Pat Rafter comes out of retirement for champions event

R

rolandg

Semi-Pro
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23681747-11088,00.html



PAT Rafter is returning to the international circuit.

The former world No. 1 will emerge from retirement in July to contest the BlackRock Tour Of Champions event in Graz, Austria.

Retired since the 2001 Davis Cup final, Rafter had resisted previous attempts by officials to lure him to the seniors circuit, where John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Bjorn Borg and Jim Courier are regular competitors.

Still impressively fit at 35, Rafter will play on clay in Austria against a celebrated field containing several grand slam champions.

The BlackRock Tour is part of the showpiece ATP Tour, where Rafter starred for almost a decade before a shoulder injury prematurely ended his career.

The dual US Open winner said he was excited by the prospect of resuming battle with opponents such as his 2001 Wimbledon final nemesis Goran Ivanisevic, Thomas Muster and Marcelo Rios.

"It's going to be a pretty good field in Graz, so you want to go as hard as you can," Rafter said.

"People don't want to go there and see you stuffing around. I've been keeping pretty fit, but, tennis-wise, there's be a bit of a cloud over how I'll go. I hardly ever play tennis. I tend to do other things for fitness. But I'm looking forward to picking up a racquet and getting ready for this."

Rafter is likely to seek out junior players with whom to practise before the July 29-August 2 tournament.

The dual Wimbledon finalist said he was considering a visit to the All England Club next month for the first time since his five-set loss to Ivanisevic seven years ago.

"I'm not sure yet about going to the tennis, but if I get a chance I might get out to Wimbledon," Rafter said.

"This is an opportunity to get over to Europe and play a bit of tennis and see how I go. I've still got some issues with my shoulder and a bit of a problem with my wrist, but I'm working on those things as much as I can."

Rafter recently worked with the Australian junior Davis Cup team.

Based in Noosa, Rafter has made cameo appearances with the Philadelphia Freedoms in Billie Jean King's World Team Tennis.

But apart from an exhibition in Townsville with Swede Mats Wilander four years ago, Rafter has rarely been seen at tennis events.

"Being in Australia, it's really difficult to get over to Europe or the US to play just one week and then have to wait around," Rafter said.

"I still follow tennis, but in the same way as when I was out there playing."
 
T

!Tym

Hall of Fame
rolandg said:
"Being in Australia, it's really difficult to get over to Europe or the US to play just one week and then have to wait around," Rafter said.

"I still follow tennis, but in the same way as when I was out there playing."
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Actually, I always wondered why Rafter wouldn't play on the Champions Tours when God knows you know the sponsors must have been trying everything in their power to get him to fly over. To me, he always seemed like the guy with his amiable "fan friendly" personality to want to get out there and socialize a bit in the more relaxed atmosphere of the seniors tours.

Of all the reasons though for him not to want to bother showing up, this is the most sensible yet. I mean is it REALLY worth it go that out of your way just to play a few matches?

I wonder how much of an under the table "appearance fee" it must have took to get Rafter to finally make his debut. I'm sure there was a small part of him that was itching to at least try it once, but surely I'm thinking it must have taken some money to get him to committ, something decent for sure.
 
ericsson

ericsson

Hall of Fame
Nice to see him back, seems like such a nice guy, i will never forget the "sorry mate" :)
Hope he still serve & volley like in the days...
 
R

rolandg

Semi-Pro
!Tym said:
Actually, I always wondered why Rafter wouldn't play on the Champions Tours when God knows you know the sponsors must have been trying everything in their power to get him to fly over. To me, he always seemed like the guy with his amiable "fan friendly" personality to want to get out there and socialize a bit in the more relaxed atmosphere of the seniors tours.

Of all the reasons though for him not to want to bother showing up, this is the most sensible yet. I mean is it REALLY worth it go that out of your way just to play a few matches?

I wonder how much of an under the table "appearance fee" it must have took to get Rafter to finally make his debut. I'm sure there was a small part of him that was itching to at least try it once, but surely I'm thinking it must have taken some money to get him to committ, something decent for sure.
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I don't think the appearance fees are under the table at all. They get sh*t loads of money for appearing at these things and it is all above board.

I think he also wanted to wait until his children were a bit older. I think they are probably both toddlers now, which makes it easier to travel with them.
 
A

AndrewD

Legend
!Tym said:
Actually, I always wondered why Rafter wouldn't play on the Champions Tours
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The reason he doesn't play is because his shoulder is only mildly better now than when it forced him off the tour. It's the reason why he barely ever picks up a tennis racquet and why, when he does, it's usually just to hit groundstrokes. Last time I heard him speak he said that he can only serve 65-75% but it hurts him for a few weeks after and its just not worth the bother. He did also think that when he retired his family should get all of his time and attention, not tennis (again).

My guess is that the champions tour is struggling and Rafter is doing it as a favour for an old friend - he is that type of bloke.
 
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T

!Tym

Hall of Fame
AndrewD said:
The reason he doesn't play is because his shoulder is only mildly better now than when it forced him off the tour. It's the reason why he barely ever picks up a tennis racquet and why, when he does, it's usually just to hit groundstrokes. Last time I heard him speak he said that he can only serve 65-75% but it hurts him for a few weeks after and its just not worth the bother. He did also think that when he retired his family should get all of his time and attention, not tennis (again).

My guess is that the champions tour is struggling and Rafter is doing it as a favour for an old friend - he is that type of bloke.
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Makes even more sense. Did he get surgery on his shoulder? Or is it just not responding anymore? Realistically, I don't think the Champions Tour is *that* much of a commitment for any of these guys really except Courier (since he's also basically like the shop owner as well) and McEnroe (he has to take it more seriously than the others at his age to stay competitive).

Yes, Rafter is that type of guy who'd do it as a favor. Bruguera didn't pick up a racket for months after retiring, but then an old friend asked him to fill in at a challenger tournament as a favor to him so he did. I guess I'm too cynical, but I still don't doubt that Rafter's probably getting a pretty penny to show up anyway (not saying he doesn't deserve it, but I really wonder what the pay off incentive is to these former champions to show up and schmooze a little with the fans in the wine and cheese tents afterwards).
 
C

classic tennis

Semi-Pro
!Tym said:
Makes even more sense. Did he get surgery on his shoulder? Or is it just not responding anymore? Realistically, I don't think the Champions Tour is *that* much of a commitment for any of these guys really except Courier (since he's also basically like the shop owner as well) and McEnroe (he has to take it more seriously than the others at his age to stay competitive).

Yes, Rafter is that type of guy who'd do it as a favor. Bruguera didn't pick up a racket for months after retiring, but then an old friend asked him to fill in at a challenger tournament as a favor to him so he did. I guess I'm too cynical, but I still don't doubt that Rafter's probably getting a pretty penny to show up anyway (not saying he doesn't deserve it, but I really wonder what the pay off incentive is to these former champions to show up and schmooze a little with the fans in the wine and cheese tents afterwards).
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The $100 K for four day's work might have something to do with it, but good on him.
 
T

!Tym

Hall of Fame
classic tennis said:
The $100 K for four day's work might have something to do with it, but good on him.
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Hey man, for 100K for four days work I'll schmooze with anyone. ...any takers? I'm really cool :cool:, like to talk :lol:, and sassy :mrgreen:! Oh, so sassy :mrgreen:!
 
jmsx521

jmsx521

Hall of Fame
When I was looking at this thread from the home page of TW, the thread was reading Pat Rafter comes out of..., so I thought, Rafter comes out of the closet? I thought he was married for many years!? So, it wasn't until I clicked on the link that I found out it was not what it seemed to me initially.
 
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1

1970CRBase

Guest
!Tym said:
Hey man, for 100K for four days work I'll schmooze with anyone. ...any takers?
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I wouldn't say it's just the money. It's also as a favour and because they (Rafter and Bruguera) want to do it. You can't just throw money at a man, especially when these guys probably don't need it ..... :)
 
T

!Tym

Hall of Fame
1970CRBase said:
I wouldn't say it's just the money. It's also as a favour and because they (Rafter and Bruguera) want to do it. You can't just throw money at a man, especially when these guys probably don't need it ..... :)
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Nah, I know, was just joking. But whether they need the money or not, 100k for a few days work, some exercise, some fun, some socializing, some adulation from the crowd and an MC like Wayne Bryan or someone telling you how wonderful you are? I think almost all of us would take that.

Even if you just took and donated whatever profit you made for showing up to charity, it'd be worth it.

Btw, if somebody tried throwing money at me? You know what I'd say to that man? I'd say, just try it buddy. Go ahead and make my day. I DOUBLE dare you. :grin:
 
hoosierbr

hoosierbr

Hall of Fame
Pat will bring some folks to the event. I'd see him if I could. If he plays in London, seeing Sampras, Borg, maybe Stich and possibly Rafter and Mac would be a helluva week. I'm there.

The ones that don't need the money or attention don't play. It's a shame that Edberg doesn't play on the tour. He can still ball.
 
R

rolandg

Semi-Pro
hoosierbr said:
Pat will bring some folks to the event. I'd see him if I could. If he plays in London, seeing Sampras, Borg, maybe Stich and possibly Rafter and Mac would be a helluva week. I'm there.

The ones that don't need the money or attention don't play. It's a shame that Edberg doesn't play on the tour. He can still ball.
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I thought Edberg did occasionally play on the seniour tour, or are those matches he plays with henman etc just exhibitions?

As far as I know this Rafter thing is going to be a one off, or maybe just one of a handful of events he will play. He has a multi-million dollar deal modelling underwear in Australia, so im guessing he's doing it for the thrill of it, rather than just for the money.
 
hoosierbr

hoosierbr

Hall of Fame
rolandg said:
I thought Edberg did occasionally play on the seniour tour, or are those matches he plays with henman etc just exhibitions?
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Edberg has never played on the senior tour because he's said it's too much work to practice, train and travel. He still plays a lot in Sweden and does an exhibition or two a year. Last year's with Henman in London was a fundraiser for Henman's charity.

I'm assuming Rafter is playing this one event to, in part, test the waters and see if he has any interest in playing a bit more.
 
D

Deleted member 21996

Guest
it will be nice to see some "Baseline to Net" uni-demensional serve and volley game for a change against the current "uni-dimensional deuco-to-ad baseline bashing"...
oops..... me and my big mouth
 
R

rolandg

Semi-Pro
hoosierbr said:
Edberg has never played on the senior tour because he's said it's too much work to practice, train and travel. He still plays a lot in Sweden and does an exhibition or two a year. Last year's with Henman in London was a fundraiser for Henman's charity.

I'm assuming Rafter is playing this one event to, in part, test the waters and see if he has any interest in playing a bit more.
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Cheers. That makes sense. Edberg is quite a successful businessman too, so I guess there is no need to play.

The problem with Pat I guess is that he lives in Australia, and it must be such a hassle to sit through the 20 hour flight if you're only going to play for a bit of a giggle.
 
hoosierbr

hoosierbr

Hall of Fame
rolandg said:
Cheers. That makes sense. Edberg is quite a successful businessman too, so I guess there is no need to play.

The problem with Pat I guess is that he lives in Australia, and it must be such a hassle to sit through the 20 hour flight if you're only going to play for a bit of a giggle.
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Agreed. Australia is a great country and fun to visit for a little fun in the sun but it must be a pain to live there having to sit on such long flights to go anywhere. I think that's part of the reason Darren Cahill moved from Adelaide to Las Vegas when he coached Andre. In the beginning I think he still commuted from Down Under. Lots of frequent flyer miles!
 
C

classic tennis

Semi-Pro
big ted said:
he probly didnt come back til now becuz he didnt turn 35 until recently..
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The BR tour is pretty lax on rules as they struggle to get fields together (look at the Rome event with just four players what a joke).

Anyway as they do what they like age has nothing to do with it, Rios played in Hong Kong a while back when he was 31.
 
R

rolandg

Semi-Pro
Edberg Set To Come Out Of Retirement

Edberg set to come out of retirement
2 hours ago

LONDON (AFP) — Sweden's former men's world number one Stefan Edberg, who has not played competitive tennis since he retired 12 years ago, could be set to face old rival Pete Sampras after agreeing to play two events on the Tour of Champions.

The 42-year-old six-time Grand Slam winner will play in the Trophee Jean-Luc Lagardere in Paris in September and at London's Royal Albert Hall in London in December.

Sampras, who like Edberg has committed himself to playing two of the tour events this year, is delighted at the prospect of playing the Swede again after a hiatus of 13 years.

"It's great to hear that Stefan is going to be playing because he's a great guy and a great player," said Sampras, who led their personal head-to-head 8-6.

"I'm looking forward to playing against him because I always looked up to him with his serve-volley game, his movement and the attitude that he had.

"I always thought that he was a real gentleman and I'm looking forward to seeing him, talking to him and just seeing how his life is as I haven't spoken to him for many years."

Edberg, who never won the French Open, said he was keen to meet up with some of his old rivals on the circuit.

"I retired from the ATP circuit 12 years ago and had often been asked to play on the Tour of Champions, but I had always said 'no' in the past," said Edberg.

"This time I decided to say 'yes' and I will play at the events in Paris in September and the Royal Albert Hall in London in December. They are beautiful cities and I am looking forward to seeing and playing against some of my old rivals."
 
rfprse

rfprse

Professional
^^^
It's a great news!
First Rafter and now Edberg to play more. My favorites are coming back.:)
 
R

rolandg

Semi-Pro
FORMER world No. 1 Pat Rafter will play his first tournament singles match in seven years next week at a Champions Tour event in Graz, Austria.

Rafter, who took a break from tennis at the end of 2001 and never returned, will make a comeback at the age of 35.

An opponent in his first tournament back could be Goran Ivanisevic, the man who inflicted the most painful loss of the Australian's career in the 2001 Wimbledon final.

Rafter did not stipulate how many of the eight remaining events on the tour this he would play in a comeback confirmed last night.

The Queenslander had said when inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame last January that he was more keen to become more involved in tennis after bringing his family back to the Sunshine Coast from Sydney.

"This year I have decided to get fit again. I train about five days a week - gym, running and some other interesting fitness techniques," Rafter said.

"I surf as much as I can as well. I understand quite a few of the players play the tournaments (on the Tour of Champions) so while it would be great to win in Graz, I just want to play well.

"It's probably the first time since retirement that I have actually felt this way."

Pete Sampras, 36, joined the Tour of Champions last year and Stefan Edberg, 42, says he will end a 12-year absence from competitive tennis at an event in Paris in September.

Rafter has been hitting more regularly with top Queensland juniors, including Australian Open junior champion Bernard Tomic and Jason Kubler, in the past year.

Other players to have entered with Rafter for the Austrian tournament which starts on Tuesday include former world No. 1 players Thomas Muster, Marcelo Rios and the supreme tennis entertainer Henri Leconte.
 
R

rolandg

Semi-Pro
Making his first ever appearance at a BlackRock Tour of Champions event, Pat Rafter raced to an impressive opening victory, beating Cedric Pioline 6-4, 6-2 earlier today in Graz, Austria.

Rafter, who retired from professional tennis in 2003, took little time to settle into the Austrian clay courts, breaking Pioline in the opening game of the match. From then on the Australian held serve with ease and comfortably took the opener 6-4. The second set was an equally comfortable affair for Rafter, who dominated Pioline with the sharp volleys and soft hands that won him the 1997 and 1998 US Open titles. After racing to a 5-1 lead Rafter had opportunities to win the match on Pioline’s serve but the Frenchman showed his fighting instincts and held serve to force Rafter to serve out the match, which he did to love.

Overall, the returning Australian was happy with his performance.

“I’m a little bit surprised!" he said.

“The ball felt really good off my racket and I served and returned well. I moved okay and the ball went where I wanted it to go so it was really nice."

But he admitted that he did feel some ring-rust after so long away.

"When it gets into tight situations you can forget what the correct play is," he said.

"There can be two or three points turning a match and if you don’t win those points sometimes you can lose those matches. I think that is probably the biggest thing. I’m staying fit back home doing a lot of fitness work. I’ve done a lot of running so my legs are ok. My heart is ok, I’m feeling strong. But I will see how much fun it is when I wake up tomorrow - I think I’m going to be sore!"

So, what were his first impressions of life on the BlackRock Tour of Champions?

"It’s interesting," he said.

"You want to put a good show on but people haven’t come to watch you stuff around. I think you have to play hard, do your best, and every now and then have a fun point. But you leave the jokes up to people like (Henri) Leconte, who are very funny naturally. Playing (Thomas) Muster will be a fun match because we will both go really hard at each other and run for everything. A lot of the guys are good friends so seeing them is fun! I’m looking forward to catching up with Goran (Ivanisevic) when I see him.

Rafter’s next opponent is BlackRock Tour of Champions stalwart Leconte.
 
D

Deleted member 21996

Guest
Edberg coming to? good news... i would love to see a game between these 2!
 
R

rolandg

Semi-Pro
Rafter To Play Muster In Final Eliminator

BlackRock Tour of Champions debutant Pat Rafter has set up a mouth-watering showdown with Austrian Thomas Muster for a place in Saturday’s final after both players notched up impressive victories in Graz today.

Rafter put in another confident performance to beat Frenchman Henri Leconte 6-3, 7-5 in the first match of the day. The Australian served and volleyed as if he were still on the grass courts at Wimbledon rather than the Austrian clay, and dominated Leconte to take the first set in just 30 minutes. After a topsy turvy opening to the second set which saw three consecutive breaks of serve, Rafter eventually looked to have the match wrapped up as he broke to lead 5-4. But Rafter allowed his opponent back into the match with a poor service game and Leconte took the opportunity to level the set at 5-5. The Frenchman’s reprieve was short-lived, however, as Rafter won 8 of the last 9 points in win the set 7-5.

After the match, Rafter admitted he was pleased to have beaten a tricky opponent.

“I felt pretty good,” he said. “He has so much talent that it’s hard to know what he is going to do. He came up with some beautiful shots and played very well I thought. It was a close match.”

The win puts him top of Group A with Muster close behind. The Austrian won a closely-fought contest with Cedric Pioline. After an impressive display of serving from both men the first set was decided by a tie-break which the Frenchman won 7-5. Rain then interrupted play which seemed to be to the benefit of Muster as the Austrian came out firing in the second set, quickly racing to a 5-1 lead. After claiming the set 6-1, Muster carried his scintillating form into the Champions’ tie break which he won 10-1.

“I played really well today,” said Muster. “I was unlucky to lose the first set and then the rain break helped me. The court got slower and I carried the momentum after the break.”

Muster and Rafter will now meet on Friday for a place in Saturday’s final. They have history. In 1994, Rafter won a tempestuous match at the French Open, one year before Muster won the title at Roland Garros.

“I hope I feel good for Friday because it will be a great match,” said Rafter.

“We had a bit of a run-in at the first match we played at Roland Garros in 1994. He was one of the favorites having won a lot of tournaments beforehand and I played him in the third round. I was a young kid coming up and I was not supposed to be beating him on clay. I played the best tennis of my life back then and beat him. I think my father still has it on video! I’ll be coming to the net and he will be passing me. We will have some fun.”

Home favourite Muster will be hoping to reverse a 0-3 losing streak against the Australian.

“I’ve always played bad against him,” said Muster. “He’s breaking your rhythm and he covers the net completely so I have to return and pass well against him. I want to reach the final here at my home tournament but it will be a tough task. I’m very confident though, I’ve played well in the past weeks.”
 
R

rolandg

Semi-Pro
Pat Rafter capped a perfect BlackRock Tour of Champions debut by overcoming Michael Stich 6-3, 7-6(4) to win the title in Graz today.

In a match heavily influenced by dramatic weather conditions, including torrential rain and lightning storms, Rafter produced some impressive serve-and-volley tennis to win through in an hour and 35 minutes.

The first set was decided by a single break of serve for the Australian. The second set was less comfortable as Stich fought back to level at 4-4 after going down an early break. Despite facing a set point, Rafter produced some strong serves to force the set into a tie break just as the heavens opened. Despite the heavy rainfall and fading light, both players produced some dazzling serve-and-volley tennis at the start of the tie break. At 3-3, the Australian switched up a gear to take the final four points of the match and power his way to a first BlackRock Tour of Champions title.

“It was fun to play Michael again,” said Rafter. “In the second set it turned into a really exciting match and he got back into it, played well and had set points. It was a lot of fun and then the rain came but it was good to be able to finish it. I’m looking forward to a holiday now!”

Rafter also paid tribute to a successful tournament in Graz.

“All in all I thought this was a really good event,” he said. “I had been told beforehand that it was a great show here and that the tournament director would look after us beautifully, and we really were.”

Despite losing to Rafter, Stich’s final appearance was enough to catapult him to the top of the South African Airways rankings, toppling previous number one Goran Ivanisevic in the process.

The German was a happy man.

“I secured the World No. 1 ranking spot!” he said. “I’ve never been No. 1 in the world before so finally I made that! The week wasn’t that bad after all! Rafter plays serve-and-volley all the time on his first and second serve and that makes it dangerous and different. He is just a great bloke and a fun guy to be with. He likes to compete but still have a good time and that is what we want to do.”

In the first match on court today, Frenchman Henri Leconte defeated Marc-Kevin Goellner of Germany in the play-off match for third place. Leconte, who took the place of the injured Thomas Muster, overpowered his opponent with his skill and variety to win convincingly in an hour and 18 minutes.

The Frenchman was delighted to be regaining some form.

“I’m very happy,” he said. “It’s been a long, long time since I’ve played this well. I’m happy because the tennis is coming back. I think I’ve played five matches this week and I don’t feel any pain so that’s really good for next week in Algarve. Everything is great in Algarve. It’s well organized the weather is great. The venue is fantastic, hotel and pool is great. And then we also have to play tennis, that’s maybe the worst part…! No, I’m joking, it’s good and a great place to be.”

Next week the BlackRock Tour of Champions will arrive at the Vale do Lobo Tennis Academy in the Algarve where the likes of Muster, Marcelo Rios, Goran Ivanisevic, and Guillermo Vilas will be competing to win the Vale do Lobo Grand Champions CGD.
 
R

rolandg

Semi-Pro
Moose Malloy said:
Interesting that Rafter still S&Vs on 1st & 2nd serve. On clay. And can win.
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From the BBC website:

How disappointed are you to see that there are virtually no specialist serve-volleyers on the tour any more? (lockyboy121)

It is disappointing I think, the game needs it. The game really does need to have contrasts. I always really enjoyed playing someone like Andre Agassi and hated to play other serve and volleyers because you didn't match up quite as well.

But just playing here on clay in Graz this week shows that you can actually serve and volley really comfortably on clay. I think it's up to the ATP and ITF to change the rules and help bring in conditions that make it more favourable for serve and volley players to develop.
 
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