Riding the wave of confidence, Rafter would go on to conquer a second US Open crown, defeating Pistol Pete once again , , , , before he beat fellow Aussie Mark Philippoussis , , , in the first all-Aussie Grand Slam final since Patrick Rafter had started as world No 4, following a tremendous second half of After claiming two successive Masters titles, he had won the US Open for a second time in a row. Sampras, who had been dominating the tour since , was exhausted after marathon finish to the season to end the year as world No 1 for the sixth time in row, and he played only four tournaments until May.
There was no other real leader on the tour at that time, so three players were in contention for the top ranking: Patrick Rafter and US Open champion , Carlos Moya Roland-Garros champion in , and Yevgeny Kafelnikov after he claimed the title at Melbourne Park. In March, Moya had been the first to get to the top, but remained there for only two weeks.
Interestingly, none of the contenders were in a good shape at the time and the situation evolved without much connection to their most recent results, making it quite confusing for anyone not familiar with how the ATP rankings were calculated.
Meanwhile, in the spring, Rafter was getting back in shape and twice, found himself one victory away from reaching the top spot. In May, in the Rome final, Gustavo Kuerten did not give him a chance , , The American had just triumphed at Roland-Garros, and was also in contention for the world No 1 ranking; in fact, that very spot was at stake in the Wimbledon semi-final, eventually won by Agassi in three sets , , Yet, three weeks later, without competing, Rafter supplanted Agassi.
How was that possible? It happened because the American was the defending champion in Washington, where he had triumphed in July , but in , the tournament had been moved to August. Thus, on July 26, , Agassi lost the points he had earned in Washington, as well as the world No 1 spot.
Rafter did not play any tournament that particular week, unlike his rivals. For Rafter, though, getting to No. He has also played three tour-level events in doubles since retiring, most recently the Australian Open with Lleyton Hewitt the Australian pair fell first round.
In , he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Rafter is one of just three Australian men to reach No. The other two are John Newcombe, who spent eight weeks at No. In , Rafter attempted to defeat Agassi and Sampras in the same tournament, and nearly succeeded. It took five sets to upset No. Perhaps gassed in the final against Sampras, Rafter took the opening set , but then gradually wore down, falling , , , In , Rafter was seeded No.
He stunned the No. Croatian Goran Ivanisevic was an unlikely finalist who served his way into the final with his left handed cannon, becoming the only male player to win the singles title at Wimbledon as a wildcard, needing three hours to defeat Rafter, , , , , Rafter played his native Australian Open nine times, his best showing was a semifinal appearance in He lost to eventual champion Agassi, who came back from sets down, , , , , Rafter did earn an Australian Open title, winning the doubles championship with Swede Jonas Bjorkman in five sets.
It was those types of enduring and humbling comments that endeared Rafter on tour. Accept and Close. Search Support. Hall of Famers. Hours and Admission. Hall of Fame Open. Private Event Rentals. In the Museum. Digital Exhibits. Breaking the Barriers. Tins, Cans and Cartons. Information Research Center. Historic Grounds. Tennis in Newport.
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