Tennis: Australian PM urges Rafter to keep playing

MELBOURNE - Sports-mad Australian Prime Minister John Howard has urged Pat Rafter to reconsider his plans to retire at the end of the year.

With Australia celebrating its national day on Friday, Howard said he left a dinner where he announced the Australian of the Year on Thursday night to watch Rafter's engrossing Australian Open semifinal against defending champion Andre Agassi.

Agassi beat an injured Rafter 7-5 2-6 6-7 6-2 6-3, with the Australian cramping so badly over the final two sets that he could hardly run in heavy humidity at Melbourne Park.

Rafter had looked to be in with a good chance of reaching the final of his home grand slam event for the first time when he took a two-sets-to-one lead over the super-fit Agassi.

It would have been a fairytale result for Rafter, who announced before the tournament that he was considering retiring at the end of the year.


"If it helps... Pat you looked in pretty good shape last night despite the cramps, and stay with it - you've got a lot of followers," Howard told Melbourne radio 3AW.

Howard is a self-confessed "cricket tragic" who has described batsman Sir Donald Bradman as the greatest living Australian.

Howard named Lieutenant-General Peter Cosgrove as the Australian of the Year on Thursday. Australia's top soldier, Cosgrove led the multinational force sent to restore peace and security in the former Indonesian province of East Timor in 1999.

The Prime Minister said Rafter also displayed character to which all Australians could aspire.

"Pat's got some of those things that we all hope are at the centre of the attitude of all Australians," Howard said.

"He's a great competitor, he's an extraordinarily friendly, likeable person and he's also got a very generous streak to him," he said.

Rafter, twice winner of the U.S. Open, is well known for his charity work off the tennis court.

He donated A$300,000 (110,000 pounds) to a Brisbane hospital after winning his first U.S. Open title in 1997. He made a similar donation to the hospital's ward for terminally ill children after winning again in New York in 1998.

The 28-year-old launched the Patrick Rafter Cherish the Children Foundation in early 1999.

"His work with underprivileged children and his generosity and his willingness to share his great good fortune with others is a role model to everybody, particularly to young people," Howard said.

Rafter said after Thursday's match that he was still considering whether to go through with retirement.

"I never really want to say this is definite retirement. I'm going to take a long break and see what happens," he said.