Rafter More Than Just Champion of Hearts

He eliminated Andre Agassi, he eliminated Michael Chang, he broke the 140-plus-mph service of Greg Rusedski and he broke a few hearts of New York’s women, who wolf-whistled in his direction and held up signs praising him as “the hunk from down under,” Patrick Rafter did.

All in all, the Australian was awesome.

Sunday’s 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 victory over Great Britain’s Rusedski gave Rafter, 24, his first Grand Slam championship. With the U.S. Open and the No. 3 ranking in men’s tennis his, Rafter will head an understandably upbeat Aussie delegation against the United States later this month in Washington, D.C., at the Davis Cup.

Nothing rattled Rafter . . . not a record-fast serve of Rusedski’s, clocked at 143 mph, or a fault when the speed gun registered 146.

One-upping Martina Hingis, who went halfway up a padded wall for her mother’s outstretched hand after her match, Rafter clambered up and over, scaling the high fence like a soldier on an obstacle course. Friends and strangers alike mobbed him in the grandstand of Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The attention he received in Australia was somewhat muted, for a number of reasons. One was the time difference, the Rafter-Rusedski match not beginning until 6 o’clock Monday morning there. Also, with the Australian Rules Football season kicking off, well, it is not unlike the NFL here. Rafter got a big laugh a night earlier, when asked what his success could do for Australian tennis.

“I don’t know, mate,” he said.

How about for himself?

“Oh, I’m going to be the same sack of . . . I am now,” Rafter joked, breaking up everybody in the room.

Nearly a quarter-century has passed since a countryman won the 1973 U.S. Open. That was John Newcombe, now coach of Australia’s Davis Cup team.

Rafter, who lives in Bermuda, partly for tax reasons, believes he and Mark Philippoussis will be a tough combo to beat when they represent Australia in singles against Chang and Pete Sampras.

Here in the Open, the champ took Chang in straight sets. He defeated Agassi in four, which marked the only set he lost before Sunday’s final.

Now No. 3 in the world, how high can Rafter go?

In Rusedski’s opinion, “Well, there’s only two places to go. But, I mean, Pete Sampras, if you can get ahead of Pete Sampras, I’ll just bow down to you.”

The men’s game might not be as one-sided as it once appeared. With foolers such as Gustavo Kuerten winning the French Open title and Cedric Pioline reaching the final at Wimbledon, total parity could be just around the corner.

Getting in 83% of his first serves, Rafter dominated a U.S. Open final that took only 2 hours 26 minutes. He was aced a mere nine times by Rusedski, whose big serve wowed the crowd and impressed his foe.

“Pretty bloody big,” Rafter said of the left-hander’s serve. “I just thought, ‘Oh, no, he’s going to win the tournament, and he’s going to take the [speed] record with him.’

“I wasn’t there to compete with him with that. I’m not trying to. My arm would fall off.”

Rafter collapsed on the court after winning the tournament, then ran and hurtled himself into the stands to greet friends and part of his large family.

As for his leap in the rankings, Rafter said, “Top three, oh, it’s very, very exciting. It’s a big thrill for me just to be in this sort of company. You know, it will be interesting to see how I handle it now.”