INSIDE TENNIS
Up in Arms Down Under
By L. Jon Wertheim
Posted: Wed September 30, 1998
The U.S. Open final, pitting Pat Rafter against Mark
Philippoussis, was a banner occasion for Australian tennis. It
was also a flash point for controversy. Angered that Tony Roche,
Australia's Davis Cup coach, watched the match from Rafter's
box, Philippoussis accused Roche of favoritism and Roche, in
turn, suggested he might resign from the team. Rafter, the
world's No. 2 player, responded, "If Rochey goes, I go. He
doesn't deserve the abuse he's gotten." With Roche coaching and
Rafter playing, Australia beat Uzbekistan 5-0 last weekend to
clinch a spot in the World Group of the 1999 Cup. Philippoussis
was AWOL.
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Loyal friend and Aussie Davis Cupper Rafter is
standing by his man Roche.
(Manny Millan)
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The recent contretemps is the latest in a long-running, if petty,
saga that resulted in Philippoussis skipping the previous Davis
Cup tie (in which the Aussies were upset by Zimbabwe) and then
Rafter dumping Philippoussis as a doubles partner. "Mark and I
are starting to patch things up," Rafter said a week after the
U.S. Open. "But it's hard to defend him when he offends a good
friend."
Rafter, normally a preternaturally mellow fellow, is also
agitated that Pete Sampras wasn't more gracious in defeat the
last two times they played. Sampras attributed his loss in the
finals of August's ATP Championships to a questionable line call
on match point. After losing to Rafter in the U.S. Open semis,
Sampras noted that he was winning before pulling a quadriceps
muscle. "He has become a bit of a crybaby," says Rafter, fanning
the flames of a rivalry that men's tennis badly needs.
Issue date: October 5, 1998
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