Agassi Nearly Takes Tumble In The First Round At Open

Andre Agassi tumbled downstairs and very nearly out of the Australian Open on Monday, coming perilously close to the most humiliating defeat in Grand Slam history.

Agassi never even heard of qualifier Gaston Etlis, an Argentine ranked No. 133 and playing in his first major tournament, but learned more about him than he cared to know in a 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 victory.

Never before in Grand Slam history had a defending champion lost in the first round to a qualifier, and only once before had a defending men’s champion gone out in his first match - Roscoe Tanner at the Australian in 1977.

On a day of perfect weather and a record crowd of 22,438, Etlis played a crafty game of drop shots, lobs and angled groundstrokes. His accuracy more than his power accounted for his 28 aces against the No. 2 seed in a 3-hour, 16-minute duel.

Agassi looked sluggish and played cautiously, perhaps because he hadn’t played a tournament match in three months due to a pulled chest muscle, or perhaps because he accidentally banged his right knee on a metal spiral staircase in his hotel room Sunday.

“It just proves it doesn’t matter how much money you’ve got, you can still fall downstairs,” Agassi’s coach, Brad Gilbert said. “I would have paid $500 not to have watched that match.”

Agassi wore a thick bandage around his right knee, which swelled Sunday and hurt, he said, as if he’d been hit by a hammer. Throughout the match, Agassi fidgeted with the bandage, pulling it up, pushing it down, perhaps too aware of it.

Agassi didn’t limp around the court as much as he appeared to wander aimlessly, unsure whether to play from the baseline or attack Etlis. Often, Agassi simply got caught out of position, back when Etlis deftly feathered drop shots, at the net when Etlis decided to pass or lob. Agassi only managed 10 aces, his serve never really bothering Etlis.

Along with the struggling Agassi, Jim Courier had his problems while Michael Change cruised through his first match. A day after 102-degree heat baked the courts for the final practices, temperatures dropped to the 70s to give the year’s first Grand Slam event a pleasant kickoff. Chang, No. 5, became the first seeded player to win, routing Czech David Rikl 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 in 90 minutes.

“It was a good first match for me,” Chang said, full of confidence after winning the Colonial Classic coming in. “He’s a sneaky little player. He hits shots you wouldn’t expect him to hit.”

No. 8 Courier, playing on a neighboring court, squeaked past Belgian Johan Van Herck 7-5, 7-6 (7-1), 6-4. Despite winning the Australian in 1992 and 1993, Courier showed little enthusiasm on court and sounded even less confident off it.

“They don’t hurt,” Courier said of his previous Australian titles, “but you can’t put too much emphasis on them.”

Mark Philippoussis, playing in his hometown, won the first match on Center Court, 7-6 (7-3), 6-0, 6-1 against German Nicolas Kiefer.