Patrick Rafter
Patrick Michael Rafter ( born December 28, 1972 in Mount Isa, Queensland ) is an Australian former tennis player. He was on 26 July 1999 to August 1, 1999 for a week the world No. 1 ranking.
- 2.2.1 victories (10 )
- 2.2.2 finals ( 8)
Career
He won the U.S. Open in 1997 and 1998. In 2000, he was on the verge of becoming the first Australian after Pat Cash, who triumphed at Wimbledon, but he lost to Pete Sampras. In 2001, he lost the finals again, this time against Goran Ivanisevic. Rafter also won the 1999 doubles competition at the Australian Open.
In the Davis Cup, he reached with the Australian team in 2000 and 2001 finals, but won none of the two finals against Spain and France respectively.
On 30 November 2001 he played his last game as part of the Davis Cup against Sebastien Grosjean. Then he ended his active career because of chronic back problems. According to the ATP, he has earned prizes in the amount of 11,127,058 U.S. dollars.
Rafter was one of the tennis pros who watched the impact and ball flight strategy ( serve and volley ). 2006 saw his induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. He was honored as Australian of the Year 2002.
Since 2008, Rafter plays in tournaments in the ATP Champions Tour. His debut, he celebrated with a tournament victory in Graz and has since won two more tournaments on the tour.
At the Australian Open in 2014 Rafter was on the side of Lleyton Hewitt, a short comeback, but already retired on the first lap.