AUSTRALIAN OPEN NOTES : Rafter’s Popularity Shoots Through Roof

MELBOURNE, Australia — The progress through the tournament of Patrick Rafter, a 22-year-old tanned Australian heartthrob, has been greeted with squeals from delighted teen-aged girls. He has taken to throwing wristbands and other sweaty gear into the stands after matches.

His popularity led to this exchange at a news conference.

Question: You seem to be getting popular out there with the young girls, Pat. How are you dealing with that?

Answer: Well, I think the best way to deal with that is to get a girlfriend.

Q: What’s wrong with the one you have got, Pat?

A: Girlfriends? There’s nothing wrong.

Q: I thought you said you were going to get a girlfriend?

A: No, I’ve got one. No, I’m happy. I’m getting into a bit of hot water here. No, I’m happy.

*

Naoko Sawamatsu of Japan, whose family home was destroyed in Tuesday’s earthquake, finally spoke to her parents and younger brother. Sawamatsu said she woke up at 4 a.m. Thursday and began trying to reach her family’s mobile phone. After many tries, she got through but the telephone’s battery was low and she had little time to talk.

“All I found out was that the upstairs collapsed,” she said. “At the time, my grandparents and younger brother were downstairs. They could escape straightaway, but my parents were sleeping upstairs so my grandparents and brother couldn’t find them for a while.”

Sawamatsu said her family was eventually reunited, but she still hasn’t learned the fate of her best friend, who was reported to have died in the quake.

“I haven’t investigated further,” she said. “I was too afraid to find out the news.”

Sawamatsu will meet seventh-seeded Kimiko Date in the third round.

*

Tim Gullikson, coach of Pete Sampras and twin brother of U.S. Davis Cup Coach Tom Gullikson, was taken to a Melbourne hospital after he had to be helped from the stands at the National Tennis Center.

Gullikson has suffered two strokes and is taking blood thinning medication, which sometimes causes dizziness. A spokesman for the Epworth hospital said Gullikson was undergoing tests and the results were not available.