Rafter Repeats U.S. Open Triumph

NEW YORK--It was Aussie Rules tennis at the U.S. Open yesterday, and Patrick Rafter had by far the bigger, meaner game.

Rafter retained his title with an awesome display of speed and accuracy, winning an all-Australian battle with Mark Philippoussis 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-0.

Both players dived to the concrete courts and sent volleys rocketing across the net. But Rafter had near perfection to go with his power.

The third-seeded Rafter had just five unforced errors against the unseeded Philippoussis, whose usually overpowering serve became a liability. He had just five aces and 13 double faults, the last on the final point of the match.

Rafter won the final 10 games.

"Now I feel that last year wasn't such a fluke. Now I can look at people and say I've done it again," he said. "Having the experience last year really helped me in this match. I was very relaxed out there."

Rafter, who had to rally from a two-set deficit in the first round but never was threatened again in the tournament, won $700,000 and moved up to No. 2 in the world rankings--just behind Pete Sampras, whom he defeated Saturday in the semifinals.

The match was tied at one set apiece and 2-2 in the third set when Rafter took command. After holding serve, Rafter moved to break point on an incredible point when he raced around the court to return an overhead, a forehand into the corner and a drop shot.

He broke Philippoussis' serve on the next point.

Rafter then won the next eight games to close out the match.

During changeovers, Rafter thought back to his five-set victory over Hicham Arazi in the first round.

"I was thinking to myself, This is not right, I should be at home," he said. "I was very lucky and I felt that way the whole tournament, very lucky to be here."

Rafter, looking like a Samurai warrior with a pony tail and a mangy beard that he grew during the tournament, has a game tailor-made for the hard, fast courts and hard, fast balls of the U.S. Open.

Philippoussis, in his first Grand Slam final, stayed in the match by saving 13 of 14 break points until midway through the third set, but Rafter converted five of his six break points after that.

Rafter faced just three break points in the match and lost his serve only once. His serve was broken only seven times in the seven rounds of the tournament.

It was intense tennis from the start. Late in the first set, Rafter tumbled to the court for a shot. When a ballboy brought over a towel, Rafter dried off the court-not himself. Philippoussis made a similar dive later in the match.

Rafter's victory gave the Open its second consecutive repeat champion. Sampras won in 1995-96.