McALLISTER: Good morning, everybody. This is Steve McAllister from Tennis Canada, and obviously a special day for us today to make the player announcement related to the du Maurier Open, which is quickly sneaking up on us, but at this time I would like to turn the proceedings over to our tournament director, Jane Wynne.

MS. WYNNE: Good afternoon, everybody. Good to have you here and we're very glad to be able to make a very special announcement that one of our very favorite players and most popular players in Toronto has entered the 1998 du Maurier Open, and that is Patrick Rafter. As you all know, he is the defending U. S. Open champion. He's made many visits to Canada. This is his fourth time in Canada, his third appearance in Toronto, and Patrick, we're going to be really, really happy to see you back here.

RAFTER: Thanks, Jane.

MS. WYNNE: So I'll turn it over to everybody and we've got more announcements coming next week, but meanwhile please feel free to ask Patrick any questions.

QUESTION: Justin Kingsley from the Canadian Press, Patrick. Just wanted to know, you're one of two guys who are rated in the Top 10 in both singles and doubles. I was just wondering if you can explain why you think that is when doubles used to be so big maybe 10 or 15 years ago.

RAFTER: I guess it's really because I don't know what it was like 10 or 15 years ago, if the game has changed that much, if the games are quicker or if guys are trying to conserve all their energy for singles, but I look at it as another match which makes me stronger. Instead of practicing I'm in match condition, and that's a big reason why I do play singles and doubles for that particular reason.

QUESTION: So it's important to you obviously because you get the match practice. Why do you think some of the other guys wouldn't want to play doubles as much? And do you think there's an answer to trying to get the doubles game more prominent?

RAFTER: I think where the problem comes in is you only have a week to play the tournament, and if it does rain, you've got singles and doubles and you're playing three matches a day. Ultimately I know singles is my main priority as well, but doubles is something I really enjoy, and I do enjoy winning, but I think if I had to make a choice out of the two, I'd play singles. I wouldn't take that risk if it does rain for the sake of match practice.

QUESTION: Do you think a diluted schedule is the answer?

RAFTER: Next year you will definitely see a diluted schedule from me anyway. It's not going to work well with the ATP ranking, but you'll definitely see me at the Canadian Open also next year.

QUESTION: Patrick, could you just talk us through your plans leading up to the U. S. Open and your feelings about the possibility of winning it again?

RAFTER: Well, I'm going in with the same schedule as I did last year. Hopefully it will work again for me. The first couple of weeks obviously are very important for my confidence. Last year I went to Montreal and L. A., and then I went to the finals and I won two other matches in Cincinnati. So I was gradually getting better. This year I would like to probably get off to a better start than that so I can go into the tournament with a bit more confidence and probably a bit fresher than I was last year. At the end it worked out well for me because I had a lot of easy matches -- not easy matches, but a lot of quick matches to start the U. S. Open and get through the tournament.

QUESTION: Patrick, this is Roberto Gonzales from the Hartford Courier. You had some success in the Pilot Pen last year in New Haven and you're going back this year obviously. Why do you think it's a good tuneup for the U. S. Open?

RAFTER: I don't know. I just like that tournament. It is closer to New York, which I guess it's not that big a deal. But I am playing Long Island again, which is quite easy to get to. I've just played there the last four years and I've really enjoyed myself. Now Buchholz has taken over and he'll do a good job. I think he did a good job last year as well. I don't know. The conditions were great there last year.

QUESTION: It's sort of a different question here. Did you still travel without a coach, and if so, why?

RAFTER: I do, yes. I do travel without a coach. I don't like having someone there all the time. I think also you need to work things out for yourself because you have to do that in a match situation anyway, so I think it's important to do that during practice, and I still don't travel probably 15 weeks of the year, and that is fine for me.

QUESTION: Patrick, this is Richard Osborne from Inside Tennis.

RAFTER: Hey, mate.

QUESTION: I wanted to ask you a little bit about your former doubles teammate, Philippoussis, he had a change at Wimbledon, but he hasn't really been on scene too much lately. I wondered if you'd talk a little bit about where you think his game is at now.

RAFTER: He came up with a really fresh look, I think, at Wimbledon. He cut all his hair off and he was just different than what he was in Queens. I don't know if it had anything to do with it, but I don't know, just something about him and Wimbledon and he got through that first match with Kafelnikov. And we all know how dangerous he is, but I thought he could have a really good chance. And I think he is going to win a Grand Slam at some stage, but it's going to be in the next couple of years. He's got some family that keeps him on the ground. I think at this stage I don't really know definitely where he's going.

QUESTION: Patrick, it's Spencer Lee from the Canadian Press.

RAFTER: Hey, mate.

QUESTION: I was just looking at the book and noticed that you list your residence as Bermuda rather than Australia. Why do you choose to live there rather than back home?

RAFTER: Well, it's farther to travel to Europe and America. After a week or two off, I think I'd be more stranded than anything. It's such a long way to go, and Bermuda for me is a great place. It's like when I lived back at home, the beaches are better and it's a fantastic place and I really enjoy it here. And training it's probably not the most ideal place to do that, but I get people over here and this week I'm training with Paul Kilderry, a good mate of mine. So that way I think you're able to practice and do everything fine.

QUESTION: Do you ever go back home during the season?

RAFTER: No. I haven't been back. January I've been back the first time. I'll be going back again at the end of the year before I do my training before the Australian Open and have Christmas with my family.

QUESTION: Do you enjoy life on the road or do you sometimes wish you were back home?

RAFTER: I'm settling in pretty well here in Bermuda. I've got my own place here, so it feels pretty homely, but the traveling part of it is very difficult. I think that's the one thing that breaks down nearly every athlete, different hotel room, packing, unpacking all the time and it really is a big drain on you.

QUESTION: Okay. Patrick, Paul Hecht calling from Tenniscanada.com. Your success in '97 coupled with the success of some of your compatriots has led to a resurgence of Australian tennis. When you are home, can you see the effects of this at a grass roots level?

RAFTER: I probably am not around quite as much, but from what I hear, I know a lot of my friends are tennis coaches and some other people, but tennis is definitely a lot more stronger than what it used to be. And that makes not just me, but I'm sure it makes the Woodies and everyone else, Stoltenberg, Draper, Philippoussis, everyone else, all the Australians feel pretty good about what they've done and what they have put back into the game. I know tennis is really well perceived in the world and a lot of kids are playing now instead of the other sports.

QUESTION: Do you know of anything that Tennis Australia has done specifically to fuel this resurgence?

RAFTER: I think they advertise. I've seen quite a few -- well, in fact during the Australian Open and after that, just some big commercials they had going. I think it was very good, and I think the advertisement is probably better than what it used to be and they are doing it again, another thing coming up shortly, another good advertising for Tennis Australia. They're going to use some of the athletes and talk about. So I think, again, that's a great idea.

QUESTION: Patrick, Tom Tebbutt in Toronto. When you look back on last year's U. S. Open, sort of quick answer on how you think it all happened for you.

RAFTER: There's not a quick answer. I thought this was a big blur for me. I think it was just a lot of hard work that just finally paid off for the year of '97 and the end of '96. It was the year and a half of hard work. That's probably one of the most satisfying things I ever had was winning that tournament and how the rewards do pay off.

This year's probably been a little slow, but I feel like I'm starting to get that drive back again and I feel like I'm doing the work again. So that part of it is good for me to know because I know I can have another successful tournament somewhere down the line.

QUESTION: Were there various steps through the tournament last year where you felt a little more confident, much more confident or extremely confident or how did it sort of evolve?

RAFTER: You're right. With every match came along more confidence, but never looking at the big picture. Everything just stayed one match at a time, and after, I think, maybe the matches I thought I'm not going to get through that one, and then after the Agassi match, I knew I was playing well, but after the Agassi match was a big relief. Quarterfinals I felt pretty confident about beating Larsson. I beat him a few weeks before, felt pretty good about that, and then against Chang I probably took another setback because I didn't really have a lot of confidence in that match. And after winning that, I don't know, the finals I got a little bit nervous and thought I was never going to win one. But having Tony Roche in my corner, that really relaxed me and helped me deal with the situation.

QUESTION: Patrick, Steve McAllister from Tennis Canada. What is your schedule coming into Toronto?

RAFTER: L. A., and that's it. I'm doing work training here at the moment, as I said, and then L. A. week will be a good training week, hopefully get some good matches in as well and Toronto being Super 9, I'd love to have another great result there.

QUESTION: Hi, Patrick, Jana Bronson, Los Angeles Daily News, and you just mentioned L. A., and I wonder how you feel with such a strong field they have this year headed by Sampras, Ivanisevic, among others, how you feel your chances are out here.

RAFTER: I guess time will tell. They've got a great field there, as you said, and L. A. is a tournament I always enjoy being at. It's a lot of fun. And you get to do a lot of hard work, and I think a lot of guys actually haven't practiced as well, so I think a lot of the guys are in the same boat as I am, all being maybe a little bit underdog, but if you get on a bit of a roll, you never know what might happen. Again, obviously you have to put your money on Pete, but if I do I'll stay during the tournament and I'd like to have a better shot than I've had against him the last few times.

QUESTION: Tom Tebbutt. You mentioned Pete, and there was one point where there was a little sort of rivalry or a little bash between the two of you. Was that just a minor thing? Is that all over?

RAFTER: I didn't really see it as a rivalry because I didn't win a match. So if I won a couple of matches, it would have been a lot different, a lot more fun to have that rivalry, but unfortunately it didn't happen in that situation.

QUESTION: Patrick, Spencer Lee at CP again. Are you going to be playing singles and doubles at the du Maurier?

RAFTER: I will be. I'll be playing with Bjorkman.

QUESTION: Do you see one as a priority over the other, the singles versus the doubles or do you try to tread those equally?

RAFTER: Definitely singles is the priority. That's a great thing about playing with Jonas. He also treats it the same way, that if it's going to impede on our singles, then doubles will have to take second place. That's the great thing about every tournament we play. We know if one is still going and the other one is out of singles, he's just there for doubles, but if the other guy wants to stop playing doubles.

QUESTION: Do you ever worry about wearing yourself out playing both during the same tournament?

RAFTER: That's the problem. That's why we have that understanding. If I don't want to play a match, we drop out and he's happy to accept that, and so am I.

QUESTION: Do you know much about the courts at the du Maurier? I know you skipped last year, but how would you rate them?

RAFTER: Last year I was there. I was in Montreal. I've played it every time. They're great conditions for me, I think. The hardcourt is probably one of my best surfaces, and it's something I just hope that I can come in there with confidence. And obviously a nice draw helps.

QUESTION: Thanks.

RAFTER: No worries.

QUESTION: Steve McAllister again. I just wanted to ask how your partnership with Bjorkman came about.

RAFTER: We played in '93 and got to the quarters at the U. S. Open and a few other tournaments we did well in. And he's just a great mate, and I played with Philippoussis in '94 to help him and give him a bit of a go, and we did well as well. And just had a falling out a little bit, and then Jonas didn't have a partner either, and we were good mates and we talked about it and decided let's play. And the great thing about that is we are good mates and that's very important to have that good friendship in the doubles or else it doesn't work.

QUESTION: Patrick, it's Roberto Gonzalez, Hartford Courier. This whole notion in People Magazine, you're one of the sexiest athletes alive. Do you find this adulation kind of a distraction or do you let it slide off your back?

RAFTER: I think at the beginning it could have been a little bit of a distraction because everywhere I went people seemed to talk about it. I didn't realize it was getting that much air play, but now it's something that I guess this sort of goes in the region, doesn't it? It's amazing what happens when you win a big tournament like the U. S. Open how people start perceiving you, but it's something that I really enjoyed doing and it was great to be recognized or voted as one of those people, so I thought it was quite nice and quite fun. But at this stage it's not a distraction.

MS. WYNNE: Thank you very much, everybody. Patrick, we're going to wrap it up now, but thank you so much for joining us and we're really looking forward to seeing you here in Toronto.

RAFTER: See you there soon.