BY NEIL SCHMIDT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Patrick Rafter grins as he wears his crystal trophy on his head.
(Saed Hindash photo)
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MASON -- Make no mistake, Patrick Rafter is glad to keep winning. But when does winning now get in the way of winning bigger later? Rafter's career-best hot streak -- 10 matches won in a row -- could have repercussions. Believe it or not, a loss soon could do him good. "I'm a little concerned about my schedule," Rafter said. "I probably shouldn't have set up so many tournaments."
Just twice since the Great American Insurance ATP Championship moved to Mason in 1979 -- never since 1988 -- has the ATP winner followed this title with a U.S. Open crown. Among other factors, experts have theorized that it's hard to maintain a hot streak for several weeks.
In other words, it doesn't always serve a player to peak now, when he can peak at Flushing Meadows in September.
The most notable example came in 1995, when Andre Agassi had won 26 consecutive matches entering the U.S. Open final. He admitted afterward all that tennis caught up with him. Last year, Pete Sampras didn't drop a set in Cincinnati but was ousted in the round of 16 at the Open by Petr Korda.
Most players take a week off sometime in the month before the Open. But Rafter, the defending U.S. Open champ, will play this week in New Haven, Conn., and next week in Long Island, N.Y., then go immediately into the Open. Should he reach the second week of the Open, he would be in his seventh consecutive week of tennis. "I don't usually fire this early in my run," Rafter said. "But once you're playing well, you've got to ride it. That's what I'm trying to do."
Sampras will play in New Haven and take a week off before the Open. Should he be back at top form by then, a Sampras-Rafter reunion could make for a great matchup there.
Marcelo Rios remains the world's top-ranked player, but he is a clay-court expert who won't be favored in New York. Sampras and Rafter could go in as co-favorites.
Now that Rafter has shaken his eight-match losing streak against Sampras, he says he'll be confident should they meet again.
"If you let guys keep beating you all the time, it's not a great feeling," Rafter said. "But winning becomes a habit. Hopefully I'll keep this going."
