Rafter is the third man in the Open Era to reach semifinals or better of every Grand Slam tournament in both singles and doubles, after Rod Laver and Stefan Edberg, and remains the last man to date to accomplish this. To date, only two players have followed this feat: Andy Roddick in 2003, and Rafael Nadal in 2013. He became the first man in the Open Era to win Canada Masters, Cincinnati Masters and the US Open in the same year, which he achieved in 1998 this achievement has been dubbed the American Summer Slam. His career highlights include consecutive US Open titles in 19, consecutive runner-up appearances at Wimbledon in 20, winning the 1999 Australian Open men's doubles tournament alongside Jonas Björkman, and winning two singles and two doubles ATP Masters titles. He reached the top Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking on 26 July 1999. That is up to him.Patrick Michael Rafter (born 28 December 1972) is an Australian former world No. He will dictate how he fits in with the Australian personality and persona of taking him on. “Lleyton has to work out how he wants to structure his team and how he wants it all to evolve. “You’ve got to have the buy-in with the players and Lleyton as well,” he said. While Rafter relished representing Australia in the Davis Cup, he said only time would tell if Kyrgios returned to the competition in 2023. We will wait and see what happens but it could work. “They have been together before in Davis Cup. They are together here (at the United Cup). Some people don’t like it.”Īsked if he was privy to any falling out be hind the scenes between Kyrgios and Hewitt, Rafter sa id: “That I don’t know. All our generation wanted to be there and play. “Obviously you have got Lleyton there running the show. If you don’t, you don’t just let down yourself, you let down the team. Could’ves,” said the former world No.1 and two-time US Open champion. Rafter didn’t necessarily agree that Australia would have won this year’s Davis Cup had Kyrgios been available. “Because I am not involved in it and don’t need to be, I really enjoy sitting back now and not have to say or do anything.” “I just sit back and watch it, see what comes out and have a bit of a laugh. I don’t really know what goes on with him,” Rafter told reporters in Brisbane on Monday. “He will have to work out how he goes about all that. Rafter relinquished the Davis Cup captaincy in 2015 after growing tired of watching Kyrgios and fellow wild child Bernard Tomic “unravel” during the early stages of their tumultuous careers.īlissfully content to remain on the outer, Rafter admits he’ll be as interested as every other tennis fan when Kyrgios teams up with Hewitt for Au stralia’s two-session opening United Cup tie against Great Britain in Sydney on December 29-30. Hewitt and Australian No.2 Alex de Minaur have made no secret of their ongoing attempts to entice Kyrgios back to the Davis Cup fold, going public with their frustration after losing this year’s final without the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up. Tennis legend Pat Rafter will be a fascinated observer as Nick Kyrgios makes his much-anticipated return to national colours at the inaugural United Cup mixed teams’ event.Īfter a three-year Davis Cup exile, claiming he hasn’t been sufficiently appreciated by Australian fans, Kyrgios will reunite with skipper Lleyton Hewitt under the United Cup co-captaincy of women’s great Samantha Stosur.
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