Andre Agassi has beaten defending champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the final of the Australian open. The world number one completed a 3-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 victory in two hours and 19 minutes, reinforcing his status as the top male player in the world.
Although Agassi dropped the first set to the Russian, he fought back to win the next three, claiming his third Grand Slam title in less than a year. He turned the match with a crucial break of serve in the eighth game of the second set. From 3-3 in the second set the American won seven games in a row, leaving big-match specialist Kafelnikov demoralized.
``I'd like to congratulate the Y-man (Yevgeny),'' Agassi said of Kafelnikov after the match. ``It's not easy to come back as a defending champion and he's certainly proven that not only is he a worthy champion, but he'll probably be winning more of these,'' he told spectators.
