TENNIS CANADA OFFICIAL: Okay. Our defending champion is here, Patrick Rafter. Our first question?

QUESTION: Patrick, quick out of the box today, is that how you like it?
MR. RAFTER: Well, I'm usually a pretty slow starter in general. Today I wanted to try to change that, I wanted to come out with a little more intensity. I didn't realize it would be quite that intense, though.

QUESTION: Is it maybe a factor of being keen to get back after sitting on the sidelines, as it were, last week?
MR. RAFTER: Yeah, I know I've got a lot to do here, a lot to do over the summer and, you know, the sooner I get it out of the way, the better. I don't think I can repeat quite what I did last year, but I'm going to try to give it a go.

QUESTION: Did you feel maybe a little bit last week, even though you planned it that way, that it was maybe like watching when you might have preferred to be playing?
MR. RAFTER: Well, for the reason that I love L.A., it is one of my favourite tournaments of the year, just being there, these couple of weeks are a great fun stretch. L.A. is usually a good preparation week for me, I do a lot of hard work there ready for the summer. But the Davis Cup was there and, if I played in L.A. I think I would have been very flat many coming into this one, especially.

QUESTION: Patrick, how much pressure do you feel being the number 1 or number 2 player in the world and how does it affect your play?
MR. RAFTER: You had to read that question?

QUESTION: Well, I --
MR. RAFTER: No, not really. I think Kafelnikov has passed comment on it being very difficult to be number 1 in the world. And this week I'm not, obviously. And he was saying it is hard to stay up there. No, I mean, this is a great time of year for me to be playing tennis. These courts suit me very well and I feel like I'm hitting the ball well. I've done a lot of hard work. I know,
you know, if I lose, then the guy is going to have to play very well. So I don't really feel the pressure that well.

QUESTION: Pat, the ice pack on the shoulder, is the shoulder okay?
MR. RAFTER: Yeah, the shoulder is a lot better. It has been giving me a lot of problems since the French Open, but I have been able to monitor it pretty well. So I just have to keep on top of it this week. I've got the physio downstairs, along with Doug and Bill have been great.

QUESTION: Patrick, how difficult is it to defend the title when the tournament each year is in a different city?
MR. RAFTER: It sort of feels like you're not defending it in a way. It is a strange feeling. I was going to make that comment before, but you made it for me. It does seem a little bit strange.

QUESTION: Patrick, today for the first time in the program thousands of your fans found out about your nickname "Skunky". Do you want to talk about that now?
MR. RAFTER: Not really.

QUESTION: Last year you talked about using the hard court season as a prep for ultimately defending the U.S. Open but, in light of your success last summer, you do have a lot more on the line with all the other titles.
MR. RAFTER: Yeah, you know, the Grand Slams are what you want to do very well  at. That's where everyone wants to try to do their best and play their best tennis, but the Super 9s are also very big and the Canadian Open is always a pretty big tournament, for me, anyway.I don't know how to pick for tournaments, though. I'm not sort of one who says, okay, I've got to play this, this or this. For me, I need to play a lot of matches, get a lot of confidence and then that's the way I like to play my best tennis.

QUESTION: You seem to be the fan favourite wherever you go. How does this town compare as far as the others?
MR. RAFTER: This is a good town for me. The crowd has been great, it really has been very nice. Obviously, Australia is a big place for me to play tennis with the crowd, but, in Canada, it's been very nice.It's been strange, I think the number 1 thing has definitely had an impact as well. Coming onto the court the other night was a nice feeling.

QUESTION: In the next round you are up against a guy who returns serve pretty well, Jiri Novak. Do you expect more of a test than you had today?
MR. RAFTER: Not necessarily. I've always had a lot of tough matches against Alex, and I really respect his game. And today he was perhaps a touch off, and I thought he played a pretty good game as well. But I will be speaking to Stoltenberg tonight and getting a few tips. It would be nice to play Jason, we are mates.

QUESTION: Pat, when you had a little press conference on Saturday, you mentioned looking forward to exploring the city a little bit. In the past five days in town, have you discovered anything new about Montreal in terms of restaurants or...
MR. RAFTER: I've been eating at Buena Notte every night. I went to the old town last night. I am going to get some Japanese tonight. It's a great, fun, little place and I'm very happy here.

QUESTION: And, of course, with all the female fans here, there and everywhere, how have you been handling that?
MR. RAFTER: I've got my girlfriend with me.

QUESTION: Any more questions?
MR. RAFTER: That silenced you all, didn't it?