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 | | Wednesday, 12 December, 2001, 05:57 GMT Rafter reaches break point  Rafter's injury problems have been well documented Patrick Rafter rubber-stamped his proposed hiatus from tennis when he was the only man in the ATP's top 100 not confirmed for January's Australian Open. The two-time US Open-winner has been dogged by a troublesome right shoulder for over two years and his indefinite sabbatical from the tour comes as no surprise. Rafter was forced to miss the deciding singles rubber in Australia's Davis Cup defeat to France in early December after the injury flared up. He watched on as replacement Wayne Arthurs lost to Nicolas Escude in four sets. Fellow Australians Mark Philippoussis, returning from a knee injury, and newly crowned number one Lleyton Hewitt head the home assault in the first grand slam of the year.
No Australian has won the event for 26 years. Andre Agassi returns to defend his crown as he attempts to become only the third man in history to win three successive Australian Opens. Jack Crawford managed the feat in 1931-33, before Roy Emerson annexed five on the spin in 1963-67. Pete Sampras and Yevgeny Kafelnikov are other former winners bidding to win the event for a second time. Sampras, who has slipped to ten in the world rankings, signalled his intent by accepting a wildcard entry for the AAPT Championships. Beginning on New Year's Eve in Adelaide, the AAPT is a traditional warm-up for the Australian Open but one in which Sampras has never before appeared. The Australian Open runs from 14-27 January in Victoria's capital city, Melbourne. | |
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