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Rafter Rolls into the Semi-Finals
Ronald Atkin |
Australia's Patrick Rafter defeated Thomas Enqvist of Sweden in straight sets to reach the Wimbledon Semi-Finals for the third consecutive year. Rafter will be hoping that, as in 2000, he can go on to the Final and, perhaps, go one better than last year's Runner-up spot. Rafter dominated the match at the start, considerably assisted by Enqvist's inability to get his serve working effectively. The longer the match went on, the more dangerous the Swede became but he had left his recovery too late and Rafter was happy to leave the court the winner in one hour and 54 minutes. Enqvist had got this far with the best record of any of the eight Quarter-Finalists, having conceded no sets and dropped only 36 games. That proud record was soon shattered as Rafter swept through the opening set in just 21 minutes. He was 3-0 ahead in eight minutes, broke Enqvist a second time for a 5-1 lead and wrapped up the set with a crisp backhand volley in hot, dry conditions that suited him perfectly. Enqvist made more of a fight of it in the second set, at least for the first six games. Then Rafter struck again, breaking as the Swede double-faulted twice. The Australian was two sets up with the match less than an hour old as he broke yet again when Enqvist struck an easy backhand volley well out. The Swede finally captured the Rafter serve in the third game of the third set with a glorious cross-court backhand service return, only for Rafter to pull level at 4-4 on yet another Enqvist double-fault. That was enough to take the set into a tie-break, which the third-seeded Australian dominated, winning it by seven points to four and closing out the match with his 15th ace. Rafter also struck 49 service winners and had an impressive first serve percentage of 68 per cent. |
| Enqvist granted not a shred of hope by Rafter the executioner |
| FROM JULIAN MUSCAT AT NO1 COURT |
| PATRICK
RAFTER, proud Australian, arch competitor, supreme athlete, all-court
artiste. But what he does best of all is manage his game perfectly. He has
become brutally efficient, as Thomas Enqvist discovered yesterday. The
Swede was not so much beaten as disembowelled by a man who advanced on the
semi-finals for the third successive year.
Rafter has played Enqvist often enough to know the form. Yet the way he dealt with the danger was a lesson in the art of execution. He made Enqvist look ordinary, and that takes some doing. Enqvist did not help himself with a shambolic start, but Rafter allowed him no semblance of hope. It was classic grass-court tennis from a classic exponent of the art. There is a difference to Rafter this year. Where Wimbledon once unsettled him, he is far more comfortable now. He has learnt to manage that, too. All of which adds up to a compelling argument for his prospects at what may be his last Wimbledon. That is a sad thought, for Rafter, now seasoned and fully mature, is a treat to behold. He has improved immeasurably with time. A journeyman until his mid-twenties, he broke through, at Greg Rusedski’s expense, at the US Open four years ago, since when he has got better and better. As has his Wimbledon record: fourth round in 1998, semi-finalist the next year, beaten finalist last year. Enqvist knew all of that and it reduced him to impotence. You will not often see Enqvist serve so appallingly. The Swede was a bundle of nerves, his service broken straight away, his spirit broken with it. If that was bad, his third service game was a disaster. He was unfortunate to suffer a poor line call and deserved sympathy when a bad bounce left him unbalanced. But three double faults? That is inexcusable. Bad tidings were to come in threes. At 3-3 in the second set, Enqvist did it again. He condemned himself with three more double faults as Rafter broke through with a winning forehand that was slightly mishit. Perhaps he has learnt to manage those as well. And then, when leading 4-3 in the third set, he faced a break point at 30-40 — only to double-fault again. The verdict, at 6-1, 6-3, 7-6, was as bloodless as it gets. Enqvist wilted, no doubt about it, but do not underestimate Rafter’s role in that. That is what he does to opponents these days. He builds points beautifully from the baseline: lots of clever angles, dinks and full-blooded drives. And then he comes forward, full of menace, encamped at the net. He can frighten the life out of men such as Enqvist, who startles readily enough. And he was startled, all right, before he was clinically picked apart. Rafter knows Enqvist and Enqvist knows Rafter. They had played eight times previously; Rafter had won the last three. No surprise there. That is Rafter for you — progressing, going forward, managing his business better and better. He knows much better how to beat Enqvist than Enqvist knows how to beat him. Every now and then Rafter would throw in a little chip, denying Enqvist the pace on which he feeds. Enqvist is an enigma, a man of brittle confidence with an exemplary record under pressure. He has reached 25 tournament finals and won 18. He is not one to take frivolously, otherwise he will pulverise you from the back of the court. You must be sure of what you are doing against Enqvist, and Rafter was utterly certain. “He likes to dominate the points,” Rafter said afterwards. “He’s got a very big serve, hits his next shot very hard. I have played him enough to know what I had to do.” Rafter was only threatened once, and he knew exactly what to do. At 4-4 in the third set and facing break point, his desperate volley at full stretch afforded Enqvist the sort of mid-court pass that he nails with a vengeance. As he shaped to strike it, Rafter had read his intention. He was there, covering the forehand volley when it came, dispatching it into the open court as Enqvist, exasperated, recoiled in disbelief. Now comes Rafter’s greatest test, the one that, if he passes, will make him favourite to win this title. Awaiting him next is Andre Agassi, no less. He plays the American in the semi-final for the third year running. Agassi won two years ago, then Rafter, learning and managing all the time, prevailed in the match of the championships last year. By all accounts, he should do so again. |
Rafter-Agassi semi
From our wire services
05 July 01
News Interactive
LONDON: Pat Rafter will play American Andre Agassi in their third straight Wimbledon semi-final after an another emphatic victory in his quarter-final with Thomas Enqvist here overnight.
Third seed Rafter buried Enqvist 6-1 6-3 7-6 and importantly did it in just 1hr 54mins, preserving his increasingly injury-prone body for the days ahead.
Rafter, who has dropped only two sets in his five matches, will now go into tomorrow night's semi high on confidence as he seeks to improve on last year's runner's-up finish in what will probably be his last Wimbledon.
Should he progress against Agassi - a 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 6-4 6-2 winner over Frenchman Nicolas Escude - he will meet big serving wildcard Goran Ivanisevic or British sixth seed Tim Henman in the final. Rafter trails Agassi 4-9 in career meetings, but his five sets win over him in the semis last year will always be remembered as one of the best victories of his career.
"Last year's match was pretty exceptional. I played really well," Rafter said.
"If I can play that well, then I definitely have a chance. But I'm going to have to play that well to win."
The dual US Open champion, seeking also to atone for his five-set loss to Agassi in his first Australian Open semi-final this year, was delighted with his effort against Enqvist, who committed an appalling 13 double faults while the Queenslander served superbly.
"Thomas didn't have any rhythm there at all on his serve. I think he struggled with it pretty well the whole match," Rafter said.
"I held my serve really well. It would be the strongest part of my game right now."
Agassi, who dropped his first set of the tournament overnight, said he is "really looking forward" to yet another semi with Rafter, whom he beat in straight sets in their 1999 encounter.
"He's a great player and a great competitor and I've had some great matches with him," Agassi said.
"They're always ones to remember. Win or lose you really cherish the opportunity to raise your level at the right time. I'm certainly going to have to do that."
Of his potential final opponents, Rafter leads Ivanisevic 2-1 and though he lost their only match on grass, at Wimbledon, it was five years ago.
He leads Henman 3-2, and though the Briton won their only match on grass, in a Wimbledon fourth rounder in 1998, Rafter has been in far more dangerous form this time around.
Rafter has never lost a Grand Slam quarter final, and he went into this match with confidence, given his 6-2 career advantage over Enqvist and the lanky Swede's relative lack of comfort on grass.
Still, the dual US Open winner could not have envisaged it would have been this easy at this stage of a Grand Slam as in the first two sets against Enqvist, an Australian Open finalist in 1999 who had not dropped a set at the tournament.
Serving superbly while Enqvist stumbled with a rash of double faults, Rafter raced through the first set in just 21 minutes.
That set the tone for the match, and while the Swede was able to recover to break Rafter in the third set, the Australian met his increase in intensity by breaking him back, before taking out the tiebreaker 7-5.
Rafter through to Wimbledon semis
By Trevor Marshallsea
Pat Rafter took another impressive step closer to an elusive Wimbledon title with a straight-sets defeat of Swede Thomas Enqvist in their quarter-final.
Rafter, seeking to improve on his runner's up finish last year in what may be his last Wimbledon before retirement, beat the at times hapless 10th seed 6-1 6-3 7-6, taking the tie-break 7-5.
The 28-year-old third seed got through the match on court one in less than two hours which, after four earlier games in which he dropped just two sets, should allay concerns of any of his recent physical problems returning this week.
Rafter, who has announced he will take a long break from tennis at year's end which most expect to mean retirement, moved into the semi-finals here for the third year in a row, and will be seeking to continue a sequence of improvement this year.
He lost his 1999 semi to Andre Agassi in straight sets, then beat the same player at the same stage an an epic five-setter last year before losing to Sampras in the final.
Serving superbly while Enqvist stumbled with a rash of double faults, Rafter raced through the first set in just 21 minutes.
He broke Enqvist in the second game to lead 2-0 and again in the sixth, when Enqvist made three double faults, to lead 5-1. Rafter took the set by holding serve to love, finishing with only one point against his serve in the set.
The second set was slightly less of a clinic, but the difference between the players was shown clearly in the seventh game when Rafter claimed the first break of the set aided by three more double faults from Enqvist.