A victory away from his seventh Grand Slam title, Andre Agassi takes no comfort that he’ll be playing a lower-seeded opponent.
“I have two days and a whole different style of player to contend with,” Agassi said Thursday after beating local hero Pat Rafter 7-5, 2-6, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-3. “I’m too practical and focused on what I’m trying to do to take anything for granted.”
In high humidity inside Rod Laver Arena, Agassi needed 3 hours 7 minutes to reach his fifth final in the last eight Grand Slam events.
He made a backhand error in a third-set tiebreaker and fell behind, then rallied as Rafter began to cramp.
In Sunday’s final, he’ll play the winner of Friday’s all-French semifinal between No. 15 Arnaud Clement and No. 16 Sebastien Grosjean.
“They both have their weapons. … They’re both incredibly fast and they’re both great competitors,” Agassi said. “It will affect how I play, but I’ve basically got to stick to what it is I do.”
He has a 2-2 record against Clement and won his only match against Grosjean in straight sets in the first round of the 1998 U.S. Open.
Agassi had 12 unforced errors in 50 games against Rafter and said it was more important to limit mistakes than seek a quick victory.
“You’re telling yourself to just keep executing,” he said. “But you don’t want to take too many chances … so it’s a fine balance.”
Rafter was soaked in sweat after the match.
“Yeah, it was definitely the heat,” he said. “I think Andre and I both felt it, but I don’t handle it quite as well, I guess.”
In the fifth set Rafter was limping on the court, unable to catch up with passing shots. He was examined by a trainer during the break between the fourth and fifth sets.
Agassi, working Rafter to the corners of the court, had a combined 46 backhand and forehand winners in the last two sets.
“It’s a tough way to end,” Agassi said. “I hung in there, kept my game together and came up with the win. … I earned it.”
Rafter was the first Australian to reach the semis of the nation’s biggest tournament since Mark Woodforde in 1996. The last Australian to win a home Grand Slam was Mark Edmondson, who edged compatriot John Newcombe in 1976.
Rafter, 28, who is thinking about retiring after this season, took a bow after the match. Agassi said he hoped he could make it up to the public by talking Rafter into “sticking around an extra year to play down here again.”
“With tennis like that, there’s no reason why he couldn’t or shouldn’t,” Agassi said.
Later Friday, Venus and Serena Williams completed a Grand Slam of doubles crowns by winning the Australian title. But they said it was no compensation for their failure in the singles.
The sisters, a wild-card entry, beat seventh-seeded Lindsay Davenport and Corina Morariu 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. The victory, added to the 1999 French and U.S. Opens and 2000 Wimbledon, completes the Grand Slam for the Williamses.
Both Williams sisters were knocked out of the singles by top seed Martina Hingis, who will face Jennifer Capriati for the title.
