Aussie hopes high for Olympic tennis glory
By Sports.com's MICHAEL UBEROI
September 13, 2000

Tennis lovers in Australia are optimistic that their desire for a home grown
winner of the Sydney tournament will be satisfied.

Contenders with the pedigree of Pat Rafter, Lleyton Hewitt and Mark
Philippoussis have proved tempting prospects to the betting public, and this
is hardly surprising given the unique brand of national pride that seems to
characterise so many Australian sportsmen.

Lleyton Hewitt is a good example. Already famed for his grit and willingness
to chase lost causes, as well as his manic self motivating cries of "Come
on!", Hewitt has been proclaiming the importance of this tournament for
months.

He is sure to enjoy overwhelming crowd support in each of his matches, and
comes off a fine US Open which saw him go down 6-7, 4-6, 6-7 to Pete Sampras
in the semi-final, and claim his first Grand Slam title in the men's doubles.

Hewitt has been well marketed as the future of Australian tennis, and his
jingoism is certain to go down well with the home fans.

Undoubted class

The same factors apply to Rafter. His undoubted class means he remains one of
the favourites, despite his first round exit from the US Open.

Rafter has enjoyed top form as recently as Wimbledon, where he reached the
final with Sampras, and the double US Open champion has long been talking of
Sydney as one of his priorities for the year.

Australian heads have also been turned by Jelena Dokic's return to form in
the second half of the season.

Dokic reached the semi-final of Wimbledon and only went out of the US Open to
Serena Williams in the fourth round, thereby continuing her run after her
father had been ejected from the tournament.

Damir Dokic, a character in the very best tradition of 'tennis parents from
Hell', was caught launching into an impassioned, expletive riddled plea for
cheaper salmon platter at the Open, and ejected for his troubles..

Banned and barred

This continued an admirably consistent sequence of form from Mr Dokic, who
was banned from the Australian Open for abusing a cameraman, and barred from
Wimbledon after breaking a reporter's mobile phone.

Mr Dokic is thought to be 'disappointed' with his uneventful display in the
French...

However, Australian fans find his boorish behaviour no laughing matter.
Players at the North Sydney tennis club "Love n' Deuce" were united in their
disapproval, with club coach Jon Kemp musing: "Dokic herself is a nice
player, a lovely kid. The problem is her father, and she's not old enough yet
to take care of her destiny and life".END

Torch switch turns on lights
By TONY STEPHENS
12:12AM, Sep 15
Sydney turned on the lights last night and showed no signs of going home in the dark for more than a fortnight.
The big Sydney switch-on was at 7.11pm, 14 minutes after sunset, when the Olympic rings lit up on the bridge.
Precisely at that moment on the northern boardwalk of the Opera House, Olivia Newton-John, the singer, handed the Olympic torch to Patrick Rafter, the tennis player.
There were many stars of this glittering performance; Newton-John and Rafter of course, the grand bridge, the grand Opera House, the five Olympic rings and the torch.
Thousands of spectators who packed around the Opera House provided an enthusiastic supporting cast. In fact, the supporting cast for this torch relay have become stellar performers in their own right, dancing an almost mystical pas-de-deux with the torch in its wayward waltz around Australia.
Like royalty, the torch can have a strange effect on people who come in touch with it. Crowds welcoming its progress reminded Australians with long memories of the royal tours of the 1950s and 1960s.
Prime Minister Robert Menzies stood in front of the young Queen and uttered words probably written by Thomas Ford in the 17th century: "I did but see her passing by, and yet I love her till I die."
Those who saw the torch pass by the Opera House at sunset might well remember until they die the sight of a tennis player and a singer in matching baggy shorts.
He is accustomed to this fashion. She will be clad more glamorously if no more endearingly tonight at the Games opening ceremony.
In any case, the crowd loved them. Newton-John appeared like royalty on an Opera House balcony and waved while the dedicated followers of torch fashion tried a chorus of Waltzing Matilda and several chants of: "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi,oi,oi."
Rafter kissed Newton-John and the five Olympic rings sprang to life - a monolight this time because, although Australians are bringing about many wonders right now, we can't create an illuminated black ring.
A flotilla of boats had gathered on the harbour and what looked like a squadron of helicopters hovered overhead.
Carl Diem, the Nazi who invented the torch relay for Berlin in 1936, thought that the morality inherent in Olympic competition "finds a deep place in the soul".
Despite its fascist origins, the concluding stages of the torch relay are bringing together Australians in a wonderfully democratic way.
Australians have forgotten Carl Diem but will remember the light that the torch brought to their lives.END