First Day Has Big-Name Feel

Uncharacteristic of tennis’ major events, the Australian Open will begin with a flurry of top matches on its first day Monday.

Among those name players competing will be Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, as well as other title contenders Mark Philippoussis, Tim Henman, Thomas Enqvist, Todd Martin and Richard Krajicek, all in the top half of the draw. Sampras has a tough test against Australian Wayne Arthurs, but Agassi may have it a bit easier, facing unheralded Argentine Mariano Puerta.

Agassi, seeded No. 1, would meet Sampras, seeded No. 3, in the semifinals if seeding holds. Defending champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov is seeded No. 2.

There are also some intriguing opening-day matches involving non-ranked players. For example, on a back court, former Olympic champion Marc Rosset will play former No. 1 Carlos Moya of Spain. Also, Andrew Ilie, goofy Australian, will play Jeff Tarango, flaky American, in a matchup of two of the true characters on the tour. Expect at least three code violations.

On the women’s side, defending champion Martina Hingis is idle, but No. 2 Lindsay Davenport plays, as do Anna Kournikova, Mary Pierce, Alexandra Stevenson, Amelie Mauresmo and Jennifer Capriati. They are all in the bottom half of the draw. Mauresmo, finalist last year, is seeded to play Davenport in the semifinals, in which she beat Davenport last year.

Serena Williams, the U.S. Open champion who is seeded third, would play Hingis in the semifinals if the seedings hold, in a rerun of their U.S. Open final matchup.

Serena’s sister, Venus, ranked a notch above Serena at No. 3 in the world, will miss this event because of wrist tendinitis.