At last Pat Rafter has proved you can be nice and number one.

The 26-year-old Australian took over from Andre Agassi on Monday to confound critics who claimed he was neither tough enough nor ruthless enough to make it to the very top.

Men like Rafter used to be known as "good blokes" on the circuit, but they are few and far between in modern tennis where cash is king and sponsorship commitments outweigh socialising.

Rafter's drawl of "Sorry, mate" when a service throw-up goes awry contrasts sharply with the attitude of most players who won't even look each other in the eye at changeovers. With successive U.S. Open titles, more than $5 million prize money in the bank and a luxurious home in Bermuda, Rafter has made the most of his phenomenal natural ability on the court.

But just 13 months ago his world looked very different. Mentally Rafter had sunk to an all-time low and he was seriously questioning his future in the sport.

In June 1998 he crashed out of the pre-Wimbledon tournament at Queens to a compatriot ranked more than 100 places below him.

"I am as flat as I have ever been in my career. Sometimes I feel that I would just like to be a bum for a while," said the pony-tailed Australian.

But he caught a plane to the Netherlands, got a grip on his emotions and turned around his fortunes in spectacular fashion.

Rafter used his serve-and-volley game to win the title on the grass courts of Den Bosch before returning for Wimbledon.

A creditable display saw him reach the last 16 where he bowed out to localhero Tim Henman. Then the American dream began.

First stop was Toronto and the Canadian Open. Rafter became the first player since Ivan Lendl 10 years ago to win the title without losing a single set.

A week later he took the ATP Championship in Mason, Ohio, beating Sampras in the final.

Later that month he stormed the Hamlet Cup in Jericho, New York, beating Felix Mantilla for the title 48 hours before starting the successful defence of his U.S. Open crown, confounding critics like John McEnroe who had labelled him a "one Slam wonder".

Injury kept him out of the ATP Tour championships in Hanover and he spent the time reflecting and recuperating in Bermuda.

This year, he has been much more consistent and impressive - on all surfaces.

In May he reached the final of the Italian Open on clay in Rome, beating Andre Agassi, Nicolas Lapentti and Felix Mantilla before falling to Gustavo Kuerten.

He reached the third round of the French Open, defended his title in Den Bosch and then reached the semifinals at Wimbledon, his best performancethere, before succumbing to Agassi.

Rafter leads Australian men's tennis by example on and off the court. He propelled his country to Davis Cup victory over the U.S. by winning the deciding, five-set singles of a quarter-final against Todd Martin in Boston this month.

In a sport populated by inflated egos and multi-millionaires, Rafter remains resolutely down-to-earth.

After his U.S. Open win last September he gave a third of his winnings - $180,000 - to help children at a Brisbane hospital. He had donated the same amount to fund a leisure room at the hospital when he won theprevious final.

Tournament organisers have also been the beneficiaries of his sense of fair play. In 1997 in Lyon, Rafter lost in the first round and handed back the money he had been given to enter the tournament.

"I gave it back because I felt I was not well-prepared enough for the tournament," he said.