Rafter falls, Hingis cruises into quarters
Posted: Tuesday January 12, 1999 09:21 AM
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Heading into the Australian Open, Rafter is still trying to find his game AP |
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- U.S. Open champion Pat Rafter's
Australian Open campaign suffered a blow Tuesday when he was
thumped by compatriot Lleyton Hewitt in the first round of the
adidas International.
Rafter, ranked No.4, was beaten 7-6 (7-1), 6-1 by the
No.104-ranked Australian in a dismal effort which also cost him
ground in his quest to unseat Pete Sampras as the world's top
player.
"It's pretty evident that when I came to a few situations I
felt a little uneasy out there -- not playing the big points well,
not keeping the pressure on and letting the opportunities slip,"
said Rafter.
Fifth-seeded Briton Greg Rusedski also made a first-round exit
as Brazil's Gustavo Kuerten won their match 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Defending champion Karol Kucera of Slovakia beat Spain's Francisco
Clavet of Spain 6-4, 7-6 (10-8) and Todd Martin of the United
States eased past Morocco's Hicham Arazi 6-1, 6-3.
In the women's draw, No.2-ranked Martina Hingis, aiming for a
third straight Australian Open title, continued her impressive
buildup with an easy 6-1, 6-2 win over local player Alicia Molik.
Germany's Steffi Graf, playing her first tournament in Sydney
for 13 years, won the first nine games in beating Japan's Ai
Sugiyama 6-0, 6-4. Graf, who won the last of her four Australian
Open titles in 1994 and her last Grand Slam title in 1996, showed
no sign of the stomach upset which forced her out of the final of
the Hong Kong tournament last week.
Russian Anna Kournikova was forced to work hard against Italy's
Silvia Farina, taking their first-round contest 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 on
her fifth match point.
Hewitt, 17, was runner-up in last week's AAPT Championships in
Adelaide and showed little respect for Rafter, keeping his cool
after missing a chance to serve out the first set at 6-5 when he
allowed the No.2 seed to take the set to a tiebreaker.
Rafter, who defended his U.S. Open title in September, also had
a poor start to 1998 and has gone 1-2 from his three matches
suffering a knee injury in October. He defeated Japan's Takao
Suzuki at Adelaide last wee before losing his second round match
to No.57-ranked Slava Dosedel.
"I'm definitely underdone," said Rafter. "The serve is an
issue I have to address and confidence is a pretty big thing I'll
be lacking going into the Aussie Open. But it's got to turn around
sooner or later, so why not there."
Hewitt's win mirrored his performance at this tournament last
year, where he knocked out the then No.4 and second seed Jonas
Bjorkman. He also beat American Andre Agassi in 1998 as he oved up
from 722 in his rookie 1997 season.
"It's fantastic -- that's the best win of my short career so far
even though I've beaten guys like Agassi," said Hewitt. "To beat
the No.1 guy in your country, who's just come off the U.S. Open
win, is just fantastic."
Hingis, who had a first-round bye, cruised into the
quarterfinals.
The Swiss youngster was pushed from the summit by American
Lindsay Davenport last year, but beat her rival at the end of
season Chase Championships and then last week at the Hopman Cup
teams tournament in Perth.
Hingis admitted she missed the top spot and wanted to start the
journey back with victory at the Australian Open starting next
week. Although she said an Open win would put her back at No.1,
this was disputed by tour officials.
"I'm not that far away but yes I miss not being No.1," Hingis
said. "It gives me more motivation going into matches. I learned a
lot from last year and playing well again at the Chase
Championships helped me a lot, winning a big tournament again."
But Hingis, who lost semifinals at Wimbledon and the French and
U.S. Opens last year after claiming all bu the French Grand Slam
event in 1997, said the rankings slip had done her some good.
"It's taught me not too take it too easy," Hingis said. "I
was not practicing that hard."
Rusedski suffered his second opening round loss in succession
after falling to Germany's No.117 Bernd Karbacher in the Qatar
Open.
"There's nothing to be negative about, there's nothing to be
down about," said Rusedski. "Kuerten just played a great match,
the guy was just too good."
No.5 seed Conchita Martinez of Spain became the first major
casualty in the women's draw when beaten by Austrian Barbara
Schett, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4).
In the men's competition, Austrian Thomas Muster survivd two
match points before battling to a 7-5, 6-7 (7-2), 6-3 win over
Bjorkman in their first-round clash.
The former wrld No.1, now ranked 25th, will meet third seed
Carlos Moya in the second round.
Moya, the French Open champion and world No.5, opened with a
6-3, 7-6 (7-4) victory ovr Sweden's Thomas Johansson.
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