Rafter wins in Lyon and looks forward to Davis Cup 7 November 2000 Lyon, France

PARIS, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Eighth seed Pat Rafter dismissed Argentine Gaston
Gaudio in three sets in the first round of the $800,000 Lyon tennis
tournament on Monday and said he was looking forward to Australia's Davis Cup
final against Spain.

The former U.S. Open champion beat Gaudio 6-4 4-6 6-4 and said he had vastly
improved his game since his loss to Romanian Andrei Pavel in Stuttgart last
week.

"My main satisfaction today was my volley, which was 100 percent better than
what it was last week. My serve and volley game is improving even if I still
need to work on a couple of details," he said.

Rafter missed Australia's Davis Cup final against France last year through
injury and he said he was eager to play this time, despite his average
current form.

The final is in Barcelona from December 8 to 10.

Rafter lost for the first time to compatriot Mark Philippoussis last month in
Hong Kong while fellow-Australian Lleyton Hewitt reached the Stuttgart final
and looks an obvious choice for the singles.

Australia Davis Cup captain John Newcombe, who should announce his team this
week, faces a tricky choice as Philippoussis had shunned the semifinal
against Brazil, much to the disappointment of his compatriots.

Rafter and Philippoussis have since settled their dispute.

"I'm preparing for the final by playing matches. I will have time to practice
on clay after Paris. But before that I want to win matches to gain
confidence," Rafter said.

"To play in the Davis Cup is not a sacrifice as far as my personal career is
concerned, quite the opposite. It's a great honour," he said.

"It's all the more important to me as I'm not sure how many more chances I
will have to play a final," he added.

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    Article from the Salem Open Programme

    Mothers wish their sons could be as nice and lovable as him. The guys, well, they all wish they look and are like him. Women swoon and constantly yell out his name everywhere he goes - for Pat Rafter.
    Many might not know that the number #1 Aussie, just bought his first car a few weeks ago. A Porsche you may think or maybe a Ferrari, no, not this down to earth lad from Queensland. He bought himself a Mitsubishi Pajero 980 for US$10,000, because that's just the type of guy he is.
    Rafter, who insists that he is just a normal guy with dirty tennis clothes and sweaty socks around the room and is a typical Australian male that a lot of women find hard to deal with, hates to be late. His brother claims that having to wait makes him angry and that he'd rather be early and that he is early all the time. Here he draws us into the things that are important to him in life.
    Inspiration
    I just remember playing a local tournament back in Queensland, a little tournament called Nambour and I was about 12 or 14 years old and I was looking up at the plaque on the wall and there was Rod laver, Ken Rosewall - all these great names that had won the tournament and Newcombe and just every great Australian and then I thought, "I wanna get my name up there" and it was a whole different ball game then and I won it when I was 16 years old and I have my name up there. Each place I go to, I try to look at the board and think, "I wanna be up there" and there are a few that I still want to get on top of and these are the sort of things that inspire me.
    Life Lesson
    In 1992 I travelled with my mother through Asia for 7 weeks and I was this little scared fella coming onto the Tour and seeing all those big guys and I'd lose first round of qualifying and I was with my mother and you know, when someone big and famous would come by - there would be Krajicek at the time and I'd think, "woah" and he'd come by and I'd just sort of get out of the way and I'd sit back and watch. My mother just pulled me to one side one day, she saw the way I was acting and just said, listen you know - "you came to this earth with nothing, he came with nothing, he leaves with nothing, you leave with nothing and you are no better or no worse than anyone else in this world" and this really stuck with me and I have always tried to treat people the same way and that's probably been the biggest thing that I have learnt in my whole life, that I will probably die taking that as the best thing that I have ever learnt in my life.
    Fame
    It's funny how the world takes you under their wing and all of a sudden they put you on this pedestal. I remember when I was younger and I'd go up to girls and say, "you know, how are you going?" and they'd say "rack off" and you say "beauty" and you sort of walk away and now I mean you get that same girl right now and you go, "I wanna talk to you" and they go "sure" - hmmm, it doesn't seem right.... that's what I've always found strange about all that. All the same time, it's been really nice, there's been a lot - well, it could be a lot worse, you know, it's been sort of fun.
    Family
    I've been very lucky to have family because they've all been involved in my life in some way - and whether they are running my financial side or looking after my well - being right now, my mother doing my travel, my sister doing my charities and you know, there's always someone involved with it and they're sort of people you can trust.
    Friendship
    The great thing about my friends is when I come back, you know, maybe not having kept in contact with them for a month, but when we catch up, it's like we've been together all our lives. I've had those friends in Australia, I've had them in Bermuda and on the Tour as well, so I have a good selection, a good group of mates so we always catch up.
    Contentment
    I'm very happy. I don't really have too many insecurities, I don't think. I've got nearly everything I need. I'm really contented where I am, I have a great life and sure, there are always things that could be better and that but I'm very happy with where I am right now.

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Just wild for a Pat on the hat 10 October 2000 By Red Symons The Age 

"Go and get Pat Rafter's autograph," she says. We're at a sporting lunch. In a room full of sporting luminaries, Mr Rafter is apparently the most luminous.
The only motivation I can dredge up for approaching Mr Rafter is that he is with his even more luminous girlfriend, Miss Feltham. Even her name suggests conquest. If I go and ask for an autograph I will be able to have a close-up squizz at her while I feign complete lack of interest.
"Go and get Pat Rafter's autograph," my wife repeats, handing me the giveaway caps that have been distributed around the lunch table. "Say it's for the kids."
I am definitely not going to ask Mr Rafter for his autograph and say it's for the kids. This is what every parent does. Rather than admit that they themselves are interested in contact with the celebrity, they pretend it's for the kids.
It's tantamount to saying, "I'm not really interested in what you do; in fact, I'm not even sure what it is exactly that you do, but apparently my children are fascinated by you in some infantile and uninformed way so if you could just sign this piece of paper, I'll be off to talk to my other friends who are far more interesting".
In the extreme case, when the children are actually present, they are pushed forward by the parents to ask for the autograph. The children stand there dumbfounded as to why mummy has gone all giggly and strange. The children stare blankly at the celebrity. They have no idea why they are holding out a piece of paper to the strange, unknown man.
The strange man then scribbles something indecipherable on to a piece of paper, and then they are told to thank the strange man. The kid can't even read. Why would he want an autograph?
I am not going to ask Mr Rafter for his autograph and pretend it's for my kids. I'm fairly certain they don't know who he is.
A little later, I pass Mr Rafter's table on my way to the water closet. As I pass, Mr Rafter looks up, spots me and starts beaming and waving to me. Now, I have never met Mr Rafter but obviously my work in the media must have made an impression on him. I guess he's a fan. Maybe the desirable Miss Feltham is also a fan. Perhaps they have spent many hours together on the couch watching television and adoring me.
Now, of course, I have the perfect opportunity to ask Mr Rafter for his autograph without feeling like a selfdebasing groveller. On the other hand, I'm feeling a little bit spesh at the moment, and I think it would be good to drop the autograph thing for the minute. It could only undermine the high standing I am currently enjoying.
I opt to keep walking past the table smirking at Mr Rafter. I return his greeting with a dismissive wave of the hand.
When I return to my wife at our table I announce that Pat Rafter has asked for my autograph. This is greeted with much mirth by all who had witnessed my wife's earlier entreaties. There is some truth to my assertion. He didn't specifically ask for my autograph but he did appear to be admiring me. Same diff.
I realise that there is another problem with the autograph thing. There are so many sporting legends in the room that to favor only one or two of them would seem rude. To decline to ask someone for their autograph suggests that they have failed, that they are not worthy. I don't want to spend the rest of the afternoon getting autographs from football players who retired 20 years ago, just to spare their feelings.
With the lunch finished, everyone starts milling around and the moment of opportunity draws near. Mr Rafter is standing chatting to a Mr Thorpe. A swimmer apparently. As is my wont, I rudely interrupt them in mid sentence.
"Do you mind autographing these caps?" I have the curious experience of being acutely disliked by Mr Thorpe, who is, by all accounts, a universally likeable person himself.
Mr Rafter once again beams at me and takes the caps.
"Yeah, no worries. How ya going, Wilbur?"

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Source of this article unknown.

Hard slog is the only way Patrick Rafter knows when it comes to finding tennis success.
Despite losing to compatriot Mark Philippoussis at the weekend in the semi-finals of the $US375,000 ($A701,590) Hong Kong Open, the 27-year-old Australian hasn't lost his fire to start training all over again with a new goal in mind.
"It's amazing how hard work pays off," said Rafter, who flew out of Hong Kong on Saturday night for California and a few days of holiday in the northern resort of Carmel before setting up for a fortnight of training at his base in Bermuda.
"It's always happened to me in the past, and again it's happened here this week."
Rafter came to Victoria Park after a disappointing showing at the Olympics in Sydney, where he was eliminated in the second round.
But that loss combined with a first-round exit at the US Open in August still couldn't dull his taste for training.
"I trained very hard in Sydney for a couple of weeks," he said.
"The Olympics didn't go how I wanted it to but I kept up the training and came here with a lot of hard work under my belt."
Rafter, his shoulder problem from 1999 now well under control, showed his efforts were worthwhile as he beat doubles partner Jonas Bjorkman in the second round and knocked out top seed Gustavo Kuerten in a thrilling quarter-final.
"I've played some good tennis again," he said.
"It just feels good to know that every time that I do the hard work and put my mind to it that if it doesn't happen the first week, then it will happen in the next couple of weeks.
"I do take a lot away from that."
Rafter returns to the ATP Tour circuit in late October at the Masters Series in Stuttgart indoors.
In the interim, he will work on his clay court game in preparation for the Davis Cup final on the surface against Spain in Barcelona in December.
"My main focus now is the Davis Cup, I'll be going to the European indoor events, but I'll be doing everything that I can to help for the Davis Cup," Rafter said.
"I'll be doing a lot of work outside on the clay (in Bermuda)."
Once he gets back on Tour, the goals shift slightly: "It's important that I get a lot of matches, and it's important that I win some matches for the confidence.
"There's no substitute for matches, that's for sure."
Rafter said he would give his right shoulder a scheduled rest after several weeks of hard serving, then get down to the intense preparation necessary for the conclusion of the season.
"I'll take a few weeks off and rest the shoulder, then back to the work."
Rafter is also working behind the scenes to bring Philippoussis back into the Davis squad for 2001.
The 23-year-old Australian made himself unavailable for the remainder of 2000 after copping immense criticism for failing to play in a post-Wimbledon semi-final against Brazil.
"We are are working out our differences slowly," said Rafter.
"We speak in the locker room, there is no negative energy or bad vibes.
"From what's been said this year, the damage has been done but Mark's willing to see what happens for next year.
"I think we can be a very, very strong team if we go in with three guys (Rafter, Philippoussis and Lleyton Hewitt) ready to play."

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Rafter, Scud feud finally over 8 October 2000 The Sunday Telegraph

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Rafter closes in on Hong Kong Open title 5 October 2000 sportserver .com

Australian Patrick Rafter moved a step closer to his goal of finally claiming
the $375,000 Hong Kong Open title after two career near-misses as he reached
the quarterfinals on Thursday.
It was far from easy for the 27-year-old Australian, who had to struggle
through three sets and nearly two-and-a-half hours before eliminating occasional
doubles partner Jonas Bjorkman 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.
Rafter came close to titles here in 1994 and 1997, but couldn't get past crowd
hero Michael Chang on both occasions. Chang is the eighth seed here this year
as he plays the event for the tenth consecutive time.
Rafter, a two-time US Open holder and trophy-holder alongside Sweden's
Bjorkman at the Aussie Open last year, could have ended his day before the
sun went down over Victoria Park.
Rafter found himself in trouble as he matched his serve-and-volley attack
against the steady baselining of Bjorkman, a losing finalist in 1995.
The Australian repeatedly found himself being passed late in the second set as
the Scandinavian saved a ninth-game match point and carried on to square the
contest at a set each.
It took a break from Rafter for 5-3 in the third and a final hold to secure
victory.
"Jonas played well, if he'd kept up that level, I don't know if I could have
gone with him," said Rafter. "He served and returned really well.
"When he gets on a roll, he's hard to stop, the Aussie said of his longtime
mate whom he's known since their early days on the Tour.
Rafter now meets top seed Gustavo Kuerten.

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