Crowd favourite Pat Rafter will take on defending champion Andre Agassi in the semi-finals of the Australian Open. Rafter had things a little more difficult than Agassi in his quarter-final today, taking four sets to beat the 14th seed Dominik Hrbaty 6-2 6-7 7-5 6-0. Although he dropped the second set, Rafter was otherwise in blistering form and won 12 of the last 13 games in the match to set up his semi-final tie with the American.
Rafter announced before this tournament that this would be his final year on the Men's Tour for the foreseeable future and so he has the fans behind him as they would love to see him reach the final in what could be his final appearance at this Grand Slam event, especially as he has never before progressed beyond the fourth round at the tournament.
Agassi is well aware of the support Rafter will have and also of the threat he poses. "I think it's great for the fans here and all around the world because Pat's appreciated everywhere. I just kind of wish he had already retired and then I wouldn't have to think about him," he said. However, Rafter too is familiar with the American, especially as they have already faced up to one another 15 times before.
"The way he's playing I'm going to have to serve better, hit my groundstrokes better and be a bit more inventive from the baseline. I don't want to hang around with him - he's dangerous," said Rafter about the semi-final tie.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
