Agassi wary of Rafter

Julian Linden

Andre Agassi may need more than the backing vocals of girlfriend Steffi Graf to get him through to his second straight Australian Open final when he takes on local favourite Patrick Rafter on Thursday.

The American is a hugely popular figure in Melbourne after winning the Australian Open in 1995 and 2000 but knows he will have few supporters apart from Graf when he takes on Rafter in his final appearance in his home Grand Slam.

"Pat is appreciated and loved by fans across the world," Agassi said on the eve of their semifinal.

"I just kind of wish he had retired this year and then I wouldn't have to worry about him. If this is his last Australian Open, he's certainly going out giving it his best go."

Rafter has won two U.S. Opens, reached a Wimbledon final and the semifinals of the French Open but until this year had never made it past the fourth round in Melbourne.

The Australian Open has not had a local winner since Mark Edmondson beat John Newcombe in 1976 and the hugely popular Rafter is hoping a wave of public support will lift him into his first Melbourne final before he retires at the end of the year.

"I'm sure they're going to pump it up. I played Andre here in 1995 and I can just remember it was a real rock concert atmosphere," the 28-year-old from Queensland said.

"We do have good matches. Sometimes I've lost very comfortably to Andre but the tennis is good. I'm sitting there scratching my head but it's still good tennis."

Sixth seed Agassi has beaten Rafter in seven of their previous 11 meetings but the Australian won their most recent encounter in last year's Wimbledon semifinals, a thrilling match that went to five sets.

Both men have been in brilliant form over the past 10 days with Agassi dropping just one set in reaching the semifinals and Rafter two.

"I consider him one of the best players of all time. I think you just hope you can go out there and stick with him," Rafter said.

"I know if I can stick with him, that I've got just as much chance of winning as he does.

"If he's playing great tennis he's still going to give you a look but you've got to be good enough to take it. If that doesn't happen then your window will close."

With six Grand Slam titles already under his belt, Agassi is well accustomed to playing big matches but agreed this one held special significance for him.

The 30-year-old from Las Vegas said he always got a kick out of playing against serve-and-volleyers and the fact he was playing Rafter made for a special occassion.

"Rafter is always an enjoyable match-up for the game of tennis just because there aren't any real traditional serve-and-volleyers left," Agassi said.

"I think he relies on his athleticism and his fighting spirit and his ability to really put the pressure on you on big points.

"I'm going to have to step up and execute and play my game through a lot of pressure. The match is going to boil down to who's doing their job better. It's really quite simple."

Agassi is a strong favourite to win Thursday's match but 12th seed Rafter said he believed he had a genuine chance of beating him as long as he could maintain a high level throughout the entire match.

"He's the sort of guy who can play you off the courts. If his eye's in, he's one of the most dangerous guys. I've played him a few times when his eye's in, it's not much fun," Rafter said.

"I'm approaching it the way that I'm hitting the ball well, I'm playing pretty well, I'm fighting well, I'm playing the big points well. All I can do is relax, go out there and enjoy myself."