1. Patrick Michael Rafter was born on 28 December 1972 and is an Australian former professional tennis player.
33 Facts About Pat Rafter
1. 2.
Pat Rafter was ranked as the world No 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals, and world No 6 in doubles.
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Pat Rafter was the runner-up at Wimbledon in 2000 and 2001.
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In doubles, Pat Rafter won ten titles, including a major at the 1999 Australian Open partnering Jonas Bjorkman, and two Masters titles.
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Pat Rafter became the first man in the Open Era to win the Canada Masters, Cincinnati Masters and the US Open in the same year, a feat repeated only by Andy Roddick in 2003, and Rafael Nadal in 2013.
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Pat Rafter is the third man in the Open Era to reach at least the semifinals of every major in both singles and doubles, after Rod Laver and Stefan Edberg, and remains the last man to date to accomplish this.
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Pat Rafter was known for his serve-and-volley style of play.
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Pat Rafter won his first tour-level match in 1993, at Wimbledon.
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Pat Rafter reached the third round, before losing to Andre Agassi.
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Pat Rafter defeated Pete Sampras in the quarterfinals in three tight sets, before losing to Boris Becker in the semifinals.
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Pat Rafter won his first career singles title in 1994 in Manchester.
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Pat Rafter defeated ninth-ranked Richard Krajicek in the Toronto final and second-ranked Pete Sampras in the Cincinnati final.
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Pat Rafter added that a tennis player must come back and win a Grand Slam again in order to be considered great.
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Pat Rafter then defended his US Open title by defeating fellow Australian Mark Philippoussis in four sets, committing only five unforced errors throughout the match.
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Altogether, Pat Rafter won six tournaments in 1998, finishing the year No 4 in the world.
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Pat Rafter won the Australian Open men's doubles title in 1999, making him one of few players in the modern era to win both a singles and doubles Grand Slam title during their career.
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At the 1999 French Open, Pat Rafter drew future world No 1 and 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer in the first round, making him the first-ever opponent of Federer in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament.
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Pat Rafter then reached the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time in 1999, losing in straight sets to Agassi.
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July 1999 saw Pat Rafter holding the world No 1 men's singles ranking for one week, making him the shortest-reigning world No 1 in ATP Tour history.
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Pat Rafter's ranking had fallen to No 21 by the time he reached the Wimbledon final in July 2000.
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The match was hailed as a classic, particularly because of their contrasting playing styles, with Agassi playing primarily from the baseline and Pat Rafter attacking the net.
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Pat Rafter faced Sampras in the final, who was gunning for a record-breaking seventh Wimbledon title overall.
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Pat Rafter played on the Australian Davis Cup Team that lost in the final in 2000 and 2001.
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Pat Rafter played on the Australian teams that won the World Team Cup in 1999 and 2001.
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In 2001, Pat Rafter reached the semifinals of the Australian Open.
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Later in the year, Pat Rafter again reached the Wimbledon final.
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Pat Rafter played his last match at the Davis Cup final on rubber, winning the singles but losing the doubles.
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Pat Rafter did return at the beginning of the 2004 season to play doubles at two tournaments only; the 2004 Australian Open and the 2004 AAPT Championships.
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In 2005, Pat Rafter won the International Club's prestigious Jean Borotra Sportsmanship Award.
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Pat Rafter was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame and inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2006.
31.
In 2009, as part of the Q150 celebrations, Pat Rafter was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for his role as a "sports legend".
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In October 2010, Pat Rafter was announced as Australia's Davis Cup captain.
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Pat Rafter stood down as Australia's Davis Cup captain on 29 January 2015.