The player: Patrick Rafter, 25, catapulted to No. 2 after capturing his first Grand Slam title at the 1997 U.S. Open. He was the first Australian to triumph since John Newcombe won in 1973. This summer, Rafter was the first player in 10 years to win the du Maurier Open in Toronto without dropping a set. A week later, he beat Pete Sampras for the title at the Great American Insurance ATP Championship. And in September, he won his second U.S. Open in a row by beating fellow Australian Mark Philippoussis in four sets with only five unforced errors. Rafter's seven-year career hasn't always been rosy, however. Injuries and slumps caused his ranking to plummer to No. 89 in 1996. He was able to turn the downward slide around, in part, with a different, and varied, conditioning routine.

The workout: Rafter varies his three-to four-hour sessions so that he "doesn't get bored with training." After a two-hour practice, he completes his off-court conditioning with a combination of either running, swimming, weights or calisthenics. For an hour a day he lifts light weights, alternating between upper-and lower-body work and emphasizing the lower-back and stomach. For another hour, Rafter races new trainer Mark "Marty" Waters in a series of 20- to 30-yard sprints. Then he does four or five sets of kangaroo jumps (jumping while pulling his knees to his chest), jumps rope for 15 minutes, throws a medicine ball for 10 minutes and boxes with a speed bag (a small bag hanging from the ceiling) for 10 minutes. If Rafter is injured or particulary fatigued, he swims instead of doing his regular workout. His pool time reduces the stress on his body but still provides cardiovascular exercise. He swims laps for 30 minutes and then sprints and jogs in the water for another 30 minutes. At the end of the day, Rafter sits down, crosses his legs and arms, closes his eyes and meditates for an hour. "But I don't chant," he says.

The rationale: Rafter admits that his disappointing results at the beginning of this year forced him to start working harder. "I wasn't working as much as in '97, and it showed," he says. "My type of game takes a lot physically, so I needed to be in better shape. After playing for so many years, I need a routine that keeps me fresh. After practice, I want to get off court and train like I [played] as a kid, by swimming or running in the park. And I change it up all the time, I just make sure I do something six days a week, with one day off to give my body the chance to recover. Without the power or big weapons that a lot of guys have, my fitness is most important to my success."

Tennis Magazine