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ATP TOUR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

November 14, 1997

Patrick Rafter

HANNOVER, GERMANY

Q. Pat, you seemed to be struggling right from the start with the serve today.

PATRICK RAFTER: I haven't had real good success against Pete the last few times. Kind of a little bit annoying more than anything. Pete returns really well. Always puts you under a lot of pressure. That's again what he did to me today. Just couldn't pick up my serve.

Q. Was fatigue a factor at all for you?

PATRICK RAFTER: No, not at all. Did I look tired?

Q. No.

PATRICK RAFTER: No, not at all. Just one of those days. Just one of those days, I guess, you know. Nothing seems to go your way.

Q. Pat, we talked about it the other day, talked about it at Munich. Is he just too good for the rest at the moment or can anyone get him?

PATRICK RAFTER: I don't know. I mean, he just loves playing me, I think. Just loves my kind of game. Yeah, I'm sure he can have his days, has to have his bad days. But consistently day in and day out, he's the best player in the world. That's why he's been No. 1 for the last five years. You know, asking me is not probably a fair indication because he always kicks my ass, so probably ask someone else.

Q. Not to sort of drum anything up for the new year or anything, but if you got him at Melbourne with all the crowd right behind you, do you think that would be a better chance, or would the pressure be even more then?

PATRICK RAFTER: Got nothing to lose, have I? Keep losing. One day I've got to win. That's the way I see it. You know, maybe after ten times, maybe I'll get him again. I don't know.

Q. Do you think in a way you could have too much respect for him?

PATRICK RAFTER: Too much respect? Maybe. Pretty hard not to have respect for a guy like that, though. No, he's just -- he just really seems to like my style, I think. Some players like it; some players don't.

Q. Pat, before the match, were you a little bit disturbed by the different combinations that we have, maybe if you win two sets, if you lose in three sets?

PATRICK RAFTER: No, I just wanted to get it in. I wanted to win the match, obviously. My main goal was to make a set to make the semifinals. It didn't happen.

Q. You slept well?

PATRICK RAFTER: Pardon me?

Q. You slept well last night?

PATRICK RAFTER: Yeah. I was very eager to get up this morning, though. I really wanted to play. I guess right now it's sort of a let down because I was so close to making the semis. I was really looking forward to it, thought I was going to do it. All of a sudden not to make it, you know, I'm a little bit, you know, disappointed.

Q. You're not the first to start of fall to the round-robin thing, not the last. Does it seem kind of strange that you blasted Moya off the court the other night and now he's put you out of the tournament?

PATRICK RAFTER: Well, you see, Moya got off to a great start beating Pete. He beat the best player in the world. You know, that's too good. Maybe it would have been unfair to look at it the other way. If Muster got a set off Moya and I lose to Pete like one-one, I'm already in. Does Moya say, "That's not fair because I beat Pete"? There's different combinations and different ways to look at it.

Q. Do you like round-robin or would you rather have it straight?

PATRICK RAFTER: No. I think it's a great format. It's better if you have four guys competing, though, instead of three.

Q. Pat, as disappointed as you are now, you still must be happy with the enormous satisfaction on the year?

PATRICK RAFTER: Oh, yeah. I'm very disappointed, but I've got to just look at it -- that's the way I've got to look at it. It's been a great year. I've had a couple of really good matches here. I'm happy. I guess it's natural to have a bit of a low point when things don't go your way. But, you know, I've got to pick myself up, you know, just look at it that way. It's been a great year. Next year will, hopefully, be even better.

Q. How long will the tennis racquet get put away for?

PATRICK RAFTER: It's going to be at least three weeks. I'm really looking forward to not picking up a tennis racquet for a while.

Q. What does the next few weeks hold? You have a lot of government stuff.

PATRICK RAFTER: A few government things. I have a lot of charity things to do. I guess it's going to be a bit of a media scene. Going to be a lot of beach, a lot of golf, a bit of partying.

Q. What is your golf handicap?

PATRICK RAFTER: It's around about 12, something like that. I enjoy it. I'll be doing a lot of that, so. .

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