THE SCOOP, WIMBLEDON DAY 13

Rafter: Will he stay or will he go?

By Sandra Harwitt
tennisreporters.net

Susan Mullane Camerawork USA, Inc.

Retire? Say It Ain’t So, Pat?

Or in the words of John McEnroe – “You can’t be serious?”

But according to Pat Rafter, a two-time U.S. Open champion, he is still adhering to the declaration he made at the beginning of the year that 2001 “might” be his last season on tour. Or at the very least he says he “might” take a 10-month or so break before returning to the tennis court. Can’t you just hear the 28-year-old Australian plunking down that check for the apartment at Century Village in Florida as your reading?

Even after Rafter showed just how sensational he can be by coming back from a break down in the fifth set for a 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 8-6 victory to send Andre Agassi packing in the semifinal for a second straight year, he was still suggesting retirement. When NBC commentator Bud Collins asked him if winning Wimbledon would change his mind, Rafter smiled and quipped, “But what better way to go out, don’t you think, Bud?”

Actually, Rafter has an excellent point – why not go out on top instead of waiting around, slipping down in the rankings and finally walking away when you’ve almost embarrassed yourself off the court. Of course, with the way Rafter is playing, bouncing back to top form after shoulder surgery in 1999 and an elbow injury earlier this year, the time when he would start to embarrass himself on a tennis court is not in the near future.

THE CHANG FACTOR
As an example, let’s look at Michael Chang.
From 1989 until 1997, Chang was firmly planted in the Top 10 and captured his one Grand Slam title at the 1989 French Open. He also journeyed to the final of three other Grand Slams – the 1995 French Open, and the 1996 Australian and U.S. Opens. Quite simply put, he was a contender.

But these days, like Michael or not, he isn’t a contender anymore. And I like Michael – we’ve always gotten along well and he once even served me breakfast, offering to get my food and even properly arranging my place setting, when he noticed I was going to leave an Embassy Suites buffet because it was too crowded and he was already well situated on line. But none of this takes away the fact that Chang is now a consistent second round loser at Grand Slams. And, in truth, the only thing that saves one from the discomfort of listening to Chang claim he can work his way back to the top is that he rarely gets called into the interview room these days.

While it’s admirable that Pat Rafter doesn’t want that kind of ending, what he also didn’t want was all the concentration this year to be on whether he will keep playing in 2002. Of course, Rafter made his own problems on this accord, which he began to realize in the first few months of the year. First of all, he didn’t firmly commit to retirement at the end of the year, leaving things hanging with a will see. Secondly, by even intimating retirement was a possibility, he made that the biggest topic of conversation surrounding his name. By the tennis version of March Madness – The Tennis Masters Series-Indian Wells and the Ericsson Open – it was easy to tell that Rafter was being drained by the barrage of retirement questions. I asked him then wasn’t he a little sorry he opened the door by going public and it was clear that he had some misgivings, but the always honorable Aussie explained his reasoning as “I wanted my Australian fans to know that it might be my last Australian Open. I owed that to them.”

One major motive that Rafter has for contemplating ending his career now is that he is an Australian. Living on the other side of the world makes it near impossible to return home when you only have a short break between tournaments. For Pat, time-off usually means heading to his Bermuda apartment, certainly not a punishing option, but not an opportunity to see friends and family.
Many people believe that if Rafter arrives at next January feeling fit and having had a great tennis season this year – a Wimbledon title would work wonders – he will decide not to walk away. Jim Courier, a former four-time Grand Slam champion and now a TNT commentator, is one that believes we will see Rafter circling the globe and chasing tennis balls in 2002 as usual. It’s Courier’s opinion that the time for tennis closure is not now for Rafter and his desire to play will outweigh any of the undesirable aspects of doing so.

Of course, if Rafter does turn up in 2002, he will have a new annoying question that will dog him on a weekly basis – why did you decide not to retire when you were thinking of retiring all last year?

Personally, I’m in the Courier corner on this one – I don’t think Pat will end up ending his tennis days. But maybe that is just being hopeful since it’s hard to see someone who is so talented, so pleasant and so cooperative disappear into the sunset when still in their prime. But, just in case he’s telling the truth, make sure to watch him in action whenever you can. In other words, don’t miss Sunday’s final when Rafter will take on either three-time Wimbledon finalist Goran Ivanisevic or local British hero Tim Henman for the title.

RODDICK'S FORMER BACK PAIN IS IN HIS FEET
On Friday afternoon, while the men’s semifinals were going at Wimbledon, newest tennis sensation Andy Roddick was the lead story on the NBC Palm Beach affiliates “Medical Breakthrough” segment.

Roddick sat comfortably at his backyard tennis court, telling NBC reporter Roxanne Stein how his budding tennis career nearly ended two years ago before it started.
“When I was like 16-years-old, I had back pain all the time with my lower back whenever I played for an extended period of time,” Roddick said. “If I had a rough day before, the day after I would be stiff in the back.”

Roddick sought out physical therapy treatment to resolve the problem, but nothing seemed to help. That’s when he went to Dr. Marc Klein, a Boca Raton podiatrist who solved his problem with a special custom-made orthotics known as “sole support.” The “sole support” orthotics cost a hefty $450 but last around six-to-eight years. It is designed to help balance a person’s body weight more equitably, support the arch better and can work for people who experience heel spurs, back and/or knee pain.

“Everybody throughout life have their feet collapse,” Dr. Stein said. “The way the average person sees it, their shoe size has changed. Once I put Andy in this type of orthotics, he basically told me his back pain was gone. I get a thrill out of seeing him play now and winning tournaments.”

As for Roddick, wherever he is in the world playing, building his reputation as the next American tennis sensation, you can bet his orthotics are comfortably located within his sneakers.

“As soon as I used the “Sole Support” my back pain went away rather quickly,” Roddick said. “It was surprising for me since I went to all this physical therapy to work on my back. I can’t play without them, it has helped me a lot and they’re a definite necessity for me.”