Singles: Final
Centre Court
Yet another hot afternoon (31 degrees Celsius) greeted Patrick Rafter and Andrei Pavel as they took the court for the singles final. Several fans clad in yellow and red waved Romanian flags for their man Pavel. Rafter, of course, had even more crowd support and doffed his cap upon getting a big ovation during the pre-match warmup. The early games of the match were service-dominated. Rafter was clocking an uncharacteristic number of aces, including three in Game 5. Pavel, meanwhile, continued his streak of successful holds -- he hadn't suffered a break since his second round win over Francisco Clavet. Rafter volleyed forcefully in a love hold for 4-3, but still couldn't reach break point against Pavel. Well-placed serves and awe-inspiring backhands carried Andrei to 5-all. Leading 40-0 in the next game, Rafter struck what looked like a game-winning volley and even feinted a move to his chair, but the ball was called out. At 40-15, he once again just missed the baseline and made the same joking move toward his chair. At 40-30 he finally did close out the game with a service winner and pointed his racquet in the chair's direction, purposefully striding to the changeover. Pavel then held at love to force a pivotal first set tiebreak.
- Rafter skillfully makes a low forehand volley -- 1-0 RAFTER
- Backhand volley wide by Rafter -- 1-1
- Rafter chips a forehand approach long -- 2-1 PAVEL
- Rafter makes an indecisive stab at an overhead, tapping it into the net -- 3-1 PAVEL
- Pavel whips a cross-court backhand pass -- 4-1 PAVEL
- After a questionable non-call on a Rafter shot, Pavel nets a backhand -- 4-2 PAVEL
- Rafter hits a forehand into the net -- 5-2 PAVEL
- A running Pavel rips a forehand pass down the line -- 6-2 PAVEL
- Service winner by Rafter -- 6-3 PAVEL
- Pavel comes in behind his serve and puts away a forehand volley -- 7-3 PAVEL
There wasn't a competitive service game in the final set until Game 5, when Pavel dropped a couple points but held for 3-2. Big passing shots took the underdog to deuce in Game 6, but Rafter answered with back-to-back service winners for 3-3. Pavel got a lucky winner off the tape in Game 7, a love hold. Still unbroken after two hours of play, the Aussie double faulted to put himself in a 0-30 hole. He battled back with an ace and a winning volley, then got to game point when a Pavel lob went wide. The Romanian refused to crumble, though, and he drove a backhand into the corner for deuce. Finally losing his magic touch, Rafter missed two volleys in a row to surrender the game. Andrei Pavel was now one game away from a widely unexpected victory. Pat made him work for it, blocking a backhand return down the line for 30-30. However, Pavel's serve has been masterful on important points all week. He smacked a service winner for 40-30 and an ace out wide to clinch his first Masters Series title 7-6, 2-6, 6-3.
Pavel immediately dropped to his knees and tossed his racquet aside. Then he lied down face first on the court and spent a good 20 seconds there before giving the purple surface a kiss. Pavel eventually shook hands with Rafter, sprinted over to embrace his personal trainer, gave the crowd a gracious round of applause, and threw a ball to the unofficial Romanian section of the stands. Participating in what may be the final trophy ceremony of his career, Rafter received a standing ovation and opened his speech by congratulating Pavel. Andrei would return the favor in his own speech, calling Rafter "a great champion" and issuing a "thank you to almost everybody." As Pavel posed for pictures with his new Waterford Crystal trophy, Rafter modestly crouched behind the photographers.
While the players were leaving the court, the classic Aretha Franklin song "Respect" happened to be playing over the PA system. It was quite appropriate, since Andrei Pavel (essentially called a nobody by several journalists this week) earned a huge dose of respect with this victory. Nonetheless, he was reluctant to brag about the way he played. "I hope I showed that. I don't have to say it. I guess I had a great week. I'm trying to do that again. I'm trying to play better and better on the big tournaments, and I hope I can reach those goals." He'll get his next opportunity almost immediately, since he's set to face '99 Montreal champ Thomas Johansson in the first round of Cincinnati's Masters Series event on Tuesday. I asked if that quick turnaround would cut his celebration short. "No, I guess I will enjoy tonight. I have my family here. And I guess I will go a little bit in the swimming pool," Pavel said, referring to a public pool located just outside the stadium. "It doesn't have to be alcohol, I guess, but I think I will have a glass of wine and a nice meal. But, yeah, next week is another week... I hope I can get my mind together. I have a really difficult match against Thomas Johansson, who has been playing the last year great tennis."
"It's just getting a little boring not finishing off the tournaments, getting close and not finishing them off," said Patrick Rafter, looking more subdued than we'd seen him in the previous press conferences. "Just a couple of loose shots. I didn't play particularly smart in the tiebreaker. Bit loose and he took advantage of it." Rafter is planning to take an extended break at the end of the season, but left open the possibility that Canadian fans will see him again. "If I miss the game and I'd like to prepare for the US Open next year, then Toronto would definitely be a stop for me." Unfortunately, full-fledged retirement is also an option. "Been my 12th year this year travelling. And it's very tiring, very boring. I'm going to miss the competition more than anything, but sometimes you don't want to compete... Sometimes you don't want to deal with people expecting you to win all the time and sort of getting down on you." As a Grand Slam champion, he isn't terribly interested in collecting more runner-up plates like the one he received today. "I've got a big family and they need a lot of plates to eat off. They can use them. Might as well use them. No good sitting on a mantlepiece."
Romanian upsets Rafter
From our wire services
06 August 01
News Interactive
MONTREAL: Andrei Pavel has piled on the misery for beaten
Wimbledon finalist Patrick Rafter, handing the Australian his second defeat in
as many finals at the $US2.95 million Masters Series here.
While wrecking the ninth-seeded Rafter's day,
Romania's Pavel fulfilled a dream of his own, winning the first elite crown of
his career 7-6 (7-3) 2-6 6-3 - and collecting the $400,000 cheque that came
along with it.
Rafter looked in a position to recover after losing a five-set Wimbledon
heart-breaker last month to Goran Ivanisevic. But his first tournament back
proved to be another disappointment.
Rafter has not won a trophy since June, 2000.
"Andrei played a good match," he said.
Pavel, 27, found himself on another tennis planet.
"This is a success that not everyone can have," said the first
Romanian to win a title in Canada since Ilie Nastase in 1975.
"I know the feeliing of watching other guys win here. For me to be in
this position is a dream."
Pavel earned the definitive break of serve in a dramatic eighth game of the
final set as the contest passed the two-hour point.
Rafter rallied from 0-30 down but faced a break point after a volley landed
just out at the corner.
Pavel won the game for 5-3 and fell to the court in joy a game later as he
collected victory with an ace.
Pavel showed why he had reached the final as he stayed with Rafter straight
through the opening set, matching the ninth seed's serve-and-volley attacking
with crisp passing returns which kept the Aussie cautious.
The set went into a tiebreaker, with Pavel racing to 4-1 and making his
margin 5-2 on another pass. A return which flew past Rafter gave the Romanian
four set points.
Rafter saved the first from his opponent's unforced error, but fell victim
to a Pavel volley winner on the second.
The Australian, who won the Canadian title in 1998, quickly got back into
harness, breaking Pavel as the 27-year-old lost his first service game out of
46 played, dating back a set and three full matches.
Pavel responded with a love game for 1-2, but the Rafter break held and he
obtained a second one for 5-2 after putting Pavel in a 0-30 hole to start the
game and serving the next to level the match at a set apiece.
Patrick Rafter vs. Fabrice Santoro
Singles: Semifinal
Centre Court
After starting the tournament with wavering concentration and meager
expectations, Patrick Rafter entered the weekend as the favorite to win it
all. However, he'd first have to outlast Fabrice Santoro, a somewhat
surprising semifinalist with a history of playing well in Montreal. Santoro is
like an itch you can't scratch, driving opponents to distraction with his
slicing, dicing, unorthodox strokes. Players aren't used to seeing a guy hit
snarky little touch shots with two hands, but at least Rafter went in knowing
what to expect. He came out of the blocks fast, opening with an ace and
holding at 15. Santoro held for 1-1, though, and put Rafter through his paces
in the next game. Pat needed to use most of his arsenal (including two more
aces) to dodge four break points before closing out the game with a lunging
forehand volley. Santoro then held serve at love, looking for all the world
like he was going to give the Aussie fits well into the evening.
When he's healthy and focused, Rafter has the ability to play dominating hard
court tennis. He demonstrated that in the second half of the first set.
Suddenly everything fell into place: a high percentage of first serves,
impeccable net play, and challenging groundstrokes. Handcuffing Santoro with
big passing shots and deftly angled volleys, he rolled to a 6-2 win of the
opening set. Rafter ran his streak to seven consecutive games, pulling ahead
3-0 in the second. Santoro just wasn't finding the answers and his frustration
grew by the minute. After one futile point, he picked up a ball and hit it
over the net, baseball style, with the handle of his racquet.
Santoro held for 1-3 and nearly got back in the set as Rafter slogged through
a temporary loss of concentration. He let one Santoro return drop for a winner
and missed a fairly routine volley, but woke up in time to hold for 4-1. They
traded holds to 5-2 and Rafter closed in on victory at deuce. Santoro went for
one of his trademark two-handed slice forehands, but pushed it long to set up
match point. The Frenchman then ended the 6-2, 6-2 match the way no player
hopes to, with a double fault. All in all, it was 66 minutes of pretty
outstanding tennis from Patrick Rafter, who waved with his racquet and threw
his headband into the crowd.
"It's pretty tough physically when you see that you have many chances and
you can't get them," explained Santoro after the match in his halting
English. "Mentally it's getting more and more difficult, (but) I try my
best to the end." There wasn't much to ask Rafter about the one-sided
victory, so talk turned to his wardrobe. Pat's had a very good record since he
began wearing rather ugly, old-fashioned headbands on the court a couple weeks
before Wimbledon. I asked if Paul Kilderry (the Aussie doubles specialist who
talked Rafter into trying the headbands) should ask for a share of his
winnings. "Well, he asked for a cut of my Wimbledon prize money and right
now he needs it," Rafter quipped. He'll be switching headwear for the
final, though. "When it's in the middle of the day and that, I will be
wearing a hat. I do try to look after my skin." Rafter's also benching
his lucky yellow shirt. "It's going to be too hot, I think... During the
day, I'll stick to the old whites, mate -- get the Wimbledon colors
back." Of course, Rafter will have more than fashion to worry about as he
takes on Andrei Pavel. "I think he's got one of the best backhands in the
game; beautiful. He's a great mover. He's a great athlete. He's a good
competitor. And he's been serving well and he's been playing the big points
well." If Patrick and Andrei both bring their A games, it should be a
very enjoyable final.
Juan Carlos Ferrero vs. Patrick Rafter
Singles: Quarterfinal
Centre Court
While the fast courts in Montreal should favor a serve-and-volley specialist
over a Spanish baseliner, somebody forgot to tell Juan Carlos Ferrero that
before Friday evening's marquee match. He was dominant in the early going,
making Rafter look a step slow as he bolted to a 2-0 lead and a 0-30 hole shot
on the Aussie's serve. Rafter finally got it together, though, and had righted
the ship by the time he held for 2-3. The level of Ferrero's play suddenly
dropped from the penthouse to the basement in Game 6, as he basically broke
himself at love. Rafter was humming along now, making most of his volleys en
route to a 6-5 lead. At 30-all in Game 12, a topspin lob by Ferrero fell just
long of the baseline. A set Rafter looked out of early was now within reach at
30-40. Pat crushed a forehand return, immediately drawing an error from
"The Mosquito". First set to Rafter, 7-5.
Rafter's net game went off the boil again in the early stages of Set 2.
Ferrero broke him for 2-1 and extended that lead to 5-4 without facing a break
point. Juan Carlos was making the speedy court work for him, stepping into
winning groundstrokes early in the rallies. Serving for the set, he opened
with an ace and got to 40-0 when a pair of defensive Rafter lobs were far off
target. All three set points disappeared, though, courtesy of a double fault,
winning Rafter return, and Ferrero forehand error. Ferrero then rifled an
unreturnable forehand to earn a fourth chance. This time he converted it,
winning the set 6-4 when Rafter came over a backhand and sent it wide.
The two-time US Open champion got an early break chance in the third set,
scoring a backhand winner for 30-40 in Game 2. Ferrero then tossed in his most
costly double fault of the night to fall behind 0-2. Rafter took a 3-1 lead,
but needed to sidestep a pair of break point. After tucking away a backhand
volley for 4-1, Rafter got a big round of applause from the capacity crowd.
Ferrero closed out the following game with two consecutive aces, but Rafter
held at love for a 5-2 lead. The Spaniard was fading mentally and dropped into
a 15-40 hole on his serve. On double match point, Rafter chipped a forehand
approach just long. However, at 30-40, he hit an exquisite backhand pass which
Ferrero couldn't handle. The match lasted nearly two hours and was not without
its nervous moments for Patrick Rafter, but he'll gladly take a 7-5, 4-6, 6-2
win over the # 4 seed. Immediately after shaking hands with Ferrero and umpire
Norm Chryst, Rafter jogged to the stands and offered a third handshake. The
recipient was neither a coach nor a family member -- it was Pat's friend
Louie, a boisterious fan who's been giving him advice and cracking him up all
week.
Ferrero gave his opponent full credit after the match. "I think he plays
so good all the time. He's solid all the time. He serve many first service all
the time. I think it's one of the best Patrick Rafter I saw." Along with
his A game, Rafter has carried a sly sense of humor into the semifinals. He
had a bit of fun at an RDS television interviewer's expense, stonewalling her
with one-word answers during a courtside chat. Then in the press conference,
Rafter deflected a pedestrian question about how he played tonight by simply
replying, "Pretty good, thanks for asking." To an inquiry about the
support he's gotten from his large family, Pat deadpanned, "This week
they haven't been influential at all." One thing the # 9 seed's not
laughing about is a schedule which has him set to play a third consecutive
evening match on Saturday. "It makes the day very long. Wake up late,
come out, have a hit, then I go home and sleep a few. It's trying to kill
hours without losing too much energy running around town. My whole day is
structured around lying down and putting my feet up. Makes for a very boring
day." Rafter has a history of losing big matches under the lights
(including one to Canada's own Daniel Nestor in the 2000 Olympics), but he'll
aim to buck that trend against tricky Fabrice Santoro.
Rafter shows fight of a champion
MONTREAL, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Patrick Rafter worked his way out of early
trouble against fourth seed Juan Carlos Ferrero on Friday night to claim a
semifinal place in the $2.95 million Montreal Masters Series event with a 7-5
4-6 6-2 win.
Rafter won the title in 1998 and he showed the fight of a champion in his
two-hour battle against one of the tougher Spaniards to play on a hardcourt.
The ninth-seeded Australian also gained partial revenge for a defeat he
suffered at Ferrero's hands during the Davis Cup final last December, when he
had to quit with cramps as the hosts claimed the trophy in Barcelona.
Rafter will now play Frenchman Fabrice Santoro who beat Czech Bohdan Ulihrach
6-3 4-6 6-1.
Rafter dropped his serve in the first game against Ferrero. He said: "It
could have easily been 6-0. But after the first couple of games, I started
playing pretty well. I hung in and it got me through the match in the
end."
The twice former U.S. Open champion stuck rigidly to his powerful
serve-and-volley attack, going to the net at every opportunity and
occasionally diving to thwart passing shots from Ferrero's hot racket.
RAFTER'S RETURN
Rafter, who has not won a tournament since June 2000, is playing his first
event since losing the Wimbledon final last month to Goran Ivanisevic, who
makes his own return to the tour at the Masters Series in Cincinnati next
week.
Rafter was especially pleased with his forehand. "I need for it to stick
around for the next few weeks, especially with the U.S. Open coming up."
Rafter wins first up
From our wire services
31 July 01
News Interactive
MONTREAL: Patrick Rafter revved up his game three weeks after losing the Wimbledon final, rallying for a three set victory in the first round of an ATP Masters Series here today.
The two-time US Open champion defeated Israel's Harel Levy 6-7 (5/7) 6-3 6-3 at the $US2.95 million ($5.86 million) hardcourt event, then said he could still feel a lift from his efforts at the All-England Club.
"I've been able to bring along some of my Wimbledon momentum," Rafter said. "It was a relief to get through that match."
Rafter, who lost last year's Wimbledon final to Pete Sampras and this year's to Goran Ivanisevic, said he likes his game but still lacks a touch of motivation as he contemplates retirement early next year.
"It's hard for me to pick up my intensity when I need to," said the 28-year-old Queenslander. "I feel good about my game. If I can get my mind into it here, I think I can have a good tournament."
Another Aussie standout, fifth seed Lleyton Hewitt, got into trouble in against Canadian wild card Simon Larose, stumbling to a 6-0 5-7 6-3 first round triumph.
Hewitt swept the first set before Larose got a game, but the Canadian who won a round at home a year ago saved a trio of match points in the 10th game of the second and brought on a third before Hewitt prevailed.
Hewitt also has not put ball to racket since the grass season, but got in some hard-court training last week with girlfriend Kim Clijsters, who won her first WTA title of the year last Sunday in Stanford, California.
Sweden's Magnus Norman made it three triumphs and a single defeat for Scandinavians on the day as he beat Australian Andrew Ilie 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
Thomas Johansson, the 1999 Canadian Open champion, got past 1997 winner Chris Woodruff of the United States 7-6 (7/1), 6-1. Andreas Vinciguerra stopped South Africa's Wayne Ferreira 7-6 (7/1), 6-2.
Thomas Enqvist was the day's lone Swedish victim, losing to Germany's Nicolas Kiefer 6-2, 7-5.
Misery-plagued Russian Marat Safin, the second-seeded defending champion and reigning US Open champion, quit with an aching left knee to give away his opener 6-4, 5-2 to Frenchman Nicolas Escude.
Sixth-seeded compatriot Yevgeny Kafelnikov went out to injury-prone American veteran Todd Martin 3-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4.
Safin got on a roll starting here a year ago, beating Levy for the title and then stunning Sampras in the US Open final to cap his move from chump to champ in the space of six months.
But Safin can see his current fortunes sliding, saying, "I think my US season may be short."
The 21-year-old Russian was unhappy about being whistled as he left the court.
"It's easy to sit in the stands eating popcorn and drinking beer," he complained. "I'm trying, what can I do. I don't think it's right to waste the spectators' time and the opponent's time by playing another game or two.
"The people have to give some respect to the players. We are not machines here. No one is coming here and going to die on the court."
Britain's seventh seeded Tim Hemman stepped smartly to a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan.
Spaniard Carlos Moya spoiled a hometown return of Montreal-born Briton Greg Rusedski - who "defected" across the Atlantic in 1995 - with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory.
Rusedski got some applause and some boos when he walked out and later said, "I thought the crowd was very polite. It's been six years since I left and time heals things."
Patrick Rafter takes BP with Expos
By Pierre Moussette
montrealexpos.com
Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. Oy, oy, oy!: Australian Tennis star Patrick Rafter took some swings with the Montreal Expos prior to Saturday night's game. He took batting practice at 4:30, hacking away with the Montreal pitchers, including fellow countryman Graeme Lloyd. Rafter is in Montreal for the upcoming ATP tennis tournament which gets underway Monday.
Rafter wore Lloyd's no. 47 for BP. Batting right-handed, Rafter finally laced a line drive to right on the final pitch he saw.
"I played a little bit of baseball back in Australia," the hard-serving player noted. "Although cricket is very popular, baseball is still coming into schools more and more and we have our league there. It was great that the Expos gave me the opportunity to come out here. It's always a lot of fun to participate with other athletes and to do something different. I love all sports and I was lucky to have a chance to hit."
Although Rafter can detect a spin on a tennis ball coming at him at a much higher velocity, the movement on the baseball baffled him.
"I can't read anything that's going on," Rafter said with a smile. "With tennis, I sometimes have an idea but [pitching coach Brad Arnsberg] threw me a couple of curveballs that I was clueless about."
Rafter even needed some pointers from Britt Reames as to where and how to stand and hold the bat.
"He asked us 'How do you hold the bat?' Reames said while laughing. "So we just gave him a quick lesson and let him get in there and whack it."
Perhaps wishing to show his guest how it's done, Lloyd connected for a pair of batting practice home runs. Not too bad for a veteran with a total of one Major-League at-bat.
"I guess he figured he's got nothing to lose after seeing me hit, he knows he can hit it a bit further than I can," Rafter joked.
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Aussie star picks up a baseball bat at the Montreal
Expos. |
