Rafter win vs. Agassi was sight to behold

MIZELL E-mail: Click here Archive

By HUBERT MIZELL

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 8, 2000

WIMBLEDON, England -- Tennis as art. It was a romantic, entertaining Wimbledon retro, Patrick Rafter's serve-and-volley bravado against the creative but suddenly crackable baseline excellence of Andre Agassi.

"I'm not objective on that point," the bald, strutting Nevadan said regarding match beauty. "Far as I'm concerned, it s----s." Agassi's thought, shared by most any globally supreme competitor, is that only winning can be gorgeous.

But we watched with ooohs.

Rafter, twice champion of the U.S. Open but heretofore a painful portrait of 2000 medical rehab, broke Agassi's serve in a stirring fifth set on his way to a 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 win.

As the American dug in, ravenous for a fifth-set pullout and feeling that Centre Court had become a personal foxhole, Rafter had the killer antidote -- extraordinary serving. Eighty percent of his scorching firsts were accurate.

Agassi was repeatedly rocked onto his sneaker heels. "All afternoon, Pat was serving first," he said. "When it came my turn, my situation always seemed to be 0-1 or 2-3 or 5-6. I never truly caught up. Rafter is a phenomenal athlete who, I would say, is fully healed."

There'll be no Americans-only men's final. Instead, it's six-time Wimbledon king Pete Sampras against the adventuresome, pony-tailed Aussie volley dude. In Sunday's final, Rafter gets a shot at Australian rejuvenation.

They once dominated Wimbledon, the lads from Down Under, winning five straight (1967-71), three by John Newcombe and two for Rod Laver. Since then, only Pat Cash (1987) has won for Australia.

Three of Rafter's brothers, plus girlfriend Lara Feltham, were in the Friends Box for the Agassi match. Pat's party will multiply by Sunday. His mother and father, Jim and Jocelyn, will make a 23-hour trip from Australia to be there for the Sampras match.

Though we may not detect any evidence, there has been a muddy little rivalry between Centre Court's dominator and the Crocodile Dundee of tennis.

Through the '90s, they have sniped at each other, mainly because of their differing philosophies. Sampras is a deeply serious jock; Rafter approaches his job with raucous flair. Rafter says they've talked by phone and that everything is cool.

"It's fine," Sampras said. "We respect each other's abilities. Maybe the media blew some things out of proportion that Pat or I said. It's over and done with."

You wonder.

"With the importance of Sunday's happening, on the biggest court in tennis," Rafter said, "any personal rubs from the past will have zero influence. You don't ever want to play Pete because he's so talented, but especially at Wimbledon, where he has been all but unbeatable."

Rafter is right. Since becoming Wimbledon czar in 1993, Sampras' match record is 52-1, losing only to eventual champion Richard Krajicek in the 1996 quarterfinals.

But don't think a Sampras win is a lock.

Sampras isn't at full furnace. His aching left shin gets constant icing, anti-inflammatories and acupuncture. Sampras doesn't move as well as a year ago. Rafter, if his return to physical abundance continues, should provide a glorious exam for him.

"Pete's injuries over the past few months have attacked in so many ways," said three-time Wimbledon ruler John McEnroe. "You can almost see his body giving out on Sampras. I know Pete's only 28, but there's a lot of mileage, matches and wear, considering how he plays tennis."

Rafter is another case.

"Doctors have warned me that my shoulder can take only so many more serves," Rafter said. "I hope to fool the medics. Most of all, I hope I don't use the last good serve of my life before Pete and I get through Sunday."

Sampras is courting history. He and Roy Emerson, another old Aussie goodie, each have won 12 Grand Slam tournaments. "I'd like to break (the record) here," Pete said. "But my legacy will be the last thing on my mind Sunday. My thoughts will be on my game and on Pat Rafter.

"I don't see it as pressure. It's a great moment for tennis and for me. If it doesn't happen here, maybe in New York (at the U.S. Open). But that cannot be what grips me. It is, most of all, a tennis match."

Like the one Agassi lost.

He was strongly favored against Rafter. He was the No. 2 seed behind Sampras. Up against 12th seed Rafter. Pat had been suffering, in status and body, during a six-month strain of getting well after rotator-cuff surgery.

Nobody knew if Rafter was fit for Wimbledon. Not even him. "I'm still not yet full gait," Rafter said. Even if, last month, he took a 200-foot bungee jump in Germany.

"This match with Andre was fabulous, a five-act play from some old-fashioned tennis textbook," Rafter said. "But when it ended, I was puffing like a fat sissy. I'm used to being at a loftier level with physical conditioning."

Agassi is wrong about the good looks of Friday's passion play. His attitude is understandable, maybe even apropos. Being bopped from Wimbledon, accompanied by girlfriend Steffi Graf, a seven-time champion here, was a sour whack.

Rafter had it right, with full appreciation of the sweaty beauty of their 3-hour, 18-minute wonderworks. A sweet departure from modern boom-boom effects of extreme men's tennis. It is, of course, easier for a winner to assess.

Agassi was miffed.

"At the biggest moments, Pat executed and I fell off," Agassi said. "He put pressure on my second serves, so I tried to pick up the pace, taking a few chances, then paying consequences. You don't win Slams without playing with courage."

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.

Headlines

Americans Lose in 1st Round of Davis Cup

---