Pat Rafter Answers Your Questions - continued
Q: What was the best professional match you have ever played?
Pat: My semifinal match against Michael Chang at the US Open in 1997 was pretty flawless. I went into the match not knowing whether I would win or not but I won pretty comfortably. I think that was probably my best match for flawless tennis.
Q: Who was the best serve and volley player on the ATP Tour in 2008 and which current player do you think is most like you?
Pat: No one [on the current circuit] really plays like I do. But I can name three players here on the Champions Tour who are all playing a bit similar (Goran Ivanisevic, Michael Stich and Pat Cash). It was a lot more common to play more serve and volley earlier, like Stefan Edberg or Pat Cash. Some players do serve and volley but they are not traditional serve and volleyers in my book. Guys like Ancic come in a little bit, he is that sort of player. He is a lot better in a lot of areas than I am but probably doesn’t play the net game as well quite yet.
Q: What is the best piece of advice you would give to a junior tennis player, hoping to become a professional? (Michael Stich walks into the room saying: ‘Sex, Drugs, & Rock ‘n’ Roll!’)
Pat: There we go, Michael Stich just came up with some crackers right there… It might be ok for a while… I know Michael Stich tried that and he won Wimbledon… Best advice? Well, I think you have to learn to be very patient and learn how to play on clay. I think it’s a very good grounding for players. Over in Europe, they have very good clay court tennis and that makes you very tough. That’s the problem back in Australia, we don’t have that. I also think it’s important not to stay in junior tennis when you are 17 or 18, to get involved in men’s tennis as quick as you can because it’s a very different game.
Q: What is more important in tennis – natural talent or mental toughness?
Pat: You need a certain amount of talent to get to a certain level. But natural talent is not going to make you win every match. You still have to be mentally tough. You definitely need both of them. If you have got no talent you are obviously not going to be up there, you need to know how to hit a ball over the net and know what you are doing. And that comes with hard work as well. Once you are on the tour you need to develop mental toughness and that is one thing that Roger Federer did. He was not very mentally tough at all for the first three years he was on tour but he learned to be tough and he became a very good player.