By KATHY MARKS
In the sauna that was Centre Court at Melbourne Park last night, it came down to the survival of the fittest, and it was a sweating, staggering Pat Rafter who was the first to succumb.
Rafter, the home favourite to win the Australian Open title, was beaten 7-5, 2-6, 6-7, 6-2, 6-3 in the semi-finals by defending champion Andre Agassi, after suffering leg cramps so severe that he could barely move in the fifth set.
In the men's final on Sunday, Agassi will play either Sébastien Grosjean or Arnaud Clement, the two Frenchmen whose semi-final was due to take place today.
The 187-minute Rafter-Agassi match was staged on a brutally hot evening, with the temperature reaching 28C and humidity so high that spectators wilted in the stands.
Rafter began strongly, serving up four aces in the first game, but lost the first set after Agassi broke serve to go 6-5 up.
Then the balance shifted, and the 28-year-old Australian appeared on course for victory after breaking twice in the second set and prevailing in the third set tie-break.
Early in the fourth, though, he began to show signs of fatigue, swallowing rehydration tablets during the changeover and visibly slowing his pace on court.
During the break before the final set, the twice US Open champion had his thighs massaged by a trainer, but matters did not improve when play resumed.
Rafter stumbled around like a wounded warrior, sweat tumbling off him, as Agassi's passing shots whistled past him left and right.
Asked about the experience of playing a clearly ailing opponent, the American replied: "Pat is a very fit player, but these were tough conditions. Fitness is part of it. We were both working hard and I felt I earned that advantage at the end."
Rafter, who was forced to withdraw from his opening singles match against Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero in the Davis Cup final in Barcelona last month because of cramps, said: "I was playing very well, I was very happy with the way I was hitting the ball. To fall short because of some physical imbalance is very frustrating."
The outcome was bitterly disappointing to the Melbourne Park crowd, which set an all-time record attendance figure of 17,228.
With 25 years elapsed since an Australian man last lifted the trophy at the home grand slam, hopes had been high that the popular Queenslander might end the drought.
There was another reason why Rafter, who defeated Agassi in an epic five-setter in last year's Wimbledon semi-finals, was the sentimental favourite.
This was possibly his last appearance at the Australian Open; he plans to take an indefinite break after this season.
Agassi, who hopes to leave Australia with his seventh grand slam title, was sluggish, too, but he was able to call on superior physical resources as the heat took its toll.
The 30-year-old Las Vegan has worked hard on his fitness, and he is in far better shape than he was 10 years ago.
Rafter, who had never before advanced beyond the fourth round in Melbourne, fired 22 aces during the match and continued to produce lethal volleys even in the final set.
But the effort of sprinting to the net clearly exhausted him, and he made 50 unforced errors to Agassi's 12.
It never crossed his mind to pull out. "You never know what might happen out there," he said.
"You've got to try. I wasn't going to walk off playing possibly my last match of the Australian Open with injury. I was going to play it out. But I knew I was buggered."
- HERALD CORRESPONDENT
Tennis: Agassi outlasts Rafter
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.