GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Now we know why Andre Agassi hasn’t been himself lately.

He yelled at a spectator in his fourth-round match at the French Open and lost in the next, and many thought it was the sudden appearance of sports-fan-in-chief, former president Clinton, that caused his exit.

A couple of weeks later, Agassi melted down against Patrick Rafter in the semifinals at Wimbledon. He hit a ball in the general direction of a lineswoman who angered him then tersely implied, unflatteringly, that she was uptight.

Then a light bulb flicked on. He had a perfectly plausible reason for his nerves, his edginess, his irritation at almost any question not about tennis.

Impending fatherhood.

Frankly, the mere thought of that is enough to cause strange behavior. We all know men who walk a little faster when a stroller comes into view. Or they think Carters refer to Vince’s family.

And so Agassi, owner of seven Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold medal won in 1996, and Steffi Graf, owner of 22 Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold medal won in 1988, are expecting their first child in mid-December.

“This is a very exciting time for us,” Agassi said in a statement. “We are so happy to be blessed with this gift.”

The announcement, it appears, was prompted by a report in the German tabloid Bild. Rumors of Graf’s pregnancy have swirled ever since she started dating Agassi shortly after her retirement in 1999. Graf would walk past a baby store or buy a present for a friend, causing instant headlines.

These are probably the two most common questions in tennis circles:

* When is Anna Kournikova playing again?

* Is Steffi Graf pregnant?

The interest in Graf is understandable. Only two other women have won tennis’ Grand Slam, Maureen Connolly and Margaret Court. Tennis was not an Olympic sport when Connolly and Court played.

Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova won all of tennis’ major tournaments, but not in the same year, and neither has an Olympic gold medal.

Agassi is one of five men to have won all four majors, though not in the same year. None of the others--Don Budge, Roy Emerson, Fred Perry and Rod Laver--won an Olympic gold medal.

Twenty-nine Grand Slam titles and one infant.

If Agassi regains his equilibrium and wins the U.S. Open in September, it could be 30 major titles by the time Graf delivers.

Retired hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky used to say he was glad it worked out that his first-born was a girl because of the kind of pressure his child would face. (He and wife Janet’s second child was a boy.)

But the Agassi-Graf child doesn’t have a chance. A boy? The pressure to be like dad, who is one of the leading sports icons of a generation. A girl? The pressure to be like mom, who is, oh well, considered by some to be the best female tennis player in history.

There have been high-powered sports couples--track and field/golf star Babe Didriksen and wrestler George Zaharias, for example, but they never had children. Gymnasts Nadia Comaneci and Bart Connor are married. She had five gold medals, three silver and one bronze and he had one individual gold. Marion Jones, star of the Sydney Olympics, and C.J. Hunter, a world champion shotputter, had impressive power-couple potential, but their marriage did not survive the one-year anniversary of Jones’ Olympic gold medal double in the 100 and 200 meters.

As a sporting gene pool, Agassi-Graf could well be unmatched, although once upon a time, Jimmy Connors and Evert were engaged. To this day, tennis fans lament what might have been: a player possessed with both Connors’ return of serve and Evert’s icy resolve from the baseline. Could you imagine turning that kind of progeny loose on the Wimbledon lawns?

But Connors and Evert split shortly after their “Love Doubles” Wimbledon championship sweep in 1974. Evert, with an eye for athletes, instead married British tennis player John Lloyd, later divorcing him and marrying Olympic skier Andy Mill. They have children, and the world awaits what might develop on the slopes or the court.

Still, Graf and Agassi are on a different plane.

This may be better than cloning.