Agassi's Desire Burns Bright

There were moments, notably when Andre Agassi took off his cap to reveal his closely shaved head, that the Las Vegas legend bore an uncanny resemblance to Austin Powers' Dr Evil as he began his quest for a fourth Australian Open title.

But these days the father of Jaden Gill and husband to Steffi Graf is very much Dr Feel Good, and his relatively straightforward 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 victory over his fellow American Brian Vahaly was greeted with rapturous delight inside the Rod Laver Arena.

On an opening day of no major surprises on the men's side, although the No26 seed Tommy Robredo of Spain did lose to South Africa's Wayne Ferreira, the fierce heat that had been forecast did not materialise but a vexing wind made conditions very difficult. Agassi made light of it, particularly after gaining the upper hand in a tight opening set.

Last year he had arrived here having won back-to-back Australian Open titles in 2000 and 2001, only to pull out on the opening morning with a wrist problem, so his many Australian fans were doubly delighted to see him back.

By the end of last year, having won three Masters Series events in Key Biscayne, Rome and Madrid, and finishing runner-up to Pete Sampras in the US Open, the 32-year-old Agassi had climbed to No2 in the world behind Australia's Lleyton Hewitt, thus becoming the oldest player to finish the year in that spot since the rankings began in 1973. And what everyone dearly wants to see here a week on Sunday is an Agassi-Hewitt final.

"Of course it would be great. I feel motivated and inspired by Lleyton's game and it's always a great feeling to get a win over him," said Agassi, who beat him in the semi-finals at Flushing Meadow last year.

And the man who helped Agassi achieve that victory was Australia's Darren Cahill, Hewitt's former coach. "Andre's motivation to win more slams is as strong as ever. To win three Masters Series events in one season was a hell of an effort. But in the end it's grand slam success that means the most to him and the sole focus at the moment is on the Australian Open," said Cahill.

Dealing with the heat over five sets on Rebound Ace makes this one of the most physical tournaments. "If you haven't put the work in over the Christmas period, you cannot expect to turn up and perform well," said Cahill. Agassi and his trainer Gil Reyes did just that.