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 Rafter falls Moya rallies to win in three sets; Hingis rolls 6-1, 6-1
Posted: Sunday March 21, 1999 09:52 PM
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) -- The stadium was nearly full for Patrick Rafter's match Sunday at the Lipton Championships, and the two-time reigning U.S. Open champion put on a good show. Rafter lunged for volleys and leaped for overheads. He sprawled to the hardcourt after one ball and twice hit shots with his back to the net -- one over the shoulder, another between the legs. Even the changeovers were exciting, with girls in the crowd eagerly awaiting Rafter's next shirt change. Yes, the Australian heartthrob looks good losing. Rafter failed to shake a slump Sunday, dropping his third-round grudge match to Nicolas Kiefer, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4. Rafter's record slipped to 5-6 this year, and he has yet to reach a quarterfinal in six tournaments. "I'm getting used to it," he said. "I don't enjoy it. I'm hitting the ball OK, but what I'm really doing badly is my shot selection. I've got to play percentage tennis. I'm not playing that, especially on the big points." It was a dismal day for Aussies. Mark Philippoussis, seeded 10th, lost to Marat Safin 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-3). Jason Stoltenberg, hurt by two overrules from the chair umpire in the next-to-last game, lost to top-ranked Carlos Moya 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 7-5. Pete Sampras, bidding to reclaim the No. 1 ranking this week, beat Jonas Bjorkman 7-5, 6-3. Unseeded Vince Spadea, the only other American left in the men's draw, swept Fabrice Santoro 6-3, 6-2. Also advancing to Monday's fourth round were No. 4 Alex Corretja, No. 7 Richard Krajicek and No. 8 Marcelo Rios. But No. 6 Tim Henman lost, leaving only five of the top 10 seeds in the tournament. On the women's side, top-ranked Martina Hingis beat Amy Frazier 6-1, 6-1. Steffi Graf and Monica Seles also won. Men's tennis in the United States badly needs a popularity boost, and the 26-year-old Rafter seems just the guy to provide it. He has personality, sex appeal, an all-court game and two Grand Slam titles. But aside from the U.S. Open, he has won only two other tournaments in the states, and it's been five years since he advanced beyond the third round at Lipton. Ranked No. 5 despite his slump, Rafter squandered a chance to come away from Key Biscayne with the top ranking. "I just need some matches," he said. "I'm doing the training and feel I'll been hitting the ball well. Now I need to get some wins." Not even the motivation of bad blood seems to spark Rafter. He lost to Kiefer two weeks ago at Indian Wells in a match that produced hard feelings. Words were exchanged over the net, and Rafter later complained that Kiefer was too cocky. The rematch produced no fireworks, however, just the same outcome. "He went out there and was too good for me," Rafter said. "I didn't really feel any spite in the match." Kiefer grinned when asked about the feud. "It's normal he's not happy, because he lost to me," Kiefer said. "I beat him a second time. It's perfect. For him it's not so good."
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