Patrick Rafter
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| Country | Australia | |
| Residence | Pembroke, Bermuda | |
| Date of birth | December 28, 1972 | |
| Place of birth | Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia | |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | |
| Weight | 87 kg (190 lb/13.7 st) | |
| Turned pro | 1991 | |
| Retired | 2002 | |
| Plays | Right-handed; one-handed backhand | |
| Career prize money | US$11,127,058 | |
| Singles | ||
| Career record: | 358 - 191 | |
| Career titles: | 11 | |
| Highest ranking: | 1 (July 26, 1999) | |
| Grand Slam results | ||
| Australian Open | SF (2001) | |
| French Open | SF (1997) | |
| Wimbledon | F (2000, 2001) | |
| US Open | W (1997, 1998) | |
| Doubles | ||
| Career record: | 214 - 110 | |
| Career titles: | 10 | |
| Highest ranking: | 6 (February 1, 1999) | |
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Infobox last updated on: March 25, 2007. |
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Patrick "Pat" Michael Rafter (born 28 December 1972) is a retired Australian former World No. 1 tennis player. He twice won the men's singles title at the U.S. Open and was twice the runner-up at Wimbledon. Rafter was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2006. He lives in Bermuda. He was known for his natural serve-and-volley style of play.
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[edit] Tennis career
Rafter turned professional in 1991 and 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, beginning at the French Open, where he reached the semifinals, falling in four sets to Sergi Bruguera. Later in the year, he won the U.S. Open, defeating Greg Rusedski in a four-set final and Andre Agassi and Michael Chang, among others, in earlier rounds. This was his first Grand Slam title.
1998 was a particularly strong year for Rafter, winning two ATP Masters Series back-to-back singles titles in Toronto and Cincinnati. (Only Andre Agassi, in 1995, and Andy Roddick, in 2003, also have won both 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. Rafter then won a U.S. Open warm-up tournament in Long Island, New York. Entering the U.S. Open as the defending champion, he reached the final again, defeating Sampras in a five-set semifinal. He then defeated fellow Aussie player Mark Philippoussis in four sets. Altogether, Rafter won six tournaments in 1998.
Rafter reached the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time in 1999, where lost in straight sets to Agassi, the first of three consecutive years that the two met in the Wimbledon semifinals. July of 1999 saw Rafter holding the world No. 1 men's singles ranking for one week, making him the shortest-reigning world No. 1 in ATP tour history. As the two-time defending U.S. Open champion, Rafter lost in the first round of the tournament, retiring in the fifth set against Cédric Pioline after succumbing to shoulder tendinitis. Rafter's ranking then plummeted, and his shoulder injury wound up being serious enough to necessitate surgery.[1] By the time he reached the Wimbledon final in July 2000, his ranking had fallen to No. 52.
Rafter won the Australian Open men's doubles title in 1999 (partnering Jonas Björkman). He and Björkman also won doubles titles at the ATP Masters Series events in Canada (1999) and Indian Wells (1998).
In 2000, Rafter reached the men's singles final at Wimbledon. In the semifinals of the tournament, Rafter defeated Agassi 7–5, 4–6, 7–5, 4–6, 6–3.[2] Rafter faced Sampras in the final, who was gunning for a record-breaking seventh Wimbledon title overall (and seven in the past eight years). While Rafter made a strong start to the match and took the first set, after the match he would claim that he had "choked" part way through the second set, and was then not able to get back into his game. Sampras won in four sets.
In 2001, Rafter reached the semifinals of the Australian Open, but despite holding a two sets to one lead and having the support of the home crowd, Rafter lost the match to Agassi in five sets.[3] Later in the year, Rafter again reached the Wimbledon final. For the third straight year, he faced Agassi in the semifinals and won in yet another five-setter, 2–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–2, 8–6.[4] In the final, he squared off against Goran Ivanišević, who had reached the Wimbledon final three times before but had slid down the world rankings to No. 125 following injury problems. After a titanic five-set struggle, lasting just over three hours, Ivanišević prevailed 6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 2–6, 9–7.
Rafter was on the Australian Davis Cup Team that lost in the final in 2000 (to Spain) and 2001 (to France). Ironically, he was unable to play in the 1999 Davis Cup final – where Australia beat France to win the cup – because of injury (though he won important matches in the earlier rounds to help the team qualify).
Rafter was on the Australian teams that won the World Team Cup in 1999 and 2001.
He retired from the professional tour at the end of 2002 after winning a total of 11 singles titles and 10 doubles titles. He returns to the courts annually to play World Team Tennis for the Philadelphia Freedoms.
On Australia Day 2008, Pat Rafter was inducted into the Australian Open Hall of Fame.
[edit] Personal and family life
Rafter was born in Mount Isa, Queensland, and is third-youngest in a family of nine children. He began playing tennis at the age of five with his father and three older brothers.
In April 2004, Rafter married his girlfriend Lara Feltham (with whom he had a son, Joshua) at a resort in Fiji. Their daughter, India, was born in May 2005.
Because of the white patch in his hair, his nickname amongst mates is "Skunky."
In 2002, he won the Australian of the Year award. This created some controversy as he had spent much of his career residing in the tax haven of Bermuda.
Rafter donated half of the prize money from his 1997 and 1998 U.S. Open wins to the Starlight Children's Foundation. The money was used to construct Queensland's first Starlight Express Room at the Mater Hospital.[citation needed] Rafter has created his own charity organisation that raises funds for children's causes each year.
He is a fan of both the Brisbane Broncos and Brisbane Lions and has occasionally played reserve grade Australian rules in the Sydney AFL for the North Shore Bombers.
[edit] Grand Slam singles finals
[edit] Wins (2)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1997 | U.S. Open |  Greg Rusedski |
6–3, 6–2, 4–6, 7–5 |
| 1998 | U.S. Open |  Mark Philippoussis |
6–3, 3–6, 6–2, 6–0 |
[edit] Runner-ups (2)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 2000 | Wimbledon |  Pete Sampras |
6–7, 7–6, 6–4, 6–2 |
| 2001 | Wimbledon |  Goran Ivanišević |
6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 2–6, 9–7 |
[edit] Singles performance timeline
| Tournament | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | Career SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slams | |||||||||||
| Australian Open | 1R | 1R | 3R | 4R | 2R | 1R | 3R | 3R | A | SF | 0 / 9 |
| French Open | A | LQ | 4R | 1R | 1R | SF | 2R | 3R | 2R | 1R | 0 / 8 |
| Wimbledon | LQ | 3R | 2R | 1R | 4R | 4R | 4R | SF | F | F | 0 / 9 |
| U.S. Open | LQ | 1R | 3R | 2R | 1R | W | W | 1R | 1R | 4R | 2 / 9 |
| Grand Slam SR | 0 / 1 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 1 / 4 | 1 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 2 / 35 |
| Year-End Championship | |||||||||||
| Tennis Masters Cup | A | A | A | A | A | RR | A | A | A | RR | 0 / 2 |
| ATP Masters Series | |||||||||||
| Indian Wells Masters | A | 1R | 3R | 3R | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | 2R | QF | 0 / 8 |
| Miami Masters | A | LQ | SF | 2R | A | 1R | 1R | 3R | 4R | SF | 0 / 7 |
| Monte Carlo Masters | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 |
| Rome Masters | A | A | 1R | 1R | A | 2R | 1R | F | 1R | A | 0 / 6 |
| Hamburg Masters | A | A | A | 2R | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | 0 / 2 |
| Canada Masters | A | A | 1R | 2R | QF | 2R | W | QF | QF | F | 1 / 8 |
| Cincinnati Masters | A | 1R | 1R | 3R | 2R | 3R | W | F | A | F | 1 / 8 |
| Stockholm/Stuttgart Masters | A | A | 2R | A | A | SF | 2R | A | 2R | A | 0 / 4 |
| Paris Masters | A | A | 1R | A | A | 2R | 2R | A | 3R | A | 0 / 4 |
| Masters Series SR | 0 / 0 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 7 | 0 / 7 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 7 | 2 / 7 | 0 / 5 | 0 / 7 | 0 / 4 | 2 / 48 |
| Year End Ranking | 243 | 66 | 20 | 66 | 62 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 15 | 7 | N/A |
A = did not attend
LQ = lost in qualifying draw
[edit] ATP Masters Series singles finals
[edit] Wins (2)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1998 | Toronto |  Richard Krajicek |
7–6, 6–4 |
| 1998 | Cincinnati | Pete Sampras |
1–6, 7–6, 6–4 |
[edit] Runner-ups (4)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1999 | Rome |  Gustavo Kuerten |
6–4, 7–5, 7–6 |
| 1999 | Cincinnati | Pete Sampras |
7–6, 6–3 |
| 2001 | Montreal |  Andrei Pavel |
7–6, 2–6, 6–3 |
| 2001 | Cincinnati | Gustavo Kuerten |
6–1, 6–3 |
[edit] Career finals (43)
[edit] Singles
[edit] Wins (11)
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| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | 20 June 1994 | Manchester, England | Grass |  Wayne Ferreira |
7–6(5), 7–6(4) |
| 2. | 8 September 1997 | U.S. Open, New York City | Hard | Greg Rusedski |
6–3, 6–2, 4–6, 7–5 |
| 3. | 13 April 1998 | Chennai, India | Hard |  Mikael Tillström |
6–3, 6–4 |
| 4. | 22 June 1998 | 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands | Grass |  Martin Damm |
7–6(2), 6–2 |
| 5. | 10 August 1998 | Toronto, Canada | Hard | Richard Krajicek |
7–6(3), 6–4 |
| 6. | 17 August 1998 | Cincinnati, U.S. | Hard | Pete Sampras |
1–6, 7–6(2), 6–4 |
| 7. | 31 August 1998 | Long Island, U.S. | Hard |  Félix Mantilla |
7–6(3), 6–2 |
| 8. | 14 September 1998 | U.S. Open, New York City | Hard | Mark Philippoussis |
6–3, 3–6, 6–2, 6–0 |
| 9. | 21 June 1999 | 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands | Grass | Andrei Pavel |
3–6, 7–6(7), 6–4 |
| 10. | 26 June 2000 | 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands | Grass |  Nicolas Escudé |
6–1, 6–3 |
| 11. | 20 August 2001 | Indianapolis, U.S. | Hard | Gustavo Kuerten |
4–2 ret. |
[edit] Runner-ups (14)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | 18 April 1994 | Hong Kong | Hard | Michael Chang |
6–1, 6–3 |
| 2. | 3 March 1997 | Philadelphia, U.S. | Hard (i) | Pete Sampras |
5–7, 7–6(4), 6–3 |
| 3. | 14 April 1997 | Hong Kong | Hard | Michael Chang |
6–3, 6–3 |
| 4. | 26 May 1997 | St. Poelten, Austria | Clay |  Marcelo Filippini |
7–6(2), 6–2 |
| 5. | 18 August 1997 | New Haven, U.S. | Hard |  Yevgeny Kafelnikov |
7–6(4), 6–4 |
| 6. | 25 August 1997 | Long Island, U.S. | Hard | Carlos Moyà |
6–4, 7–6(1) |
| 7. | 6 October 1997 | Grand Slam Cup, Munich | Carpet | Pete Sampras |
6–2, 6–4, 7–5 |
| 8. | 17 May 1999 | Rome, Italy | Clay | Gustavo Kuerten |
6–4, 7–5, 7–6(6) |
| 9. | 16 August 1999 | Cincinnati, U.S. | Hard | Pete Sampras |
7–6(7), 6–3 |
| 10. | 10 July 2000 | Wimbledon, London | Grass | Pete Sampras |
6–7(10), 7–6(5), 6–4, 6–2 |
| 11. | 13 November 2000 | Lyon, France | Carpet | Arnaud Clément |
7–6(2), 7–6(5) |
| 12. | 9 July 2001 | Wimbledon, London | Grass | Goran Ivanišević |
6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 2–6, 9–7 |
| 13. | 6 August 2001 | Montréal, Canada | Hard | Andrei Pavel |
7–6(3), 2–6, 6–3 |
| 14. | 13 August 2001 | Cincinnati, U.S. | Hard | Gustavo Kuerten |
6–1, 6–3 |
[edit] Doubles
[edit] Wins (10)
[edit] Runner-ups (8)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partnering | Opponents in the final | Score |
| 1. | April 18, 1994 | Hong Kong | Hard | Jonas Björkman |
Jim Grabb Brett Steven |
W/O |
| 2. | October 24, 1994 | Lyon, France | Carpet | Martin Damm |
 Jakob Hlasek Yevgeny Kafelnikov |
6–7, 7–6, 7–6 |
| 3. | October 16, 1995 | Ostrava, Czech Republic | Carpet | Guy Forget |
Jonas Björkman Javier Frana |
6–7, 6–4, 7–6 |
| 4. | April 22, 1996 | Bermuda | Clay | Pat Cash |
Jan Apell Brent Haygarth |
3–6, 6–1, 6–3 |
| 5. | March 17, 1997 | Indian Wells, U.S. | Hard | Mark Philippoussis |
 Mark Knowles Daniel Nestor |
7–6, 4–6, 7–5 |
| 6. | April 21, 1997 | Tokyo, Japan | Hard | Justin Gimelstob |
Martin Damm Daniel Vacek |
2–6, 6–2, 7–6 |
| 7. | August 11, 1997 | Cincinnati, U.S. | Hard | Mark Philippoussis |
Todd Woodbridge Mark Woodforde |
7–6, 4–6, 6–4 |
| 8. | June 18, 2001 | Halle, Germany | Grass |  Max Mirnyi |
Daniel Nestor Sandon Stolle |
6–4, 6–7(5), 6–1 |
[edit] ATP Tour career earnings
| Year | Majors | ATP wins | Total wins | Earnings ($) | Money list rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2,923,519 | 3 |
| 1998 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2,867,017 | 3 |
| 1999 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1,254,574 | 12 |
| 2000 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 814,586 | 16 |
| 2001 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1,670,592 | 7 |
| Career | 2 | 9 | 11 | 11,127,058 | 21 |
[edit] Memorable matches
- 1994 Wimbledon (vs. Sergi Bruguera)
- 1997 French Open (vs. Sergi Bruguera)
- 1997 U.S. Open (vs. Andre Agassi)
- 1998 U.S. Open (vs. Pete Sampras)
- 2000 Wimbledon (vs. Pete Sampras)
- 2000 Wimbledon (vs. Andre Agassi)
- 2001 Australian Open (vs. Andre Agassi)
- 2001 Wimbledon (vs. Andre Agassi)
- 2001 Wimbledon (vs. Goran Ivanišević)
[edit] Video
- Wimbledon 2000 Semi-Final - Agassi vs. Rafter (2003) Starring: Andre Agassi, Patrick Rafter; Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: August 16, 2005, Run Time: 213 minutes, ASIN: B000A343QY.
- Wimbledon 2001 Final: Rafter Vs Ivanisevic Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: October 30, 2007, Run Time: 195 minutes, ASIN: B000V02CT6.
[edit] External links
- ATP Tour profile for Patrick Rafter
- ITF profile for Patrick Rafter
- Davis Cup profile for Patrick Rafter
- International Tennis Hall of Fame profile
- 2002 Australian of the Year
- Pat Rafter Cherish the Children (Charity)
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Andre Agassi |
World No. 1 July 26, 1999 – August 1, 1999 (1 week) |
Succeeded by Pete Sampras |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by General Peter Cosgrove |
Australian of the Year 2002 |
Succeeded by Professor Fiona Stanley |
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