Players and fans are divided on whether tennis belongs in the Olympics, but the 1996 gold medalists in singles are in agreement. Agassi and Davenport, whose fathers were Olympians, rank their victories in Atlanta with the biggest of their careers.
Both plan to be at Sydney in September.
``I think it's a competition that one should be proud to be a part of,'' said Agassi, whose father was a boxer for Iran in the 1952 Olympics.
Not all top professionals are so enthusiastic, and some have declined chances to go for gold.
Pete Sampras, Boris Becker, Thomas Muster and Jim Courier were among those who missed the Atlanta Games. Only Sampras is still active, and he'll likely skip Sydney because he simply doesn't think it's worth the trip.
French Open champion Mary Pierce declined to say whether she wants to play, and top-ranked Martina Hingis is leaning against it. Pierce has been feuding since 1998 with French team captain Yannick Noah, and Hingis considers Olympic tennis less prestigious than the French Open or the other majors.
``It's more history behind the Grand Slam tournaments,'' Hingis said. ``They've always been there. Tennis in the Olympics has only been played three times so far.''
But Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil looks forward to playing for his country. Aside from the French Open, which he won for the second time Sunday, Kuerten said the Olympics is the tournament he would most like to win.
``Hopefully I can do very well there,'' he said. ``It's a great atmosphere.''
This year, Olympic tennis begins nine days after the U.S. Open on the same hardcourt surface but 10 time zones from New York. Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who would be a contender for the gold, said the schedule may keep him from making the long trip.
``I'm going to look forward to it if I go, but it's a big if,'' he said. ``I think it's a big honor to be Olympic champion, as much as it is to be a Grand Slam champion. But it's too bad the schedule is too tight.
``Look at the other sports. Look at other athletes. They spend three or four years just to prepare for one event. We're playing basically 11 months of the year.''
Invitations to players will be based on the rankings of July 10. Men's teams will have up to six players per nation, with four in singles, and women's teams will have four players per nation, with three in singles.
If current rankings hold, Davenport, Venus Williams and Monica Seles would make the U.S. women's team in singles. Williams' sister Serena would not.
``If Serena is not there, maybe I won't go,'' Venus said. ``I don't know if I could go all that way to Australia without Serena.''
The U.S. women's coach, expected to be Billie Jean King, would have the option of selecting Serena for doubles, where she might be paired with her sister. Unlikely to make the team is Jennifer Capriati, the gold medalist at Barcelona in 1992.
With Sampras planning to stay home, Todd Martin, Michael Chang, Chris Woodruff, Vince Spadea, Jeff Tarango and Jan-Michael Gambill are the strongest contenders to join Agassi on the men's team in singles. Davis Cup captain John McEnroe will likely be the coach.
While some players waver, Seles has made the Olympics a goal. She became a U.S. citizen six years ago and reached the quarterfinals in 1996.
``I'm going to be very excited,'' she said. ``I'll definitely take it a lot more seriously than I did in Atlanta.
``In Atlanta I just loved being part of the Olympics. I just loved absorbing everything. I wasn't concentrating so much on my own event. If I get a chance to go to Sydney, I think my own event will be a priority.''
Davenport, whose father played on the U.S. volleyball team in the 1968 Games, savors her memories of Atlanta.
At the time, she had never advanced beyond the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam. Since then she has won the U.S. Open, Wimbledon and the Australian Open.
``It definitely gave me so much confidence back in '96. That was really a springboard,'' she said. ``My emotions have never been topped by what I felt in Atlanta.''