With the top two seeds advancing to the men's and women's finals at the Australian Open, we have to look deeper into the draw to see the intriguing questions to be asked over the course of the 2000 season.

- Can Pete Sampras rebound? The former long-time number one seems remarkably prone to injury lately. Curiously, in the press conference that followed his semifinal loss to Agassi he appeared to blame his hip injury, in part, on an insufficient warmup on a cold evening. Recall that when he suffered the first of his three back injuries last year, playing doubles on the European clay circuit, he also attributed the injury on the lack of pre-match warmup. Inconceivable on the part of a veteran player! Fortunately for Pete his health always seems optimal at Wimbledon (a point that will intrigue amateur psychologists), where he will be the favourite to win another grass-court title and break Roy Emerson's record of 12 major titles.

- Can Martina Hingis rebound? She seems able to handle the players outside the top four, but her recent struggles against power hitters Lindsay Davenport and the Williams sisters -- especially Serena -- must have Martina posing serious questions about the likelihood of dominating the sport in the years to come.

- Speaking of the Williams family, will WTA president Bart McGuire have the guts to give Richard Williams a talking-to? The one-in one-out scheduling pattern he has apparently imposed on his daughters raises unnecessary questions about the family's integrity and does the WTA no credit.

- Could this be the year for Magnus Norman and Jennifer Capriati to lodge themselves in the top ten? The surprise semifinalists down under did well in the minor events last year and have now affirmed themselves in the first major of 2000. By the way, Magnus could take a hint from watching Capriati, who is sneaking to the net with good results of late. The Swede ought to throw away his Enqvist tapes and replace them with Edberg career highlights....

- Will people stop writing off the geriatric Iberians Martinez and Sanchez-Vicario?With surprisingly strong performances down under, the aging Spaniards still have some game and a lot of determination.

The men will now disperse themselves around the world, where most of the top players will begin the Davis Cup campaign. But some squads that would normally be heavily favoured on paper will have to struggle on the court without some key performers.

In the absence of Sampras and the mysteriously ill Todd Martin, the USA will suddenly have to rely heavily on Andre Agassi to continue his fine form against the gritty brothers Black in Zimbabwe. Great Britain, virtually a two-man squad, have an even greater challenge without Greg Rusedski against the Czechs in Ostrava. And with Kiefer again refusing an invitation to join the German squad, Germany's tie with the Netherlands could be a dogfight. Brazil and France will be at full strength -- notwithstanding the curious exclusion of France's most recent number one player, Fabrice Santoro! -- and with the tie in Brazil and the home team hoping to avenge their loss in France last year, this figures to be the most intriguing first-round matchup.

Many of the top women, including rivals Davenport and Hingis but not including the Williams family, head north from Melbourne to contest a tier one event in Tokyo. This event was also to feature the return to the tour of Monica Seles, but apparently that injured foot is not yet ready for tournament play.