Patrick Rafter recovered from a sluggish opening set to win in three against Belgium's Christophe Rochus to earn himself a place in the third round of the US Open at Flushing Meadows. The Australian trailed his 5' 7" opponent 5-2 before regaining his typically high paced serve and volley game to take the remaining games and the set 7-5.
Seeded sixth, the popular Australian made easier going of it in the final two sets, ousting the speedy Belgian 6-2 6-1 in one hour and 40 minutes. Rafter, who has suggested he may retire at the end of the year, admitted afterwards: "In the beginning he was counter-punching very well and he was making me play a lot of tough volleys. It was a bit of a scary time. He's a good little player. I didn't expect him to return so well,."
The 1997 and 1998 champion was so dominant in the third that he lost just two points on his own serve and converted all three of his break points. "He couldn't find a way to hurt me after a while and I think it frustrated him pretty badly," added Rafter who lost in the first round here the last two years.
Meanwhile, top seed Gustavo Kuerten and 15th seed Goran Ivanisevic began their campaigns for a second Grand Slam title of the season, winning their first round clashes with Czech serve and volleyer Daniel Vacek and American Hugo Armando respectively. Kuerten needed four sets, losing the third before eventually prevailing 6-4 6-4 3-6 7-5 in a time of two hours and 20 minutes. And Ivanisevic, who also claimed to be nervous in front of a big crowd that came out to see the new Wimbledon champion, vanquished his American opponent 6-4 6-4 6-3.
Filed by Shane Murray
