The year ahead

Well, men's tennis has well and truly finished for the year. Mind you, it won't be long until it starts again, with the Hopman Cup and the Adelaide tournaments starting at the beginning of January. Fortunately for tennis fans, the break in the tennis season is not very long.

The 1999 Australian Open will be the next major event for the players, and it looks to be an intriguing event. Its outcome will be a good pointer for men's tennis for the years to come. Right now we're at a crossroads, with Pete Sampras surely at or past his peak. The chasing pack have been closing on his number 1 ranking, but he's been able to hold them off to this point. A win in the oppressive conditions at Melbourne Park will indicate that Sampras still has alot to give, and could well dominate for the rest of the year.

Should Sampras fail - particularly if it's in the early rounds - it will indicate that his game truly has fallen away over the past year. So the Australian Open will be a good form guide for the rest of Pete's year. Mind you, he can never be discounted at Wimbledon. He has shown this year that even playing below his best, he is still the top grass-court player in the world.

The Australian Open will be make-or-break time for 3 other American players. Jim Courier, Michael Chang and Andre Agassi have all fallen away in form badly over the past few years. Agassi has admittedly returned to the top 10, but he hasn't reached a Grand Slam quarter-final or better since the US Open in 1996. These 3 players are nearing the twilight of their respective careers, and the Australian Open will be vitally important to kick-starting their year. All three have been exceptional hard-court players, and it is on this surface that they have their best chance of performing well.

If Courier fails again, he surely will retire in 1999. It must be galling for a former number 1 to be ranked 76, and no longer be considered in grand slam calculations. An early round loss will surely make him realise that his glory days are over.

Failure for Agassi would be a severe setback for the year, but he will still have another chance to do well on the US Open hard-courts. But he only has a few years of top tennis left, so he will have to make the most of his chances. Fortunately, with his world number 6 ranking, Agassi will be seeded highly and won't play another top player until at least the 4th round.

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