Hip healed, Agassi swaggers in

Defending champion Roger Federer is to follow Williams on to Rod Laver Arena at Melbourne Park, where he will begin his title defence against French veteran Fabrice Santoro.

With Henin-Hardenne, Clijsters and former champion Jennifer Capriati all out injured, organisers of the season-opening Grand Slam breathed a sigh of relief when American star Davenport gave them the thumbs up after a bout of bronchitis in Sydney last week.

Davenport, the top seed and 2000 Australian Open champion, managed only one match at the Sydney International but said she had recovered after two days of rest and some practice.

Agassi, whose late-blooming love affair with Melbourne began in 1995 with the first of his four titles, is seeded eighth this year and will face German qualifier Dieter Kindlmann in the opening round on Monday.

The hip injury sparked concern that 34-year-old Agassi had played his last match in Melbourne but he came through a hastily arranged exhibition match against Briton Tim Henman on Saturday and pronounced himself ready to go. (Reuters)

Federer wants a rivalry

Roger Federer won three of the four Grand Slams in 2004 and the world No.1 believes the chasing pack can lift him to even greater heights over the next couple of years.

The Swiss player has not lost to anyone inside the top 10 for more than a year.

Unlike the eras of John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg, and Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, Federer is unrivalled at the top, with no one having been able to get the better of him on a regular basis.

With Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin trying to bridge the gap, however, Federer says a rivalry with one or more of the others could help him to improve even more.

Safin happy to be left alone

Two-time Australian Open finalist Marat Safin is happy that most of the focus for this year’s tournament has settled on defending champion Roger Federer and local hope Lleyton Hewitt.

Safin has had a low-key build-up in his return to Melbourne after a barnstorming finish to 2004.

— Agencies