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Pat Rafter
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Pat Rafter
Patrick Michael Rafter (born 28 December 1972) is an Australian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for one week in 1999, and world No. 6 in doubles. Rafter won eleven ATP Tour-level singles titles, including two majors at the 1997 and 1998 US Opens, as well as two Masters titles. He was also the runner-up at Wimbledon in 2000 and 2001. In doubles, Rafter won ten titles, including a major at the 1999 Australian Open partnering Jonas Björkman, and two Masters titles.
Rafter became the first man in the Open Era to win the Canada Masters, Cincinnati Masters and the US Open in the same year, a feat repeated only by Andy Roddick in 2003, and Rafael Nadal in 2013. Rafter is the third man in the Open Era to reach at least the semifinals of every major in both singles and doubles, after Rod Laver and Stefan Edberg, and remains the last man to date to accomplish this. He is also been considered to be a sex symbol in the media.
Rafter turned professional in 1991. During the course of his career, he twice won the men's singles title at the US Open and was twice the runner-up at Wimbledon. He was known for his serve-and-volley style of play.
Rafter won his first tour-level match in 1993, at Wimbledon. He reached the third round, before losing to Andre Agassi. He also reached the semifinals in Indianapolis. He defeated Pete Sampras in the quarterfinals in three tight sets, before losing to Boris Becker in the semifinals. Rafter finished 1993 with a ranking of 66.
Rafter won his first career singles title in 1994 in Manchester. Prior to 1997, this was the only ATP singles title he had won.
Rafter's breakthrough came in 1997. At that year's French Open, he reached the semifinals, falling in four sets to two time former champion Sergi Bruguera. Then, he surprised many by winning the US Open, defeating Andriy Medvedev, Magnus Norman, Lionel Roux, Andre Agassi, Magnus Larsson, and Michael Chang before beating Greg Rusedski in a four-set final; he was the first non-American to win the title since Stefan Edberg in 1992. This was his first Grand Slam title, and catapulted him ahead of Chang to finish the year ranked #2 in the world (behind only Pete Sampras). The unexpected nature of his US Open title led many, including Hall-of-famer and four-time US Open champion John McEnroe to criticise Rafter as a "one-slam wonder".
Rafter had a particularly strong year in 1998, winning the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Masters ─ Andre Agassi (1995), Andy Roddick (2003), and Rafael Nadal (2013) are the only other players to have won both of these tournaments in the same year. Rafter defeated ninth-ranked Richard Krajicek in the Toronto final and second-ranked Pete Sampras in the Cincinnati final. When asked about the difference between himself and Rafter following their titles, Sampras responded, "10 grand slams". He added that a tennis player must come back and win a Grand Slam again in order to be considered great.
Entering the U.S. Open as the defending champion, Rafter reached the final by defeating Hicham Arazi, Hernán Gumy, David Nainkin, Goran Ivanišević and Jonas Björkman before besting Sampras in a five-set semifinal. Rafter then defended his US Open title by defeating fellow Australian Mark Philippoussis in four sets, committing only five unforced errors throughout the match. Altogether, Rafter won six tournaments in 1998, finishing the year No. 4 in the world.
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Pat Rafter
Patrick Michael Rafter (born 28 December 1972) is an Australian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for one week in 1999, and world No. 6 in doubles. Rafter won eleven ATP Tour-level singles titles, including two majors at the 1997 and 1998 US Opens, as well as two Masters titles. He was also the runner-up at Wimbledon in 2000 and 2001. In doubles, Rafter won ten titles, including a major at the 1999 Australian Open partnering Jonas Björkman, and two Masters titles.
Rafter became the first man in the Open Era to win the Canada Masters, Cincinnati Masters and the US Open in the same year, a feat repeated only by Andy Roddick in 2003, and Rafael Nadal in 2013. Rafter is the third man in the Open Era to reach at least the semifinals of every major in both singles and doubles, after Rod Laver and Stefan Edberg, and remains the last man to date to accomplish this. He is also been considered to be a sex symbol in the media.
Rafter turned professional in 1991. During the course of his career, he twice won the men's singles title at the US Open and was twice the runner-up at Wimbledon. He was known for his serve-and-volley style of play.
Rafter won his first tour-level match in 1993, at Wimbledon. He reached the third round, before losing to Andre Agassi. He also reached the semifinals in Indianapolis. He defeated Pete Sampras in the quarterfinals in three tight sets, before losing to Boris Becker in the semifinals. Rafter finished 1993 with a ranking of 66.
Rafter won his first career singles title in 1994 in Manchester. Prior to 1997, this was the only ATP singles title he had won.
Rafter's breakthrough came in 1997. At that year's French Open, he reached the semifinals, falling in four sets to two time former champion Sergi Bruguera. Then, he surprised many by winning the US Open, defeating Andriy Medvedev, Magnus Norman, Lionel Roux, Andre Agassi, Magnus Larsson, and Michael Chang before beating Greg Rusedski in a four-set final; he was the first non-American to win the title since Stefan Edberg in 1992. This was his first Grand Slam title, and catapulted him ahead of Chang to finish the year ranked #2 in the world (behind only Pete Sampras). The unexpected nature of his US Open title led many, including Hall-of-famer and four-time US Open champion John McEnroe to criticise Rafter as a "one-slam wonder".
Rafter had a particularly strong year in 1998, winning the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Masters ─ Andre Agassi (1995), Andy Roddick (2003), and Rafael Nadal (2013) are the only other players to have won both of these tournaments in the same year. Rafter defeated ninth-ranked Richard Krajicek in the Toronto final and second-ranked Pete Sampras in the Cincinnati final. When asked about the difference between himself and Rafter following their titles, Sampras responded, "10 grand slams". He added that a tennis player must come back and win a Grand Slam again in order to be considered great.
Entering the U.S. Open as the defending champion, Rafter reached the final by defeating Hicham Arazi, Hernán Gumy, David Nainkin, Goran Ivanišević and Jonas Björkman before besting Sampras in a five-set semifinal. Rafter then defended his US Open title by defeating fellow Australian Mark Philippoussis in four sets, committing only five unforced errors throughout the match. Altogether, Rafter won six tournaments in 1998, finishing the year No. 4 in the world.
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