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Getting better Rafter improving with each match
Posted: Friday June 30, 2000 02:56 PM
LONDON (Reuters) -- Dual U.S. Open champion Pat Rafter checks into hotels under the name Mr Ace. At Wimbledon on Thursday you could see why. Rafter's booming serve was back in business after a shoulder injury as he swept aside fellow Australian Todd Woodbridge 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 and sailed into the third round. Nationality and friendship meant nothing to Rafter who vividly remembers as a little boy in Australia getting up at two o'clock in the morning to watch Wimbledon on television. "Dad would let us. We'd get a rug out," said Rafter, one of nine children. "The old Aussie guys told us this was the one." "Today was a day I made my mind up I was going to knuckle down and play a good aggressive game and not show too much friendship. Out there I was pretty hungry and very determined," he said after his one-sided triumph. The tour's number one male sex symbol treated screaming fans to a shirt change. They whooped with delight. Rafter had to take five months off over the New Year to have an operation on his shoulder but his game is back to its best, especially his serve. "I did play very well. Today I felt a lot better with my serve," he said. He admitted that it was only on the hard courts of New York that he could beat anyone in the world. Wimbledon was always a much tougher task. "I probably need to flatten out my serve and hope for a miracle I guess." The injury-imposed rest has done Rafter good. The 12th seed, beaten by Woodbridge the last time they met at Wimbledon, was in superlative form. The first set was a see-saw affair as Rafter raced to a 3-0 lead before Woodbridge steadied himself. Rafter, moving fluently across court, was terrier-like in his determination. In the second set Rafter was rampant, losing just three points on his serve. Woodbridge, one of the world's great doubles players, was superb at the net but his serve was woeful. Rafter never let his concentration waver in the last set. He is now looking forward to representing his country back home at the Sydney Olympics.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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