Andre Agassi, the former golden boy of tennis, has fought through to the third round of the Australian Open.

Agassi showed flashes of his brilliant best in the four sets victory over 16th seed Albert Costa.

Agassi, now 87th in the world, beat the Spaniard 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 in Melbourne.

Agassi takes a breather

The American, who last year slumped to 141st in the world , said: "It feels good to kick some butt again - that's nice."

"I have played pretty well before but that is certainly the most significant match I have had."

The 27-year-old American raced away with the first two sets, outslugging Costa in the crucial tenth game each time.

His returns were crisp and he played his famed backhand passing shot with pinpoint precision.

In the third set Costa broke Agassi's serve in the first game and the American double-faulted to give away his second service game.

The breaks were shared in the fourth set, but Agassi claimed the match 7-5 in front of 15,000 fans.

His third round match on Saturday is against Italian Andrea Gaudenzi who he has played and beaten four times.
 

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