Rafter tips Roger
Rafter tips Roger
By PAUL MALONE
09jan05
PAT Rafter believes Roger Federer can become the greatest tennis player
of all time.
"I never played Roger at his best, thank God," Rafter said.
"Federer has the opportunity now to go down as the greatest player of all
time. To me, he's the smoothest player.
"Tony Roche will make Roger an even better player. But he already has the
most complete game I've ever seen."
Federer's three grand slam titles in his $7.9 million 2004 took his total
to four by the age of 23 -- 10 short of Pete Sampras's men's record of 14.
Rafter, 32, won all three matches he played against Federer in 1999 and 2001.
By that stage, Federer had played three full years on the tour and entered
the top 20, but was yet to reach a grand slam semi-final.
Most of Rafter's career-defining battles were against Sampras and Andre
Agassi, winner of eight major titles.
Yet even they did not make Australia's former world No. 1 marvel in the same
the way Federer has in performances such as his two "love" sets against Lleyton
Hewitt in last year's US Open final.
"There's a lot that makes up a winning formula in players," the dual US Open
winner said.
"In terms of Pete and Andre, they all have different attributes that makes
them champions in their own right.
"Confidence was the difference with Roger as a player, then and now. He's
different to Lleyton. Lleyton believed in himself from the start and would
rip your head off to win a match.
"Federer wasn't like that. He had to get the belief and his game has fallen
into place, too."
Federer's winning streak against opponents ranked in the top 10 has risen to
23 matches.
The only man to win the Grand Slam twice, Rod Laver, said Federer was equipped
to become the third man to achieve it, although the French Open, the one major
title he was yet to claim, would be difficult.
Laver said Federer was "head and shoulders" above his rivals last year, but was
at his most vulnerable in the first week of a grand slam event.
"He's got great talent and desire -- he's such an instinctive player," said
Laver, who will come to the Australian Open for the event's centenary year
celebrations.
"If he really gets into a tournament, he's so hard to beat these days. But
there are a lot of good players and he might need to be playing well in the
second or third round."
Laver declined to say how his game from the 1960s would have gone in a
time-tunnel match against a 2005 model Federer.
"I'd say give Roger an old racquet, then we're looking at equal things," he
said.
"You shouldn't compare players from different eras in my book. The amount of
spin and power they get with the composite racquets now makes it even harder to
compare people from this era with Don Budge (1938 Grand Slam winner)."
Rafter said there was good reason to believe world No. 3 Hewitt would go
further into this month's Australian Open than he had done previously in a
tournament in which his best result so far has been the fourth round.
"He's prepared better than any other year and I think he's really excited about
the Australian Open," he said.
"Lleyton's really given himself a good chance. We'll wait and see how the
(speed of the) courts pan out."
Laver said Australian Open officials were right to no longer tinker with the
speed of courts to maximise Hewitt's winning chances, as European players
criticised them of doing when Rafter and Mark Philippoussis were given faster
conditions to win at Melbourne Park.
"You shouldn't do it to prove a point and get your player a win, which some
tournaments have done in the past," he said.
"It has to be level for everyone, and I thought Rebound Ace was a fairly good
court anyway."
Agassi, 34, a four-time Australian Open winner with a determination for
off-season training some of his contemporaries have lacked, has accepted he
needs to lift his performance level to challenge Federer.
Agassi lost both his clashes with Federer in last year and has an unusual
complaint about the Swiss star's effect on men's tennis.
"Most of the time he's making it look too easy to enjoy," said Agassi with a
smile.
"His biggest weapon is his forehand and his movement. He's a really explosive
mover and his forehand's just a nasty shot.
"He does a lot of things really well and he does a few things really great."
--
Watching Federer play tennis is like witnessing a very gifted
artist find his full expression. Seeing true greatness in sport
is a rare privilege... Roger also seems to be very honest and
genuine. Here's hoping he stays that way.
--
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