By LINDA PEARCE

However else Patrick Rafter spent last night, he may have kept a hopeful eye on Melbourne's weather forecast. The hotter the better today for the Queenslander, faced with one of the Australian Open's more daunting third-round prospects.

Thomas Enqvist is the Swede for whom the ``dangerous floater'' cliche has this year been coined, and the obstacle Rafter must clear to keep his side of the fourth-round bargain against Mark Philippoussis. Just as well the Rafter who dominated Mark Woodforde on Wednesday night was the Rafter we have been waiting three weeks to see.

If he moves well, he plays well - that is the simplest recipe for the dual US Open champion's success. If the weather is hot, the balls fly at Melbourne Park - so another Rafter theory goes.

``I guess we will see how quick the conditions are,'' he said after his 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Woodforde. ``I mean, if the ball is flying, then it's going to be good for my serve. Hopefully it's one of those nice hot days.''

Not that Enqvist is any service slouch, as Lleyton Hewitt discovered in the final of the Australian hardcourt championships in Adelaide. ``I've just got to try to get the thing back,'' said Rafter. ``I'll be coming in and I'll say, `If you can pass me, they are too good, you can have it'. I'm just going to play my style of game. He's going to have to beat me.''

Czech Slava Dosedel managed that in Adelaide. Hewitt did the honors in Sydney. Rafter was left wondering whether he would ever be able to deal adequately with the burden that playing in Australia seems to bring, but has found an encouraging amount of what he had been looking for since scampering south to Melbourne nine days ago.

The first afternoon was spent ``eating crap food'' and watching the cricket on TV. He has since worked hard with physical trainer Mark Waters and players Michael Tebbutt, Paul Kilderry and Josh Eagle, and relaxed on the golf course, where he plays off 11 and on Tuesday shot 76 at the Capital in Moorabbin.

Consecutive straight sets wins over Oliver Gross and the wily old Woodforde have contributed most to the rejuvenation. Which is just as well, for of all the unseeded players to avoid in the early rounds, the in-form Enqvist and his 10-match hot streak would have been right up there.

At least Rafter holds a 3-1 career advantage and has won six of nine sets since 1995 over the 1991 Australian Open junior champion. He is also the highest seed left standing in a wide open men's event, with Philippoussis, possibly, to come. ``I have got a couple of very good challenges ahead of me,'' Rafter said. The other possible impediment to the anticipated US Open
final rematch is the possible let-down that could threaten the Philippoussis charge. It does not get much better than Wednesday's dramatic five-set win over Michael Chang.

The last time Philippoussis played so well as Melbourne Park, a certain third-round defeat of Pete Sampras in 1996, he was out-thought and comprehensively outplayed by Mark Woodforde two days later.

The danger this time is 89th-ranked Slovakian Jan Kroslak; the difference may be that Philippoussis is not just older but apparently wiser and better advised.

``I feel mature enough and have enough experience,'' he said after beating Chang. ``That match has gone now and I'm concentrating on the next one.

``You know, I think when I beat Pete here I was on such a high, even days later I came back and couldn't hit a ball because I was still happy about that match. I was young back then. I didn't have the same experience, you know.''