Rafter happy to play it hard and fast

By LINDA PEARCE
LONDON
Tuesday 26 June 2001


The longer this spell of warm English weather lasts, the better Patrick Rafter will like it.

The final practice day was the hottest of the year in London, a scorching twentysomething degrees, and hard, fast Wimbledon courts are as welcome to the Queenslander as the news that his fragile elbow has caused few problems in recent days.

Both of Australia's seeded players are in the bottom half of the men's draw, and with the traditional honor of opening the centre court program belonging to the defending champion and enduring top seed, Pete Sampras, neither Rafter nor the in-form Lleyton Hewitt was scheduled to start until today. That is ideal for Hewitt, fresh from adding the Den Bosch title in Holland to the successful defence of his Queen's Club championship.

He is vying with Halle and Nottingham winner Thomas Johansson for the fortnightly billing as the hottest grasscourt player in the game.

It is less relevant for Rafter, who arrived in London six days ago after an uncharacteristic loss in Holland, and has hit the practice courts with gusto ahead of his first-round match against Czech Daniel Vacek.

Rafter's chiropractor, Andreas Bisaz, said the quick, dry conditions would help keep further elbow inflammation at bay, but said the third seed had not had pain during a match since towards the end of his semi-final run at the Halle tournament 10 days ago.

"It gets a bit sore when he puts in a lot of work, so we have to keep an eye on the inflammation. It's not a new thing, but once in a while it plays up," Bisaz said.

"His fitness is good, and since he's been in London it really hasn't restricted him at all. If the conditions get wet and heavy, there would be more of a strain."

Vacek does not loom as a particularly threatening foe, although his entry system ranking of 924th is more a reflection of recent problems with injuries than the ability of a player who was once as high as 26th in the world.

More revealing is that the only main draw match Vacek has played this year was against Rafter in Halle two weeks ago, and he lost 6-3, 6-2. The Australian has won four of the pair's five matches, including all three on grass.

Hewitt has never played his opening opponent, Magnus Gustafsson, and it's just as well fate has organised it now, as the 33-year-old plans to retire at the end of the season.

Gustafsson, the world No.54, was once in the top 10, but that was a decade ago, and, the way Hewitt is playing, the Swede could be making a hasty exit from his last trip to Wimbledon.

In Den Bosch, Hewitt, the top seed, easily accounted for Argentinian Guillermo Canas 6-3, 6-4 in Sunday's final, improving his record on grass for the season to 10-0, after roaring through the tournament without dropping a set.

Hewitt needed only 81 minutes to wrap up the title against the claycourt specialist.

Canas, seldom venturing from the baseline, provided Hewitt with plenty of resistance but the tenacious Australian immediately went on the attack, going to the net at every opportunity. Under relentless pressure, Canas finally cracked in the seventh game when Hewitt broke him to lead 4-3.

Hewitt then stepped his game up a gear, quickly moving in for the kill, holding serve and breaking the Argentinian again to take the opening set.

At Wimbledon, Wayne Arthurs is also drawn to play on day two, and his serve-fest against the powerful Belarussian Max Mirnyi could well be a tiebreak bonanza.

The Australian women left to complete the first round are Nicole Pratt, against sixth seed Amelie Mauresmo, and Alicia Molik, who meets Catalina Castano.