No Davis Cup for Rafter
From our wire services
08may02
HOPES that Patrick Rafter may return for Australia's Davis Cup tennis tie against India in Adelaide in September were all but dashed by the two-time US Open champion today. 

Australian captain John Fitzgerald today said he held a slim hope that Rafter would make a surprise comeback from retirement for the tie but the Queenslander today all but ruled out ever picking up a racquet again.
"I've made myself busy doing nothing really. I've tried to keep relatively fit and just enjoy myself," Rafter told Channel 10.

"Right now I feel like, it's really up and down, I really don't have any idea whether I want to or not (play again).

"The travel and hotels and all that sort of thing, I don't miss that one bit."

Rafter has not played competitively since Australia's Davis Cup final loss to France last December and is looking forward to the birth of his first child in July.

The Queenslander also put paid to playing Wimbledon despite British bookmakers installing him among the early favourites to win the prestigious event.

Leading bookmakers Coral-Eurobet and Ladbrokes both released their Wimbledon markets with Rafter right in the frame to make it third time lucky after back-to-back runner-up appearances.

Wimbledon starts at the end of June - less than a month before Rafter's partner Lara Feltham is due to give birth.

"I wouldn't put any money on that. I haven't picked up a racket so I don't think I will be going in cold turkey that's for sure - those are not good odds mate," Rafter said of the Wimbledon betting.

Fitzgerald earlier today said he held a slim hope Rafter would play against India.

"I wouldn't completely count him out of September, but I think realistically it's probably more likely, if he's going to play again, that he'd probably play at the end of the year and maybe early next year," he said.

"But that decision is one that he alone knows."

Fitzgerald can rely on world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt taking on India in his own backyard.

The upcoming tennis tie against India at Memorial Drive will be the first time Hewitt has played in his hometown since obtaining the world No.1 ranking.

But the No.2 singles player for the tie, which Australia must win to retain its place in the world group for next year, remains a mystery.

Mark Philippoussis and Scott Draper were two possibilities, although both are on the comeback from injury.

Fitzgerald said he had not talked to Philippoussis since the Australian Open, and was taking a wait-and-see approach with the injury-prone Victorian.

"He hasn't been on the court enough yet," he said.

"I guess that's his first priority, to try to get on the court for longer periods of time so that he can get back to his best."

He said Draper was currently playing Challenger events in the US, after a month off the court with cracked ribs.
END 

Pat, Goran skip Wimbledon
By LEO SCHLINK
9 may 2002 - Herald Sun

GORAN Ivanisevic and Pat Rafter, who shared the most gripping Wimbledon final in years last July, will be absent from the All-England Club this season.

Ivanisevic withdrew from the championship yesterday after opting to have surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder, while Rafter has not played since the Davis Cup final in November.

The Queenslander is expecting the birth of his first child with girlfriend Lara Feltham in July, leaving him without the necessary focus to challenge for the greatest title in tennis and the match fitness.

Ivanisevic's forced decision to miss the tournament that has presented him with his harshest agonies and greatest joy has devastated the amiable Croatian, who last season became the lowest-ranked player to win Wimbledon with a five-set epic against Rafter.

The lanky southpaw has been struggling with chronic shoulder soreness for the past three seasons and had considered retirement before his astonishing success last July.

His rivals yesterday sympathised with a man whose struggles at Wimbledon, losing three finals, ultimately made him a popular winner.

Pete Sampras, with two of his seven Wimbledon victories against Ivanisevic, said the Croat's withdrawal was "a big blow to the tournament".

"It's disappointing for him and for the event," Sampras said. "It's always an honour to go out at two o'clock on the first Monday (as defending champion). That's one of the few benefits you get for winning the tournament. I'm sure he's disappointed. It was such a great story what happened last year, Goran finally doing it."

Sampras supported Ivanisevic's decision to have surgery rather than risk further injury.
"I think he made the right decision because I hear his shoulder is pretty bad and you've got to take care of your health before anything," he said.

Tim Henman said: "I think it's really disappointing and it's really sad for him. It was such an incredible story last year and he talked so much about wanting to have the opportunity to open proceedings."


Pat's a 16-1 Wimbledon no-chance
By Linda Pearce - Sydney Morning Herald
May 9, 2002

Pat Rafter, installed this week among the Wimbledon favourites despite having not swung a racquet since last year's Davis Cup final, would not be ready for a comeback even in the unlikely event he desired it.

Rafter has an appointment with a Melbourne specialist within the next fortnight and has yet to be granted a medical clearance to resume practising. He has been keeping fit with running and gym work but his serious elbow injury still had not fully healed when it was last examined, at the end of March.

Rafter's mother, Jocelyn, said from Brisbane yesterday that her son had been ordered in December not to return to the court for at least three months ''under any circumstances", so his planned sabbatical had effectively become an enforced rest.

''There was almost a stress fracture in his elbow, and what the doctors basically said was that if he'd played another game in that Davis Cup [final], he could have messed up his elbow for the rest of his life. It wasn't, 'Oh, it'll heal later on'," she said.

''They're thinking it's OK but it still hasn't been cleared. Patrick had an MRI scan at the end of March and it still wasn't good; it hadn't been healing as quickly as they'd hoped it might have. It was a major injury."

While Rafter has admitted how much he enjoys life away from the game, the other complication to any potential Wimbledon campaign is that his partner, Lara Feltham, is due to give birth to their first child at the end of July. She could not travel so late in the pregnancy, and if Rafter played through the Wimbledon fortnight, he would not be back in Australia until July 12.

Then there is the issue of preparation, and the need to play at least two or three lead-up grasscourt events to have any chance of being match fit to reach a third consecutive Wimbledon final.
Still, none of the above has dissuaded British bookmakers from placing Rafter high in the betting for the championships. He is at 16-1 behind 7-2 favourite Lleyton Hewitt, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Tim Henman, Marat Safin and Roger Federer.

Meanwhile, a domestic accident involving Davis Cup coach Wally Masur has altered the French Open preparation of wildcard Scott Draper, Andrew Ilie and qualifying hopefuls Jaymon Crabb and Peter Luczak.

Masur's broken wrist has prevented him from joining the quartet in Florida, leaving Draper and Ilie to prepare alone and Luczak and Crabb to work with expatriate Australian coach Michael Hegarty.

Rafter wrapped up for Harmony Day
By NICK GENTLE and AAP

''You + Me = Us''

It's a relatively simple equation, carrying a simple but important message, yet it's one many people still struggle with.

However, that could all change tomorrow as Harmony Day celebrations take the ''You + Me = Us'' theme, wrap it up in orange, the official Harmony colour, and hit the streets around Australia.

Helping to spread the word yesterday was tennis star Pat Rafter, recently named Australian of the Year, who volunteered to be wrapped from head-to-foot in orange plastic for the day's official launch.

Local scouts applied plastic banners to Rafter, along with young Australian of the Year, palaeontologist Scott Hocknull, as they kicked off preparations for the national celebration of cultural diversity with a function at Parliament House.

Also there was Multicultural Affairs Minister Gary Hardgrave, who helped slice a large orange-coloured cake.

Rafter said he had played tennis with people from all around the world and it didn't matter who you were, the rules were the same - everyone was treated the same no matter where they came from.

"Harmony Day is relatively new and the message really hasn't got out," he said. "It is all about multiculturalism in Australia and how we can all realise that we are all Australians and treat everyone the same.

"When you do travel a lot you do understand the difference in people from all around the world . . . It doesn't matter where you are from or who you are, at the end of the day we are all human." Mr Hardgrave said 2000 organisations would stage 300 events across the country to mark Harmony Day tomorrow.

Australians could show their support by wearing an orange ribbon and joining events. The day provided an opportunity for people to ''say no to racism", he said.

Rafter unlikely to make comeback 

Posted on Thursday, March 07, 2002 - 06:57 

Australia's two-time US Open champion Pat Rafter said on Wednesday that training is like beating a dead horse and he doubts he will make a comeback to the world tennis tour.

"There comes a time for everyone where they feel that they've had enough, that they feel mentally that they don't want to go out there and do the grind," he said Wednesday night.

"It's been three months since I picked up a racquet, and I'm really enjoying it," the Australian of the Year said at the National Rugby League launch.

"I'm not really missing the hard work and the pressure.

Sometimes I feel like I'm beating a dead horse when I'm trying to train."

Rafter's model girlfriend Lara Feltham, whom he plans to marry, is also expecting the couple's first child around the time of Wimbledon, the tournament most fans hoped the one-time world No.1 would be back for.

He was beaten in the last two Wimbledon finals.

Rafter also admitted the Davis Cup tennis strategy in the final against France last year may have been a mistake.

Rafter played singles before backing up in the doubles and was then unable to play in the reverse singles due to an arm injury.

"In hindsight looking back on it, it could have been the wrong decision but we made that decision, those guys made the decision, we all stand by them and that's the way it goes," he said.

Australian captain John Fitzgerald was blasted after overlooking the more experienced doubles pair of Todd Woodbridge and Wayne Arthurs and going for Rafter and world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt for the key rubber against Fabrice Santoro and Nicolas Escude.

After blowing a set point in the third, the Australians lost 2-6 6-3 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 to hand the French a 2-1 lead in the tie which the visitors eventually won 3-2 at Melbourne Park last December.

Rafter had been in doubt for the final and was taking pain-killing tablets for his chronic shoulder injury in the desperate hope of achieving a fairytale maiden Davis Cup triumph before taking an indefinite break from tennis.

"We had discussions for about two hours that night," Rafter said.

"Even until the next morning we still couldn't decide who was going to play."

He said coach Wally Masur and Fitzgerald asked him if he wanted to play.

"I said 'it's up to you guys. Whatever you want to do, I'll do'.

"They took the gamble on my arm."


Rafter: We may have got it wrong
From our wire services
News Interactive
07mar02

PAT RAFTER has publicly admitted for the first time that Australia might have got it wrong selecting him for doubles in last year's ill-fated Davis Cup final against France.

Debatd raged and Australian captain John Fitzgerald copped considerable flak after Rafter was teamed with world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt for the pivotal rubber against Fabrice Santoro and Nicolas Escude. 

After blowing a set point in the third, the Australians lost 2-6 6-3 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 to hand the French a 2-1 lead in the tie the visitors eventually won 3-2 at Melbourne Park last December. 

Rafter had been in doubt for the final and was taking pain-killing tablets for his chronic shoulder injury in the desperate hope of achieving a fairytale maiden Davis Cup triumph before taking an indefinite break from tennis. 

The two-time US Open champion and dual Wimbledon runner-up won the opening singles rubber against Sebastien Grosjean before alerting his team-mates, captain and coach Wally Masur that he was unsure whether his shoulder would hold up to the rigours of another match. 

After much agonising, Fitzgerald and Masur decided to take the punt with Rafter and Hewitt, who had combined for doubles success in the quarter-final against Brazil, ahead of Todd Woodbridge and Wayne Arthurs, the more-favoured combination which was successful in the semi-final against Sweden. 

"We had discussions for about two hours that (Friday) night (before the doubles). Even until the next morning we still couldn't decide who was going to play," Rafter said at the launch of the 2002 National Rugby League season in Sydney last night. 

"Wally and Fitzy came to me and said 'do you want to play?' 

"I said 'it's up to you guys. Whatever you want to do, I'll do.' 

"They took the gamble on my arm ... these are big, big decisions. In hindsight, it may have been the wrong decision. 

"But you stand by the decision."

Rafter, who until now had always maintained the decision was a risk Australia had to take, said Fitzgerald and Masur had adopted the attitude of "if you win the doubles, we'll win the tie". 

As it was, with Hewitt beating Grosjean in the first reverse singles, they were right, prompting the now-famous line from Fitzgerald. 

"Very fine line between genius and idiot, isn't it?"


It's almost certain Rafter will never get another chance to win a Davis Cup, with Australia already out of the 2002 competition and the 29-year-old Queenslander giving no indication he would return from his sabbatical. 

"It's been three months since I picked up a racquet, and I'm really enjoying it," the Australian of the Year said at the league launch, adding he was looking forward to a season supporting the Brisbane Broncos without having to worry about tennis. 

"I'm not really missing the hard work and the pressure. 

"Sometimes I feel like I'm beating a dead horse when I'm trying to train." 

Rafter's model girlfriend, Lara Feltham, whom he plans to marry, is also expecting the couple's first child around Wimbledon, the tournament most fans hoped the one-time world No.1 would be back for.

One of a Kind (Deuce Magazine) March 2002
By
Leo Schlink

Whether or not he returns to the ATP circuit, Patrick Rafter already has left an indelible mark on the sport.

Whatever of whoever drove the five-year-old Patrick Rafter to ambitiously charge the net in far-flung Mount Isa almost a quarter of a century ago, the international tennis community ought to show its collective gratitude.
Rafter, now 29 and at the start of an indefinite break from the circuit, smiles when recalling the distant memories of trailing older brothers Steve, Geoff and Peter down to the local courts in outback Queensland. The family patriarch, Jim, worked at the mines as an accountant and doubled as the clan coach. Rafter Sr.’s enthusiasm first bore fruit with Geoff, who, after a brief period on the ATP circuit, is currently coaching in Hong Kong. And while Steve and Peter would take paths outside tennis, they ultimately would find their professions inextricably linked to the international circus by the very same tyro who used to tag along to the Mount Isa courts.
Now a strapping athlete and sportsman of the rarest ilk, Rafter back then was a tearaway tennis kamikaze intent on making a statement, much to the amusement of siblings who admired his resolve but questioned his approach. There is no doubt now, however, about Patrick Rafter’s ability to cut it in the highest arena of all. His career achievements of winning two consecutive US Open titles, twice reaching the Wimbledon singles final, commanding the World No. 1 ranking for a brief but shining moment in 1999, and winning a total of 11 singles and ten doubles titles are imposing, to say the least.
Apart from being one of the sport’s most cherished and respected champions, two other qualities set Rafter apart. The first, of course, is the fact that he is a server-and-volleyer, once a stock-in-trade vehicle for Australians attempting to loot and plunder the tennis caravan’s riches. Yet in today’s game of baseline-dominated exchanges, Rafter has few allies. Aside from Pete Sampras, Tim Henman, and Richard Krajicek, the Australian is one of a dwindling breed.
The consequences and costs of a frenetic serve-volleying assault, however, are diametrically opposed. While it is the platform from which Rafter has authored his finest moments, his net-rushing style relies heavily upon a kick serve that has severely worn down his right shoulder. In 199, Rafter overcame career-threatening surgery after doctors found a hole in the rotator cuff of his right shoulder. “The doctors said it was the wear and tear of a 50-year-old,” Rafter said at the time. “I’ve been playing tennis for almost 20 years, and with the kick serve that I’ve got, there’s a fair bit of strain.”
Rafter understandably could have shelved his sticks then and there; he had clearly established his bona fides. But the notion of quitting did not sit easily with the affable Queenslander, whose laid-back personality, mannerly disposition and honesty disguised his frustration. Nothing grated on him more than the two-hour flights to and from Brisbane and Melbourne that he was forced to take as a matter of routine during his seemingly never-ending rehabilitation. And few things irked him as much as the fact that Melbourne’s unpredictable weather – the four-seasons-in-one-day syndrome – was at its best during an inactive spring for Rafter, when all his mates were out on the city’s revered sand-belt golf courses.
Throughout the ordeal, Rafter’s spirit was generally unbowed. But it was a cruel experience to walk on court, introduced as a two-time US Open champion and former World No. 1, knowing defeat was likely to follow. Equally, there have been occasions when he has been forced to question his own commitment to the brutal practice regimen that he knows his game requires. Without such a work ethic, his whole game would simply rust.
“I have to work hard on my serve, or else I can’t play the way I want,” Rafter says. “With my game, too, it takes a lot out of your, probably more than other guys who are baseliners. But I understand that I’ve got to keep myself fit. I’ve just got to be careful with my scheduling and play where it suits my game, places like the grass courts and then the US hard courts in the summer. Once I get my game going, I can get on a bit of a roll.”
In Rafter’s perfect world, his year would revolve solely around the grass-court season, the North American hard courts and Australia’s Davis Cup commitments. But he has shown himself proficient not only on European clay, but also during the northern indoor season, when his heart longs for Queensland’s sun and surf. His impressive résumé reflects an adaptability to his surroundings characteristic of only the rarest of athletes.
Focusing exclusively on Rafter’s successes or his serve-volleying excellence, though, is to ignore perhaps the man’s greatest qualities of all: loyalty, generosity and a refreshing sense of perspective. Rafter’s donations to Brisbane hospitals, especially to those specializing in the care of cancer-stricken children, exemplify his compassion. And his anger when these were made public speaks volumes about his humility.
The entire Rafter clan has dedicated it energies to Patrick’s Cherish the Children Foundation. Rafter regularly gives up his free time to several charitable causes, including raising awareness of the plight of Australian street children. Astonishingly, there is a small band of disbelievers in Australia that denigrates Rafter’s generosity, pointing to his residence in the tax haven of Bermuda as supposed evidence of doubtful motive. Those close to Rafter laugh at the notion.
These folks were there in 1999 at the US Open, when Rafter’s shoulder gave out during the fifth set of his first-round match against Cedric Pioline. Uncertain, shattered and frustrated, Rafter hosted a dinner for 30 people only a few days after the defeat, at a leafy Manhattan eater – and promptly picked up the check. It is virtually impossible to pay for a round of golf with him, either. It is not a matter of grandstanding; it’s more a case of Rafter’s sense of obligation to others.
As he has often remarked, he still considers himself to be the “same old sack of crap” as when he started, all those years ago on the remote Queensland Satellite circuit. Ignored for inclusion in state underage teams, let alone national selection, Rafter remains a self-made player. It is why, as the third youngest of nine children, he feels such a debt to his family. Geoff Rafter bet his life savings on Pat making the big time by selling a business interest and investing in his little brother. Geoff later became Pat’s coach but was eventually succeeded by Tony Roche, a decision both he and Pat absorbed with the trademark Rafter resignation.
Rafter has never forgotten his roots. His mates on the circuit – notably Paul Kilderry, Andrew Florent, Josh Eagle and Peter Tramacchi – are those with whom he grew up. Rankings and reputation mean nothing to Rafter. They never have. “He’s the same person he was when I first played him,” says Kilderry. “I could always beat Pat as a junior, but the difference was that he had this goal of where he wanted to be, and he’s gone out and achieved that. I don’t think that too many people realize quite how hard that is. But as a person, he has not changed in the slightest.”
Known to his friends as “Skunky” because of the small patch of white hair on his head, Rafter’s character was severely tested in 2001 by a second successive defeat in the Wimbledon final, this time to Goran Ivanisevic in a five-set epic. But there was hardly a surprise in his acceptance of heartbreak. Rafter was utterly magnificent in acknowledging Ivanisevic, while burying the raging disappointment he felt. “At the end of the day, I’ve lost a tennis match,” Rafter said. “It’s been a great day, a great tournament, but Goran played better. Good luck to him.”
Later that night, Rafter could be found in the Wimbledon village, hosting a party for 400 supporters, many of them perfect strangers. The revelry, more a celebration of an outstanding career than an occasion to drown one’s sorrows, was vintage Rafter. There were people Rafter had never set eyes on, yet there he was embracing them, thanking them for bothering to turn up. There was no hint of contrived public relations throughout the evening; it was a natural Rafter discipline.
S now to an uncertain future. Not even Rafter knows what 2002 holds – if anything – in terms of tennis. There is a consensus within the game in Australia, and indeed on a broader scale, that while Rafter deserves the sabbatical, the sport itself needs him back. Apart from anything else, there is still an element of unfinished business about the country kid who grew into a superstar – the kid who managed to forestall arrogance and ego along the way to the top of his profession.