Beaten Agassi ponders future

Those who have condemned Agassi to the history books, however, have been proved wrong many times before.

Having burst on to the scene as a brash 16-year-old in 1986, Agassi won the biggest prize of all when he triumphed at Wimbledon in 1992. After a few years in the doldrums, he staged an unlikely comeback to complete the set of all four Grand Slam titles and become the oldest world number one in history.

Five of his eight Grand Slam victories came after his 29th birthday, but though he arrived in Australia saying he was in the shape of his life, it is unlikely the American can carry on much longer. 8220;It8217;s disappointing,8221; he said. 8220;I8217;ve spent a lot of years coming down here and having some real memorable matches and leaving with the trophy.8221;