MELBOURNE, Australia -- The overwhelming favorite for this match is Andre Agassi. With that said, Agassi lost his past two meetings with Arnaud Clement in 2000, although Agassi retired at Lyon. The first time these two players met was in the second round of the French Open in 1999. Clement held out until the fifth set, which Agassi won 6-0. Agassi went on to win the French Open title that year, which marked the rejuvenation of his career.

	Mal's Picks
	Washington Former ATP Tour pro MaliVai Washington is providing ESPN.com with in-depth analysis during the Australian Open. Washington, a tennis analyst for ESPN, reached the 1996 Wimbledon final.

On paper, Agassi should win this match and his seventh Grand Slam title. Clement could pose a problem for Agassi in one area. Clement fought back from being down 2 sets to love in the semifinal with Sebastien Grosjean. Then Clement fought off match point at 3-5 in the third set and came back to win that match. A player who is able to fight through a situation like that is going to think that he can come back and do anything. Psychologically, Clement is going to be in good shape going into this match even if he gets behind against Agassi.

However, Agassi is extremely focused. He only lost three sets so far in the Australian Open and has beaten some tough players. It appeared that his biggest challenge was going to be in the semifinal against Patrick Rafter. It was such a big occasion. It was a big moment for Rafter and for Australia. For Agassi to come out a winner in that match, it is easy to say he is focused.

In talking to Agassi's coach Brad Gilbert, one of Agassi's biggest issues last year was a lack of focus. It was not because of lack of desire but personal issues with his family with his mother and sister having cancer. When you deal with those kind of things, it sometimes makes tennis seem not as important and family more important. That is the reason he didn't win a title last year after January.

Clement could be the first Frenchman to win a major tournament since 1983, when Yannick Noah won the French Open. Clement will be playing in a Grand Slam final for the first time against a guy who has already won six Grand Slams and been in the final of five other majors. Agassi has been in this position many times and knows what to expect. It's going to be something completely foreign to Clement. He can react two ways: be overwhelmed and lose quickly or rise to the occasion and succeed. He'll have to rise to the occasion and play literally the best match he's ever played to win.

In a matchup between two baseline players, as these two both are, you have to give the edge to Agassi. There isn't anyone who can play a baseline game and beat Agassi on this surface.

Andre is a player who plays his best tennis when he is able to dictate play. A lot of players, such as Pete Sampras and Patrick Rafter, can dictate play with their serve. Agassi doesn't hit a lot of aces and service winners, instead he goes for the second ball after the serve and dictates the play. When he does that, he can control a point and a match as well as anyone.

Clement does not dictate out on the court. He's playing the best tennis when he's scrambling and counter-punching. When he can be on defense and react. He is not a player who will try and take charge of a point by going to the net or hitting big groundstrokes.

It would appear as if this could be a great matchup because Agassi likes to control and Clement likes to counter-punch and play defense. However, when Agassi takes control of the match, no one has been able to just run back and forth, playing defense, and win.

Agassi will make Clement work harder than he's ever worked on the tennis court before. If he doesn't keel over from exhaustion first, he's going to have to try and attack a little bit. That doesn't mean he has to overhaul his game in one match, but he'll have to get out of his comfort zone and attack some to win.

Rafter did not do as much running in his semifinal with Agassi as Clement is going to do in the final. Rafter's serve and volley style made for shorter points. It's different for a baseline player. On Sunday, there's going to be a lot of long points. Clement will have had 42 hours of recovery time from his semifinal match with Sebastien Grosjean. Agassi will have had an extra day off, so he'll be a little more rested.

Clement won't feel exhausted but he's going to feel the effects of a four-hour, five-set match. That was one of the longest matches of the tournament, against Agassi however, Clement might work as hard in 2½ to three hours as he worked in four on Friday.