6th June, 1999
OPEN SLATHER FOR MYSTERY PLAYERS by Pat Rafter
THE French Open has thrown up its share of mystery players over the years and this season has been no exception.
If somebody had predicted pre-tournament that Fernando Meligeni, Dominik Hrbaty and Andrei Medvedev would be in the semi-finals vying for glory with Andre Agassi, they would have been laughed at. But they were there and all of them performed well to get there.
Losing semi-finalist Meligeni knocked me out in the third round and anybody who can nail Alex Corretja in straight sets on clay can obviously play.
Slovak Hrbaty has great stamina and should have beaten Pete Sampras at the Australian Open three years ago when he led 4-2 in the fifth before Sampras got over the better of him in fierce heat.
Medvedev has always been an enigma. He went into the French Open ranked 100 in the world, yet knocked over Sampras and then thumped the favourite, Gustavo Kuerten. On that form alone, Medvedev is capable of beating anyone in the world.
And Andre is Andre. You just never know with him. He was in real strife against Carlos Moya, the defending champion, but he pulled out a fantastic win.
I was happy with the way I played in Paris, but I think I paid the price for doing well at the Italian Open (finalist) and the World Team Cup (winner) in Dusseldorf.
In the end, I felt a bit tired and could not stay with Meligeni when I really needed to. I had the opportunity to be world No. 1 if I had made it to the quarter finals and I am disappointed that I have not achieved that, but it is not something I am obsessed with. Rankings are the end result of playing well. If I continue to play well, the ranking takes care of itself.
REGARDLESS of what happens to Agassi at the French Open, his comeback has been one of the most extraordinary in tennis. His ranking blew out to 140 and had to go back to the satellite circuit to rebuild his confidence, form and fitness. That is pretty tough for anybody, let alone someone who has already won three majors and has been ranked No. 1 in the world.
I SPENT a few days in Paris after losing but I am now in Halle, Germany, for my first grasscourt tournament of the year. I have decided to come to Halle this year instead of returning to Queens in London for several reasons.
I have taken a bit of a punt on the weather being better in Germany than England and that will hopefully mean more practice time. Also the Queen's courts are almost too good. They are more like a slippery hardcourt than a grasscourt and I find it hard to keep my footing there. When my movement is affected like that my whole game suffers.
The courts at Halle are rougher, allowing me to get a better grip and it helps my service too.
IT is difficult to absorb everything written and said about you sometimes, but I was heartened to hear John Newcombe predict I could win Wimbledon this year.
As a three-time Wimbledon champion and world No. 1, Newk knows plenty about the sport and I desperately hope he is right.
I would love nothing better than to be there on the final Sunday at Wimbledon, playing off in the singles final. Having won the US Open twice, winning Wimbledon, the Australian Open and the Davis Cup for Australia remain my highest priorities.