Pat Rafter comeback ?

[Donny]

Rafter's return excites
By Leo Schlink - Fox Sports
December 10, 2003

PAT RAFTER's first foray out of retirement has triggered high box office interest, prompting organisers to consider making the Townsville Challenge an annual event.

Rafter will play fellow former world No.1 Mats Wilander in Townsville on February 2 in his first competitive appearance since 2001.

Rafter and Wilander, Sweden's Davis Cup captain, will contest a best-of-three sets match at the Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre.

Ticket interest in the event has been so strong, event organiser International Management Group is considering making the challenge an annual event.

"It will be a sell-out for sure," said James Ashworth, IMG's Queensland general manager.

"We've seen terrific interest and commitment coming through for corporate facilities.

"We're hoping it will be supported by the Townsville community so we can create some sort of annual event featuring grand slam winners."

Wilander, 39, won seven majors: three Australian Open and three French Open titles and a US Open crown.

Rafter, 30, a dual US Open champion, has not played a match since retiring after the losing 2001 Davis Cup final against France in Melbourne.

While Wilander has maintained touch by competing on the Champions' Tour, Rafter's only tennis involvement has been helping his long-standing mentor Tony Roche coach juniors in Sydney.

The Queenslander does not want to travel full-time any more, but could be tempted to play selected events.

The dual Wimbledon finalist is understood to have been the centre of a substantial offer to come out of retirement to play the Honda Challenge in London last week.

[CQ]

what a tosser, hasnt he already retired about three times? pfft.

[couragous cloke]

how could u bag pat rafter?! he was the reason i watched tennis! ill never forget his wimbeldon battles!

[commonwombat]

Na, his injuries say no comeback is really viable. Some exhibition games maybe.

CQ, think the term tosser would have more accurately describe the Poo during his "boy's toys" stage or some of the behavior of L.Hewitt Esq.

[CQ]

theyre all a pack of tossers then!!

[zoia]

honestly pat comin back to tennis will be weird for me but good on him for having a go with it. It shows he really does love the game and love australia

[Blanch]

It wont' happen. He's under the thumb now.

A quick note for all of you who love to criticise the antics of our L.Hewitt. The rose coloured glasses that some see Pat Rafter through are media portrayal. He is as arrogant and nice as Lleyton is, only Lleyton is up front about his attitude. What you see is what you get with Lleyton...not so with "squeaky clean" Pat.

[commonwombat]

Blanch,

Will agree with you that "hagiography" of any number of our sporting and public figures is extremely common. Where Mr Hewitt has stuffed himself is by airing his character flaws in public, ie with petulant displays on court or by diatribes by himself or his entourage about media persecution.

Excuse me, but they can only feed on the ammunition that he provides them. If you walk through life with an ttitude tha everyone's agin' you or that anyone that offers any criticism is an enemy then good luck to you.

I am not a Hewitt hater nor am I a fan. I admire his competitiveness and determination but am repelled by his attitude. One only hopes he will grow out of it. I can quite believe yr point re Rafter, however he has been smart enough not to air his vices in public.

As I said before, this creation of halos is common in Aus sport. In the late 80's there was a book written about a Aus cricket tour to the WI called "Calypso Cricket". It caused a ruckus at the time as it alluded v strongly to boozing and extracurricular activities by the tour party. The author, Roland Fishman, was pilloried for this book and there were denials left right and centre. Frankly, he only told the truth

[couragous cloke]

dont be dissin Pat! he's a good bloke, ive met him

[piedys]

[Blanch]

I've always been a Rafter fan. His conduct is gentlemenly on court and I suppose the main difference I see between him and Hewitt is that Rafter actually cares about the way he is portrayed. Hewitt couldn't care less. I love that attitude of not caring, although Hewitt could be a little smarter about how he goes about things.

I don't feel like I'm "dissin" Pat, just giving a little more truth to the man behind the media driven persona. I'm sure a lot of us have met him and met that 'nice young man.' When you get to spend a little more time at the closed door functions, that's when the 'for show' Rafter exits the building. He's a good bloke, and he's smart enough to know when to show the side that all mothers want to see and smart enough to know when he can "play up."

[piedys]

[Blanch]

Nope, but Pat had a sqeaky clean image long before he married and settled. I stand by what I've said. I don't deny he's settled now, but Pat may not have been the boy next door your mother thinks he is.

I should have qualified......what I'm referring to is pre Lara. I wouldn't know anything recent.

[Donny]

Rafter to play at Open

By Leo Schlink - Fox Sports

PAT Rafter's comeback plans accelerated dramatically last night when the former world No.1 committed to the Australian Open doubles ahead of his singles return.

Rafter, who turns 31 on Sunday, has entered doubles at the AAPT championship in Adelaide from January 5 with fellow Queenslander Josh Eagle as a lead-up to the Australian Open at Melbourne Park from January 19.

The dual US Open champion will use the event to prepare for his clash with fellow grand slam champion Mats Wilander in Townsville on February 2.

Rafter has kept his comeback plans a closely guarded secret.

Twice a Wimbledon finalist, Rafter has not played competitively since Australia's 2-3 loss to France in the 2001 Davis Cup final at Rod Laver Arena.

The right-hander was effectively forced out of the game with a stress fracture in his right arm after also battling chronic shoulder problems.

Rafter has kept fit over the past two years by helping his long-time mentor Tony Roche coach juniors in Sydney.

Rafter describes his singles return in Townsville against Swedish Davis Cup captain Wilander as purely experimental and it is understood he has no set plans about a permanent return to the circuit.

But Rafter is clearly determined to do well in far north Queensland against fellow former world No.1 Wilander, who will take a short break from his captaincy duties, leaving his players to prepare in Adelaide for the first-round tie with Australia.

Rafter, one of the sport's most charismatic champions, has been a regular target for promoters attempting to lure him out of retirement.

But the unpretentious serve-volleyer has preferred to spend his time living quietly in Sydney with his partner, Lara Feltham, and their young son, Josh.

The former star has devoted much of his time to charity work and business pursuits but, two years younger than Andre Agassi, an injury-free Rafter is still clearly curious about how his body will cope with the rigours of occasional appearances.

Rafter has been a virtual stranger to tennis events in Australia since his retirement two years ago but has remained in close contact with players such as Lleyton Hewitt.

[Donny]

No comeback for 'bored' Rafter

By Steve Larkin - Fox Sports

PAT Rafter is bored. He's revelling in full-time fatherhood and reducing his golf handicap, but his competitive fire still burns.

Rafter admits he sometimes misses tennis - but not enough to return to the professional circuit.

The former world No.1 returned to competitive tennis in a doubles match in Adelaide at the AAPT Championships - his first outing since December 2001 (EDS: Match today, Jan .

While partnering fellow Queenslander Josh Eagle in the tournament has many pondering whether it's the start of a comeback, Rafter is adamant it isn't.

"No, not at all,'' Rafter said today.
This is as far as I go.''

The 30-year-old now spends most days with his son Josh, or playing golf, while ruminating about his future.

"A classic day for me now would be wake up and get Josh's food ready and feed him, probably put him down to sleep, and wait for him to wake up,'' Rafter said.

"I bathe him every night, I make sure I'm there for that, and I try to be there breakfast time, and a lot of the time I find myself there during the day as well - if not, I'm probably playing a game of golf.''

Isn't that a tad boring for a man once acclaimed the world's sexiest athlete who led a jet-setting lifestyle among the rich and famous?

"Yes, a little bit,'' Rafter said with typical honesty.

"But it's catching up now, this year will be a really busy year if a few things I want to do will come off,'' he said, declining to elaborate.

The dual US open champion concedes he has yet to make the transition from tennis player to non-player.

"It's something I thought would just come,'' Rafter said.

"And now I find I have to really got to go looking for something otherwise I will keep doing the same thing I'm doing, and I'll get more bored if that's possible.''

Rafter officially announced his retirement exactly a year ago and there have been times since when he pines for the sport he once dominated.

"I miss, every now and then, the opportunity to be in a final or grasp something that I never had,'' Rafter said.

"Watching finals like Wimbledon and grand slams, Davis Cup finals - they are the ones you sort of sit back and go `geez, I was I was there'.

``But you know how much hard work it is to get there, and I'm not willing to do that.

``Today, I was just reminiscing that after I'd done a couple of hours training, I would have had to go off and run for an hour.

``I was thinking `I could not think of anything worse'. ``When I feel like getting off the court now, I do half an hour, I've had enough and I walk off, and that's great.

``Whereas before, I could never do that - I had to stay and grind it out and knew I had to go for a run, I had to have the treatment, I had to do the massages.

``All day was full and it's a very selfish life, and I just knew that I didn't want to do that anymore.

``I was actually really starting to lose my nerve as well.

``I wasn't enjoying all the expectation and pressure on me before matches, whereas before I used to really enjoy it.

``That side of things really caught up with me, I didn't enjoy the feeling of waiting to go on the court anymore.

``All those pressures sort of compounded, especially throughout the last year that I played.

``At Davis Cup matches too, I started getting really nervous as well, feeling that the whole pressure was on you to win and to do it, and I guess I didn't deal with that as well as I could have.''

Rafter said he had been training for his pseudo comeback for the past three weeks.

``I found that you don't actually lose a lot, it's more your fitness, your movement, you step slow,'' he said.

But Rafter said he's not in Adelaide for a hit and giggle.

``Everything I do now, I try to win - whether it's golf, whether it's tennis, whether it's touch (rugby) or whatever I'm doing.

``I still have a competitive desire to win and I haven't come here for match practice.

``I have come here to win some matches and so it's pretty important that I hold my half of the court.''