Rafter returns home after 21 years Sept 15

Patrick Rafter will make a sentimental but triumphant pilgrimage to his birthplace of Mount Isa on Sunday, after an absence of 21 years.

But the new father returns as a two-time US Open tennis

champion, Australian of the Year and a Citizenship Ambassador - a far cry from the eight-year-old who left the isolated north-west Queensland mining town so many years ago.

Rafter was born the seventh of nine children and was just five years old when he picked up his first racquet.

"I learnt early on that playing sport in outback towns was a way of life and a great way to make new friends," he said.

"When I was six and just another little bloke playing tennis, I would get dressed up in my little tennis outfit and run down the road to the bitumen courts in Mt Isa to see if there was anyone I could hit balls with."

But at the age of eight Rafter's parents Jim and Jocelyn moved the family of 11 to Eumundi on the Sunshine Coast hinterland. And he hasn't been back since.

Mt Isa Mayor Ron McCullough said the city would welcome its prodigal son with open arms.

"We're all looking forward to it," he said.

Cr McCullough said Mt Isa had followed Rafter's progress in tennis, including his time as world number one and the birth of Rafter's son Joshua Patrick to his partner Lara Feltham on July 31 this year.

While in town Rafter will return to his roots, playing tennis with local juniors at the Copper City tennis courts - the place where it all began.

Visiting schools, acting as the guest of honour at the naming of the `Pat Rafter Court' bar in the Mt Isa airport and attending a function of dignitaries are also on the two-day trip agenda.

Mate reckons Rafter is sitting pat
September 12 2002

One of Pat Rafter's closest friends believes the dual US Open champion will not return to the court. The two-time Wimbledon finalist hung up his racquet at the end of last year for a break from the sport.

The former world No1 has not ruled out making a comeback but seems to be enjoying fatherhood and life after tennis.

Rafter's close mate and former doubles partner Paul Kilderry doesn't think the Queenslander will return to the court.

Asked about Rafter's chances of returning, Kilderry replied: "Slim to none. I don't think he will, I don't even think he should.

"He had a great career and put himself on the line for a long time and it is pretty tough to come back when you have been out as long as he has. He's hardly hit a ball since he stopped playing."

Rafter, who turns 30 in December, has had a busy year which has included the birth of his first child, Joshua Patrick, and modelling for a clothing company.

Rafter is happy at home

By ROBERT LUSETICH in New York
www.news.com.au
September 03, 2002

PAT RAFTER yesterday gave the strongest indication yet that his tennis career is over.

Speaking during an interview from his Queensland home on the American broadcast of the US Open, Rafter, 29, said he was "enjoying retirement a hell of a lot".

John McEnroe stopped the Australian two-time US Open champion mid-sentence, saying he didn't know Rafter had announced his retirement.

"At this stage, the longer it goes, the harder it is for me to get back into it," Rafter said.

Rafter, who last played in the Davis Cup final loss to France last December, promised he would make a final decision in a couple of months. "Maybe I feel like I've done it all," he said.

Rafter said he had been "pretty slack" with his conditioning and "that's a really big part of my game".

"I haven't had the desire to really get back in there and train hard again," he said. "I've probably done enough training, and been trained out, I guess."

Even watching Lleyton Hewitt succeed at Wimbledon, the title Rafter so desperately wanted but never managed to win, did not inspire him to return to the grind of life on the tour.

He was, he said, very happy with playing golf and getting up at night to change his baby Joshua's nappies.

Pat's points start to disappear August 25

Tennis pundits talk often about which player is the hottest on tour. There
is no doubt, however, who is the coldest -- Pat Rafter. Under the vaguaries
of the ATP's entry system, which ranks players according to their results
over a rolling 52-week period, Rafter was ranked No. 49 on August 5 - fully
nine months after his Davis Cup curtain call in Melbourne.

Australia's favourite new dad now has fallen to No. 101 and No. 229 over the
past two weeks as rankings points earned on his 2001 US hardcourt circuit
progressively come off his tally to leave him ranked ninth among Australian
players.

This time last year, Rafter was stoking his fires for a US Open assault,
which ended in a four-set loss to Pete Sampras in the fourth round.

Rafter said last week that said tennis was not a priority following the
birth of his son, Joshua, four weeks ago and he had not felt the "twinge" of
interest in a return he had anticipated from watching Wimbledon on TV.

Should the former world No. 1 return to tennis, he would gain entries in
tournament main draws because of his absence being injury-enforced but his
old former Davis Cup captain John Newcombe believes the chances of that
happening are now about 40 per cent.

"Pat hasn't determined it himself. If you had to guess you'd have to say it
was 60-40 against but he won't know the answer until he gets out and starts
hitting balls," said Newcombe, who was a golfing partner of Rafter's on
Queensland's Sunshine Coast last month.

Rafter's elder brother and business manager Steve Rafter declines to comment
on his plans.

"I think he would say something about it himself in the next couple of
months," Steve Rafter said.

Rafter's return a hard call
By BRIAN BURKE
18jun02

PAT RAFTER will measure the pain of missing his first Wimbledon in 10 years - and the possibility of Lleyton Hewitt's success - before deciding whether to return to the tennis circuit.

The former world No.1 yesterday admitted Wimbledon, which starts on Monday, and winning a Davis Cup for Australia were "unfinished business", but there was "no sign of a comeback yet".

Rafter said it would be tough watching Wimbledon at home on television, especially if Hewitt succeeded where he could not.

"It could hurt, it's hard to say," Rafter said in Brisbane.

"I guess it will tell me how much I'm missing the game, just like Davis Cup, which probably hurts even more than Wimbledon."

The 2002 Australian of the Year was speaking at the official launch of Queensland Epilepsy Week, an issue close to his heart. Rafter revealed he had a "couple of close friends" on the tour who suffered the illness.

Rafter's girlfriend, Lara Feltham, is expecting their first child in six weeks. Already it has meant a lifestyle change for the expectant dad - he had to borrow a mobile phone for yesterday's trip from their Noosa home to Brisbane. "I don't have a mobile, I don't like them, but the baby's very active and Lara wanted to be able to contact me so I had to borrow one. My mum doesn't even know the number," he said.

Rafter, runner-up in the past two Wimbledon finals, including last year's epic loss to Goran Ivanisevic, was convinced Hewitt could succeed where he had failed.

"I always thought Wimbledon would be his tournament," he said.

Newk sets Pat record straight
By PAUL MALONE
07jun02

AN "EMBARRASSED" John Newcombe says he does not know if Pat Rafter will return to tennis, but is heartened by a reported comeback target of a Vienna tournament in October.

Newcombe, Rafter's former Davis Cup captain, said he had assured Rafter's camp he had been misinterpreted in comments he made to a radio network on Monday about the likelihood of a comeback by the Australian of the Year, who has taken a break from the game.
Newcombe said he had spoken to Roche and Rafter's brother, Steve, to explain radio news bulletins that had reported Newcombe as saying a Rafter comeback would proceed later this year.

"At the moment, Pat's thinking that he might start practising again with Rochey (coach Tony Roche) down in Sydney, probably at the end of July," Newcombe was quoted on the network's website. "Perhaps (he would) play some tournaments in November, October in Europe and gear up and get ready for the Australian Open (in January)."

Newcombe yesterday said: "It was said on the basis that this is Pat's decision and he hasn't made the decision.

"I was saying, 'If he decides (to play again), he'd probably do this'.

"It was the whole vein of what I said.

"I was kind of embarrassed it came out the way it did because as I understand it, Pat doesn't know if he's going to play.

"I'd imagine he would make that decision in another two or three months.

"I had to ring Rochey and Steve (Rafter) and say I didn't say it as it came out and don't be trapped by thinking I did."

Newcombe said he viewed news reports that a representative of Rafter's had spoken to organisers of the Vienna indoor event in October as being a provisional plan for a comeback.

"It's pretty obvious he has to have a plan, even if he doesn't actually go ahead with it," he said. "The other plan is he doesn't play.

Newcombe said he had not spoken to Rafter in the past week.

"Steve was going to speak to him," he said.

"He (and partner Lara Feltham) will suddenly have a baby (in July), and how does he know what his feelings are going to be about that?

"Pat is not going to know if he wants to play until he starts practising and sees if he enjoys it.

"By now, you'd have to think the arm and all that will have had enough rest, but it could play up again.

"Pat won't know if his heart is in it until he starts practising for three or four hours a day and finds out if he wants to climb the mountain again.

"If his heart is not in it, he'd be silly to keep going for a full year."

Masur keen to see Rafter return  June 6

Davis Cup coach Wally Masur has laid out the welcome mat for Pat Rafter to return while expressing concerns about the lack of depth in the Australian tennis ranks.



Rafter has been on a sabbatical from tennis since December but has told former Cup captain John Newcombe he's considering resuming training as early as next month and could be back playing tour events late in the year ahead of the Australian Open.

Masur couldn't be happier.

"It would mean a lot for us," Masur said.

"Pat, even though he hasn't played since December, is still ranked about 12, so I guess it kind of shows what player he is."

"He was a great team man - no question. He was a strong part of the team - he was versatile, could play on any surface and was a great doubles player. Who wouldn't want him on their team?

Masur has spoken to Rafter several times in the last month - "but not about tennis" - and had not been given any real inkling that the former No.1 was about to resume.

"Maybe he had a heart to heart with Newk, I don't know," said Masur.

"But the nature of his comments were that he was going to leave the door open."

He believed the 29-year-old would add some much needed starch to Australian tennis which now relied almost completely on world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt.

"We need numbers. You look at the depth of the Spanish men, the Argentinians and French ... that's a healthy thing because you have all these guys fighting for positions and the success tends to feed on itself."

"Mark Philippoussis is a bit in the wilderness with his three knee operations, Lleyton's a bit out there on his own and Pat's on his sabbatical.

"It's not a situation that we want. We want four or five guys in the top 50, 60 or 70 battling to be in the Davis Cup - that's our ideal."

Recent tennis history is divided on whether a long break from the game can help or hinder.

Masur said John McEnroe was never the same after he took time out from the game but the likes of Austria's Thomas Muster and American Andre Agassi were examples of those who benefited from a break.

For his part 32-year-old Agassi, who looks at his sprightly best after coming from two sets behind to advance to the quarter finals of the French Open, said he'd also like to see the Queenslander back on court.

"There will always be a place for a guy who is that kind of an athlete and who attacks people," Agassi said after his five set win over Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu.

"There will still be room for him at the top when he's playing his tennis."

"Somebody of Pat's athleticism might find it a lot easier than others (to return). He still plays a game that a lot of these guys don't play. There's not much of it left."

Peers welcome Rafter's possible return
By Linda Pearce
Paris
June 5 2002

Andre Agassi would not be surprised if Patrick Rafter returned to tennis, and nor would he be the least bit shocked if the former No. 1 was soon displaying the best of his old form.

"Somebody of Pat's athleticism might find it a lot easier than others. He still plays a game that a lot of these guys don't play. There's not much of it left," Agassi said before today's French Open quarter-final against Juan Carlos Ferrero.

"There will always be a place for a guy who is that kind of an athlete. There will still be room for him at the top when he's playing his tennis."

Rafter defeated Agassi in the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2000 and 2001, among only five wins in 15 career matches, and the pair have long been friendly rivals of contrasting styles.

Agassi said Rafter had been "pretty predictable", by forecasting his intention of taking an indefinite break from the game after last year's Davis Cup final, but was obviously unaware of the Australian's more recent mutterings that seemed to hint at a more permanent retirement.

"He said he was going to quit at the end of the year and possibly come back toward Wimbledon," Agassi said. "If not then, towards the end of the year. Doesn't surprise me."

Former Davis Cup captain John Newcombe suggested in an ABC radio interview on Monday that a comeback was imminent, although if it is happening, Rafter would call it something else, as he never said he was retiring, and, therefore, cannot strictly be coming back.

Regardless, Newcombe said he had again told the two-time US Open champion: "Mate, you've got unfinished business. You've got Davis Cup to get your name on and you've got the honour board at Wimbledon.

"Don't look back when you're 40 years of age and be sorry that you didn't give it a shot when you were one of the favourites to be able to do that."

Newcombe said Rafter could begin serious training with his coach, Tony Roche, in Sydney as early as the end of next month, and "perhaps play some tournaments in November (or) October in Europe and gear up and get ready for the Australian Open".

Since Rafter's break from tennis, which would have been enforced by a serious arm injury had it not been voluntary, no Australian has reached a quarter-final at either grand slam event.

Lleyton Hewitt lasted the longest in Paris, losing in Sunday's fourth round to Argentinian running machine Guillermo Canas, but the last Australian man to win at Roland Garros remains Rod Laver in 1969.

This year, the best chance may come in the junior event, where 16-year-old Chris Guccione has won two rounds of the boys' singles after coming through the qualifying rounds.


In Sydney, Davis Cup coach Wally Masur said he couldn't be happier over the news of Rafter's possible return.

"It would mean a lot for us," Masur said yesterday.

"Pat, even though he hasn't played since December, is still ranked about 12, so I guess it kind of shows what player he is.

"He was a great team man - no question.

"He was a strong part of the team. He was versatile, could play on any surface and was a great doubles player. Who wouldn't want him on their team?"

Masur has spoken to Rafter several times in the past month "but not about tennis" and had not had any inkling that the former No. 1 was about to resume.

"Maybe he had a heart-to-heart with Newk, I don't know," said Masur.

"But the nature of his comments were that he was going to leave the door open."

He believed the 29-year-old would add some much-needed starch to Australian tennis, which now relied almost completely on world No. 1 Hewitt.

"We need numbers. You look at the depth of the Spanish men, the Argentinians and French . . . that's a healthy thing because you have all these guys fighting for positions and the success tends to feed on itself. Mark Philippoussis is a bit in the wilderness with his three knee operations, Lleyton's a bit out there on his own and Pat's on his sabbatical.

"It's not a situation that we want. We want four or five guys in the top 50, 60 or 70 battling to be in the Davis Cup - that's our ideal."

Recent tennis history is divided on whether a long break can help or hinder.

Masur said John McEnroe was never the same after he took time out from the game but the likes of Austria's Thomas Muster and Agassi were examples of those who benefited from a break.