Sunday, August 06, 2000
Ailing Rafter visits town but won't play
Questionable for U.S. Open
By Michael Perry
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MASON — Patrick Rafter came to the ATP Tennis Center on Saturday for just a few hours, partially out of respect to the Tennis Masters Series Cincinnati event and tournament chairman Paul Flory.
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TENNIS MASTERS CINCINNATI
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• When: Main draw (64 players), Aug. 7-13
• Where: ATP Tennis Center, Mason
• Tickets: Prices vary by day (from $14-$36). Call 651-0303 or TicketMaster at 562-4949.
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Rafter, the 1998 champion and 1999 runner-up here, also was in town to get checked out by ATP Tour trainers before returning home to Bermuda to start rehabilitation on the ailing right shoulder that forced him to withdraw from this week's tournament.
“It really needs rest,” he said. “It's a week-to-week thing. I can't commit to anything at the moment unfortunately. ”
That includes the U.S. Open, which he has won twice. The final Grand Slam of the year begins Aug.28. Rafter said he won't play in Indianapolis next week, and at best he'd like to play Long Island from Aug.21-27.
“I'm hoping I'll get a few matches before the U.S. Open, but even that might be optimistic,” he said. “I'll only do (the U.S. Open) if I feel my shoulder's right. ... If things don't happen in five weeks, six weeks, then I'll be getting nervous.”
One thing he wants to avoid is more surgery. The problem for Rafter has been fatigue. His shoulder has regained some of its muscle strength, but when it tires, it puts pressure on a different part of the rotator cuff, on which he had surgery in October.
He ends up in pain when he serves and on many fore hand shots.
Rafter won in Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands, in June, then advanced to the final at Wimbledon, where he lost to Pete Sampras. He competed for the Australian Davis Cup team, then advanced to the quarterfinals in Toronto. He totaled 18 matches (he won 16) in seven weeks.
“The shoulder did its job during Wimbledon and Davis Cup,” Rafter said. “I didn't feel it much. When I started hitting balls before Toronto, it was sore. I thought I could get through it. It has just gotten progressively worse.”
ATP Tour trainer Doug Spreen, a Cincinnati native, said he's not surprised Rafter has had some setbacks.
“It would be normal that you don't have a completely smooth progression,” Spreen said. “I expect him to be pain-free at times. I don't expect him to play week after week pain-free. Even after surgery, it's not an uphill climb. There are bumps in the road. The hope is that it's a minor hiccup.”
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