the road as far as competitive tennis is concerned.
His long-time rival, compatriot Pete Sampras, is already talking of the possibility of laying down for good his tennis racket in the not-too-distant future.Â
Agassi has slowed down a bit as he has grown older, while the game, including women’s tennis, has become faster.
He said after his remarkable comeback in 1999, when he clinched both the French and the United States Open titles, that he didn’t think he would be able to stage another comeback if he were to ‘fall off the face of the Earth againâ€.
As such, making the best of whatever opportunities there might be to win major tournaments has become crucial to Agassi.
The Australian Open, which gets under way in Melbourne on Monday and ends on January 26, offers Agassi one of his final opportunities to add another grand slam title to his tally of seven.
Absent by choice is his chief source of frustration, Sampras, the man who once again denied Agassi a slam title when he beat him in four sets in last year’s US Open final. Even if he played his best tennis, Agassi once remarked, he would still not be guaranteed of victory against Sampras.
Out also — because of a troublesome knee — is last year’s surprise winner, Sweden’s Thomas Johansson.
Some had considered his win a fluke, so it would have been interesting to see how he would have dealt with the pressure that comes with being defending champion.
The non-participation of Sampras and Johansson means that already, Agassi and world number one, Lleyton Hewitt, are the early favourites for the men’s crown.
If Agassi were to win, he would become the first man to win the title four times. Hewitt would be the first Australian since Rod Laver in 1969 to take the crown, a challenge he no doubt relishes.
By winning the US Open in 2001 and reaching the semifinals of the same event last year, Hewitt has shown he has the big-match temperament and not only the ability but also the desire to win majors.
There are other, equally capable contenders, of course. When he is on song the erratic Russian, Marat Safin, can humble any opponent. And he is quite nimble for such a huge man.
And whatever happened to Michael Chang? Could he, like Agassi in 1999, emerge from wherever he is hiding to spoil the party for those who fancy themselves probable winners? Anything is possible in this game.
On the women’s front? Well, the question in recent grand slams has tended to be: which of the Williams sisters is going to win?
At the moment, Serena, who rose out of her sister Venus’s shadow to capture the French, Wimbledon and the US titles last year, is bloody hot and seemingly untouchable.
Except, of course, that defending champion Jennifer Capriatti seems to want to make a habit of winning in Melbourne. She also won in 2001.
And if there’s anyone who can match the tenacity, the powerful serves and searing groundstrokes of the Williams sisters, she can.
It’s a terrible pity that Martina Hingis is one of those who will miss the action this year. They just love her down under. But just when she seemed to be getting back to full strength, she succumbed once again to the ankle injury that’s troubled her for the past two years.
Pint-sized Justine Henin and Jelena Dokic are among the dark horses on the women’s side. Just as current form usually counts for little when South African soccer giants
Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs meet in a  derby, it is also not the best yardstick to determine who of these men and women will come out on top in a fortnight’s time.
It is very much possible we might just end up with another Thomas Johansson or an Iva Majoli — remember her?