grif
Rookie
Q. What else has changed about the game?
PATRICK RAFTER: I think everyone is great athletes now, too. There was a
time when you would look and say, I reckon I can beat him athletically, but
not now. You got to be a great athlete.
Q. Do you ever look back and breathe a sigh of relief that Roger isn't...
PATRICK RAFTER: Roger was still in his nappies when I was playing him. It
was great. He wants me to come back so he can beat me.
Q. Have you watched Tsonga, and what do you think about his game?
PATRICK RAFTER: I saw him play against Gasquet, and I just loved the way he
changed the pace of the ball up. He did a lot of slow sort of looping balls.
I thought he could play from all court: Baseline, at the net, big serve, big
athlete, big kid.
But no one these days -- you never see anyone change the pace of the game
up. No one does the slice backhands or the loopy stuff anymore and he does
that, and he does that. It's just really nice. Not so much the slice
backhand, but he does the loopy stuff and just throws the guys junk every
now and then. I think it's really good.
Q. How do you rate Novak Djokovic's chances?
PATRICK RAFTER: Really good. I think he's a great player. I say he'll be a
No. 1 player at some stage in his career. I've seen Federer play better, but
these courts are probably not suiting him quite so much. I think they're
probably a fraction slower than they have been. That's just by looking. I
haven't played on it so I don't know.
I just don't know how well Roger is playing just yet. But he's such a great
champion. You'd probably still put your money on Roger to win, but I think
Djokovic has a really good chance.
Q. What do you like about his game the best?
PATRICK RAFTER: He's got a big serve, great returns, you know, that sort of
thing. Just great from the ground, great athlete, like all of them are now.
I don't see a lot of weaknesses in his game. I wouldn't like to play him.
Q. Is the gap closing between Roger and the others?
PATRICK RAFTER: I think everyone has got to come to a time when things start
closing up. But I don't know. Yeah, maybe. I don't know. You know, I think
Roger will probably start doing really well again around -- I think he's
always -- Roger plays very well on all surfaces, and that's the great thing
about his game.
But to me his strength lies from Wimbledon all the way through to the US
Open. In saying that, I'd love to see him in the French Open. He's been so
close so many times.
http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/news/interviews/2008-01-24/200801241201151380271.html
PATRICK RAFTER: I think everyone is great athletes now, too. There was a
time when you would look and say, I reckon I can beat him athletically, but
not now. You got to be a great athlete.
Q. Do you ever look back and breathe a sigh of relief that Roger isn't...
PATRICK RAFTER: Roger was still in his nappies when I was playing him. It
was great. He wants me to come back so he can beat me.
Q. Have you watched Tsonga, and what do you think about his game?
PATRICK RAFTER: I saw him play against Gasquet, and I just loved the way he
changed the pace of the ball up. He did a lot of slow sort of looping balls.
I thought he could play from all court: Baseline, at the net, big serve, big
athlete, big kid.
But no one these days -- you never see anyone change the pace of the game
up. No one does the slice backhands or the loopy stuff anymore and he does
that, and he does that. It's just really nice. Not so much the slice
backhand, but he does the loopy stuff and just throws the guys junk every
now and then. I think it's really good.
Q. How do you rate Novak Djokovic's chances?
PATRICK RAFTER: Really good. I think he's a great player. I say he'll be a
No. 1 player at some stage in his career. I've seen Federer play better, but
these courts are probably not suiting him quite so much. I think they're
probably a fraction slower than they have been. That's just by looking. I
haven't played on it so I don't know.
I just don't know how well Roger is playing just yet. But he's such a great
champion. You'd probably still put your money on Roger to win, but I think
Djokovic has a really good chance.
Q. What do you like about his game the best?
PATRICK RAFTER: He's got a big serve, great returns, you know, that sort of
thing. Just great from the ground, great athlete, like all of them are now.
I don't see a lot of weaknesses in his game. I wouldn't like to play him.
Q. Is the gap closing between Roger and the others?
PATRICK RAFTER: I think everyone has got to come to a time when things start
closing up. But I don't know. Yeah, maybe. I don't know. You know, I think
Roger will probably start doing really well again around -- I think he's
always -- Roger plays very well on all surfaces, and that's the great thing
about his game.
But to me his strength lies from Wimbledon all the way through to the US
Open. In saying that, I'd love to see him in the French Open. He's been so
close so many times.
http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/news/interviews/2008-01-24/200801241201151380271.html
Thanks for posting.
