Rough road for Rafter
U.S. Open champ gets tough Australian draw
Posted: Friday January 15, 1999 11:00 AM
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Rafter, who is seeded third, will open against Oliver Gross Gary M. Prior/Allsport |
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- U.S. Open champion Patrick Rafter
was dealt an intimidating challenge when the draw for the
Australian Open was made at Melbourne Park on Friday.
The third-seeded Australian, who is struggling to make any
impact this year after missing the end of the 1998 season with a
knee injury, could face compatriot Mark Philippoussis in the fourth
round, in a repeat of their U.S. Open final.
Also in Rafter's quarter of the draw are Britain's Tim Henman,
the unpredictable Goran Ivanisevic, and Michael Chang. Chang first
has to overcome New Zealander Brett Steven, who has excelled on
home ground this week, before clashing with Philippoussis.
"Obviously Mark has been playing pretty good tennis over the
last couple of weeks," said Chang, who lost to Philippoussis at
the Colonial Classic Friday. "He gave me a lot of problems on his
serve today. But first things first. Brett Steven is not an easy
player to play against, and hopefully I'm able to get through that
match and take it from there."
A doubt remains over how far top seed and 1998 finalist Marcelo
Rios can progress. He is suffering from a back injury, and his
quarter of the draw includes a former finalist Todd Martin, the
rocket serve of Greg Rusedski, and the threat of Yevgeny Kafelnikov
or Jonas Bjorkman, who meet up in an intriguing first round battle.
Second seed Alex Corretja appears to have to a comfortable run
to the quarterfinals, with no less than five qualifiers in his
section of the draw. US Open quarterfinalist Thomas Johansson is
his likely opponent in the fourth round, with Karol Kucera or
Richard Krajicek scheduled to meet him in the quarters.
Andre Agassi, who with Philippoussis has drawn the shortest odds
for claiming the trophy, will be content with a draw that will not
see him face a major threat until the quarterfinals, where former
finalist Carlos Moya looms. His main obstacle until then is 12th
seed Albert Costa in the round of 16.
The women's draw lacks drama in the early stages, with the only
meaningful clash in the first round coming between 13th seed Irina
Spirlea and 1996 finalist Anke Huber.
Top seed Lindsay Davenport has a potentially difficult
quarterfinal against Venus Williams, while second seed Martina
Hingis will expect to get past her quarterfinal with the former
champion but unpredictable Mary Pierce.
Monica Seles, who remains undefeated in four former Australian
Open campaigns, could face up against Steffi Graf in the
quarterfinals. But the unseeded Serena Williams poses a threat in
that section of the draw, and she should advance to a third round
clash with Seles.
Graf, a winner of 21 Grand Slam titles, gives herself a chance
of No. 22 and Davenport agrees it's possible.
"She played very well to get to the semis and was probably a
little worn out today," Davenport said Friday after beating Graf
in the semis at the Adidas International in Sydney. "She can be
unbelievable at times and when you've won 21 Grand Slams, you've
got to count her as a favorite no matter what. I was just relieved
to see her on the other side of the draw."
Should results go according to seeding, Rios should play Moya
and Corretja should face Rafter in the semifinals. Davenport is
expected to play Jana Novotna, and Hingis should take on Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario.
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