SCUD'S BIG TEST

By Patrick Rafter (01/23/2000)

Mark Philippoussis may be getting back to his best, but I cannot see him making it past Andre Agassi at the Australian Open today.

Philippoussis struggled in his first two matches, but showed his near-best  form against Andrew Ilie. But he cannot afford to make any mistakes against Andre today. Andre has been impressive and he is going to be awfully hard to beat for the title.

I believe the Open has come down to a race between three favorites - Agassi, Pete Sampras and Lleyton Hewitt.  Sampras, Agassi and Hewitt are hands-down favorites in my book. Sampras struggled against Wayne Back, but Andre and Lleyton have been awesome. The Black match might be what Pete needs to take his game to another level, but I was impressed with the way he stuck it out on Friday when he struggled with the quick conditions.

The court might be fast, but it is not that fast that somebody (Alex Corretja) can lose 0-6, 0-6, 1-6 to Lleyton.   Lleyton has made an amazing start to the year and he is a genuine contender for the title the way he is playing. He fears nobody and he is seeing the ball well. Somebody must play really well to nail him.

At this stage, he is the favorite to go through to the final from the bottom half, although there are still a lot of good players down there. If Lleyton can keep his focus -- and there is no doubt he can -- anything is possible.

The first weekend of a Grand Slam is always sensational and I have loved sitting back as a spectator. I did not think that would be the case, but this has given me a different perspective.

To be honest, I did not expect to enjoy being on the sidelines with the Open going on, but I have been surprised by how much I have been able to get into it without missing it.

I feel sorry for Jelena Docic. She is 16 and potentially a great player, but this week would not have been much fun for her. Learning to deal with losing and the pressure that brings is a tough experience. It is even more difficult in the public eye. I am sure she will emerge the better from this, even though things seem bleak now.

There also has been a lot of discussion over the court speed.  I would have loved to have played on it because it would have been ideal for me. It is difficult not to think about what might have been.It is a good court for the Aussies and I think there is nothing wrong with that. It is also a good court for guys such as Agassi.The balls are lively too, and people have made comparisons between the conditions at Melbourne Park and Wimbledon and the US Open.

Unfortunately, I could not be on court this year, but hopefully there will not be too much change in conditions next year.

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