Melbourne: An overwhelming wave of momentum is sweeping Andre Agassi towards further tennis glory in the Australian Open final against German Rainer Schuettler.

The 32-year-old American has been likened to a steamroller crushing all in his path to his fourth Australian final and with the tennis world expecting more Grand Slam success for one of the sport's modern-day greats.

The stats bear grim reading for the chances of 26 year old Grand Slam final debutant Schuettler. Agassi has lost only 43 games en route to Sunday's showpiece, the fewest he has conceded in any of his four trips to the Melbourne final and he is vying for a record-breaking 21 consecutive wins at the Open, one more than two-time champion Ivan Lendl.

He is one win away from becoming only the fourth player to capture four Australian Open titles and should he beat Schuettler he will claim his eighth Grand Slam title – only five players in history have won more.

Agassi is on an 11-match winning streak against German players. He has not lost to a German since the 1999 Grand Slam Cup when Tommy Haas beat him in the quarter-finals.

The signs all point to Agassi holding the trophy aloft on Sunday, but Schuettler is quietly determined that he can bring off one of the monumental upsets in Grand Slam history.

Fresh after snuffing out American Andy Roddick in the semi-final, Schuettler said, "There's another guy from the States waiting, Andre looks in great shape, so we'll see what's going to happen on Sunday.

"Maybe he'll eat something wrong the day before," he laughed. "I have no pressure on me at all. I just go on the court. He has played unbelievable. I will give my best and in the end I will see the result."

Agassi has been meticulous in his build up to the final. He has dropped just one set, to Frenchman Nicolas Escude in the third round, but crushed Sebastien Grosjean and Wayne Ferreira in the second week in regulation sets.

He comes to Australia in peak condition every year, forsaking the normal vacation time over Christmas-New Year to put in the work needed to play seven best-of-five- set matches often in fierce Australian heat to win here.

"It's not easy to come down here very prepared, but it sure beats the alternative," Agassi said after his 88-minute rout of Ferreira in the semi-final.

"That's what I always remind myself. As hard as it is to be prepared, it's a lot harder to come down here and not be prepared." Agassi thrives at the Australian Open. He relishes the high bounce of the Rebound Ace hard court, the heat and the breeze to put his stamp on the event in the seven years he's been here.

Agassi has spruced up his challenge to win his fourth Australian title by making a bet with his wife and 22 singles Grand Slam champion Steffi Graf to partner her in the mixed doubles at the French Open in June, if he wins the final here.

Agencies