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Refreshed Rafter set to take on Ecuador By RUSSELL REID, PERTH
Saturday 3 February 2001

His batteries recharged, Pat Rafter is eagerly awaiting next weekend's first-round Davis Cup tie against Ecuador at Royal Kings Park.

The two-time US Open champion moved freely in a three-hour training session yesterday at the picturesque grasscourt venue.

It was a far cry from the player who was reduced to a walk by cramps in his Australian Open semi-final loss to Andre Agassi last month.

Rafter was buoyed by test results that indicated the cramping problems were due to excess sweating and not a lack of fitness.

The tests, conducted in Melbourne on Thursday, indicated that Rafter was a profuse sweater who lost about three litres an hour. That is twice the sweat rate of an average person.

Rafter, who is likely to play singles with Lleyton Hewitt, said he had enjoyed the chance to have a few days off in Adelaide before the tests in Melbourne.

"I got back a little bit of energy and enthusiasm," Rafter said yesterday.

He said he would increase the tempo of his training sessions in coming days leading in to the tie from February 9-11.

"That was just a light hit today," he said. "When you come off a different surface to grass your body takes a little while to adjust and it's very hard on your back and lower legs on the grass."

Tests show Rafter sweats twice the average
From our wire services
02feb01 (news.com.au)

PATRICK RAFTER began his preparation for next week's Davis Cup tie against
Ecuador a relieved man today after extensive tests attributed his problems
with cramping to abnormally high sweating levels, not a lack of fitness.

Rafter loses up to three litres of water per hour during tennis matches,
twice the average level, which robs the muscles of electrolytes and causes
them to cramp.

He will also be able to keep his trademark beard and long hair after medical
experts could find no evidence they contributed to his sweating.

Under the watchful eye of Tennis Australia medical chief Ann Quinn, Rafter
was tested yesterday by Dr Mark Febbraio of the University of Melbourne's
physiology department and Dr Jim Cotter from the Defence, Science and
Technology Organisation.

Rafter was crippled by severe cramps in the Australian Open semi-final
against Andre Agassi and hobbled to defeat in five sets after leading two
sets to one.

But after a week of speculation that it could become a career threatening
problem, confidence is now high a solution can be found to ensure Rafter can
keep electrolyte levels high.

"It was pretty well what we thought but I think there will be a few more days
of tests" Rafter said.

"It will be just blood samples and things.

"I'm pretty sure that things will be fine."

Dr Febbraio described Rafter's unusually high sweating as a mixed blessing.

"Such a high sweating capacity can be essential for effectively cooling the
heart of a hard working athlete," he said.

"Yet sometimes it has a cost, heavy sweating means he may lose more body
water and electrolytes than he can replace by drinking.

"This increases the likelihood of Rafter experiencing muscle cramps."

The dual US Open champion was given the day off training after arriving late
in Perth last night because of a three hour flight delay.

But he joined his team mates mid way through the marathon four hour session
and trained solidly in 28C temperatures on the grass courts at Kings Park.

Rafter's arrival in Perth has also boosted the spirits of the Australian team
according to new coach Wally Masur.

"Pat's one of those athletes that tend to transcend the sports pages, it's
important for the Australian team to have him firing," he said.

"He tends to lead from the front, there's no question he's one of Lleyton's
heroes and he's a real focus for the team.

"By virtue of his personality and results, you could say he's a real
motivator in the locker room."

Masur said only form not fitness could stop Rafter from playing singles – and
that wasn't likely to happen.

"Form will decide, there's no doubt about that," he said.

"But he and Lleyton are obviously our form singles players.

"So provided everything goes well in the practice week, yeah he'll play."

Masur said Rafter would be expected to complete all training in the lead-up
to the tie.

"If he's going to play Davis Cup singles, he'll have to put the hours in ...
he knows that," Masur said. "The proof will be in the pudding, he'll be out
here hitting balls everyday."

END--http://sport.news.com.au/common/

Tests commence on Rafter
By Scott Coghlan and AAP
02feb01

PAT RAFTER underwent tests in Melbourne yesterday to find the cause of the cramping that ruined his Australian Open campaign.

Under a cloak of secrecy Rafter was tested off campus by the University of Melbourne's physiology department before flying to Perth to prepare for the Davis Cup tie against Ecuador.

Some of the tests conducted at Melbourne Park checked Rafter's capacity under match conditions in temperatures that reached the mid-30s.

Rafter suffered cramping against Andre Agassi in the semi-final of the Australian Open.

Two sets to one up, the Queenslander began to cramp badly and was well below par over the final two sets, continuing the poor run with injury that has blighted the last two years of his career.

His cramping had been blamed by some on his profuse sweating, exacerbated by his long hair and full beard.

It was a theory supported by Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald.

"You don't have to be Einstein to see that the guy sweats a lot. He sweats more than any other tennis player I have ever seen," Fitzgerald said.


"It's an ongoing situation for him, he's constantly trying to find out how he can avoid some of these cramps ¨C that's his job.

"The conditions here (in Perth) will be a lot easier on him than Melbourne," he said.

"I have every faith that he will be here to play singles."


Veteran Todd Woodbridge has conceded that the ghosts of Mildura 1998 are lurking in the psyche of the Australian players as they prepare for the tie starting next Friday.

That infamous 3-2 loss to Zimbabwe, led by the Black brothers, Byron and Wayne, remains one of the lowest points in Australia's proud Davis Cup history.

With another pair of tennis brothers ¨C Nicolas and Giovanni Lapentti ¨C to represent Ecuador, the Australians know comparisons are inevitable.

Like Mildura, the tie will be played on grass and pits the home side against a tennis minnow at a venue that rarely sees an international player.

Woodbridge, who along with Rafter was part of the team beaten by Zimbabwe, admitted it was impossible to avoid the spectre of the past.

Since that debacle Australia have regrouped and contested successive finals, with Woodbridge viewing the loss as the catalyst for future successes.


"That's Davis Cup ¨C you can't be going in too confident and that was the lesson learnt right then," he said.

Woodbridge said it was a troubled Australian team that had faced the Zimbabweans.

Mark Philippoussis made his ill-advised appearance as a spectator during the tie, while Rafter was forced to withdraw from the reverse singles due to illness.


"We had a few problems around the team at the time and we don't have that at the moment," he said.

Woodbridge rates playing in Perth as a kind of homecoming.

It was at Royal Kings Park, the venue for the tie, that he made his Davis Cup debut with a clean sweep of Belgium a decade ago.

"I played doubles with Darren Cahill and we won the tie 5-0," he said.

"It is very nice to get back ¨C it is exactly as I remember it. I can walk out here and feel comfortable in about 10 minutes.

"The two things you want to do is win majors and play Davis Cup ¨C that for me is why I keep playing."

Fitzgerald is looking for a right-left combination in the doubles, making left-handed Wayne Arthurs the logical choice to partner Woodbridge, assuming Rafter is fit to play singles.

Woodbridge teamed with Arthurs to reach the final at the AAPT Championships in Adelaide last month.

Lapentti plays down Davis Cup hopes
31 January 2001
By Sports.com's ROB EDWARDS

Nicolas Lapentti is making no bones about it. Ecuador are decided underdogs
against Australia ahead of next week's Davis Cup first-round tie in Perth.

Despite their shock win over Britain at Wimbledon last year to qualify for
the World Group, the Ecuadorians admit they face a tall order to beat
Australia on grass.

Although the win over Britain came on grass, Lapentti says the team would
still dearly love to be meeting the Australians at home on clay.

"This is going to be completely different, we know we are not the favourites
at all - we're playing Australia," he said on Wednesday.

"If you see something like this in Ecuador you'd think it was a soccer field,
you'd never see something like this. The Australians are born on grass."

Lleyton Hewitt and Patrick Rafter will spearhead Australia in the singles
with 12-time Grand Slam champion Todd Woodbridge likely to partner Wayne
Arthurs in the doubles.

Ecuadorian saviour
At 24, Lapentti is the saviour of Ecuadorian tennis after steering the side
into the elite top 16 nations after 14 years attempting to qualify.

It was his five-set victory over Greg Rusedski and his doubles victory with
younger brother Giovanni over Tim Henman and Arvind Parmar that secured the
tie.

The pair will again join forces in the doubles but it is unknown at this
stage who will accompany Nicolas in the singles.

"It was right after Wimbledon, when I played the tie (against Britain) and I
had already spent five weeks playing on grass," he said.

"Here it's going to be different, to adjust for just one week is not easy."

Rafter fears easing
Meanwhile, new Australian Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald is confident Pat
Rafter will be in Perth on Thursday.

Fitzgerald, who makes his Davis Cup captaincy debut alongside coach Wally
Masur after the retirement of legends Tony Roche and John Newcombe, said the
dual US Open champion had recovered from the debilitating cramps that struck
during his Australian Open semi-final loss to eventual champion Andre Agassi
last week.

Rafter stayed behind in Melbourne on Wednesday to undergo tests, but will
rejoin his team-mates late on Thursday.

"Pat will be here tomorrow and he'll be ready to go by Friday," Fitzgerald
said. "He fully intends to play and I'm counting on the fact he'll be in the
team and ready to go."

Fitzgerald said he thought Australia had the depth of talent in Wayne Arthurs
and Todd Woodbridge to replace Rafter in the singles should he be unfit for
duty.

Rafter to undergo more tests for sweat problem

MELBOURNE, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Australian tennis hero Patrick Rafter will
undergo more tests after experts ruled out diet as the reason for the
excessive sweating and cramping that destroyed his Australian Open dream.

His brother and manager Steve told reporters on Monday that Rafter had been
cleared of any nutritional problems but further tests would be carried out to
find an answer to why he perspired so much.

"They're happy with his diet and that sort of stuff. It's early days yet,"
Steve Rafter said.

"We're not going to know a lot until after the tests."

Rafter was beaten by eventual champion Andre Agassi in an enthralling
five-set semifinal played in stifling humidity at Melbourne Park last
Thursday.

The super-fit serve-volleyer led two sets to one when his muscles and legs
began tightening up so badly that he could hardly run during the last two
sets, allowing Agassi to easily win the match.

The same thing happened to Rafter during last month's Davis Cup final loss in
Spain and he said he wanted medical help to stop him sweating so much.

Australia's new Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald has given Rafter and
teenager Lleyton Hewitt a few extra days to recover from their gruelling Open
campaigns before the team starts their preparation for next month's first
round tie with Ecuador.

The squad will assemble in Perth on Wednesday but Rafter and Hewitt have been
told they can come later in the week. The tie will be held from February
9-11.

Break for Hewitt and Rafter
By LEO SCHLINK in Melbourne
29jan01

AUSTRALIAN Davis Cup singles spearheads Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt will be given extra time to recover in preparation for the first-round tie against Ecuador in Perth next month.

Rafter is a confirmed starter for the February 9-11 tie despite being cut down with cramps for the second time in six weeks in a five-set loss to Andre Agassi in the Australian Open semi-finals. And Hewitt, the world No. 7, is also assured of fronting Ecuador's Nicolas and Giovanni Lapentti after shaking off a hamstring strain.
New captain John Fitzgerald and coach Wally Masur will assemble with most of the squad at Royal King's Park on Wednesday. Rafter and Hewitt will not arrive until later in the week.

Wayne Arthurs, Andrew Ilie and Todd Woodbridge will start preparations with hitting partner Alun Jones before Rafter and Hewitt begin the transition from hardcourts to grass.

Rafter is in Adelaide relaxing with friends, while Hewitt is scheduled to film a commercial for Japanese television tomorrow. Former world No. 1 Rafter has consulted sports science experts in an attempt to remedy the baffling cramping which flared in the Davis Cup final against Spain in Barcelona and again in his Open semi-final against Agassi. The super-fit serve-volleyer, who sweats profusely, struggled to run in the final two sets.

Doctors will continue to test Rafter in search for blood disorders and dietary deficiencies. Rafter was shattered at succumbing physically after clawing his way into a matchwinning position against Agassi.

"It's more frustrating to know that I had a chance," said Rafter, who was put on a saline drip post-match to rehydrate. "To fall short because of some physical imbalance, that's just the frustrating part of it.

"It's tough when you want to chase it down but your legs seize up. My heart feels fine, it feels like it wants to run and I want to run but my legs just won't do it."

Rafter has since confirmed his availability for Australia.