| | MELBOURNE, Australia -- Patrick Rafter, at one time the
top-ranked player in the world, is in Bermuda hitting balls so he
can be ready for a tournament in Delray Beach, Fla., at the end of
February.
Rafter, who sat out the Australian Open to nurture his shoulder
back to full strength after surgery in October, said he won't try
to rush his return.
"I'm confident that when we crank up the workload, all of the
pain in the shoulder will be gone," he wrote in a syndicated
newspaper column.
"There is still a bit of pain with the slice backhand and the
volley and that is a worry," he said. "It's a matter of ensuring
the muscles in that area are stronger and more flexible."
Painful delivery
Ellis Ferreira says the "mental anguish" of playing to 18-16 in the fifth and deciding set of the men's doubles final was "like giving birth."
The 29-year-old South African, who partnered American veteran
Rick Leach to a grueling five-set victory over Andrew Kratzmann of
Australia and Wayne Black of Zimbabwe, later scaled down his
description to "pure torture."
Ferreira had two chances to win the match on Kratzmann's second
serve but the Australian survived on both occasions. Kratzmann
saved three match points before skewing a backhand wide on the
fourth match point.
It was Ferreira's first Grand Slam title and Leach's fifth.
"Rick kept me centered," he said. "I was freaking out but he
was calm. The guy is solid and that's why he's done so well."
Tiebreaker
Jim Van Allen saw Rick Leach's father play and then decided it was time to change the rules of tennis.
Dick Leach and Dick Dell share the record for the most games
played in a doubles set when they teamed in 1967 to defeat Len
Schloss and Tom Mozur 3-6, 49-47, 22-20 at Newport, R.I.
Leach, who won the men's doubles final after an 18-16 fifth set,
said his father was proud of his record, although it was probably
the type of set which inspired Jim Van Allen devise the tiebreaker.
"It took 6 hours and 10 minutes. Jim Van Allen was watching the
match."
The tiebreaker was introduced in Grand Slams in the 1970s.
Previously, a two-game advantage was needed to win a set if the
scores were level at 6-6. In a Grand Slam, only the third set in
women's or the fifth set in men's matches, if needed, are not
decided with a tiebreaker.
Price rise
By one prediction, ticket prices may rise by up to
30 percent for next year's Australian Open.
Tax experts expect a hike because tournament organizers will
need to cover a soon-to-be-introduced goods and services tax, or
GST, on prize money. So Tennis Australia, the nation's tennis
federation, as well as players and spectators will lose out, the
Sunday Herald Sun of Melbourne reported.
"Not only will tennis players be hit by a GST, but so will
Tennis Australia which will lose one-eleventh of all sponsorship
money to the GST," the newspaper quoted Ray Regan, president of
the National Tax and Accountants Association, as saying.
If his prediction is correct, a ticket for the men's final -- now
worth 89 Australian dollars (or $58 U.S.) -- would soar to 115.70
Australian dollars (or $75 U.S.) next year. | |
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Agassi beats defending champ Kafelnikov for Aussie Open title
Leach, with Ferreira's help, wins third Aussie doubles
title
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