Champions Down under tennis competition; Pat Rafter beats Henri Leconte in Sydney
The former world number one Pat Rafter showed glimpses of his top form to topple Henri Leconte of France in two sets at the Champions Down under tennis competition on Thursday. The final match score was 6-1 6-3.
In a battle, that had the environment of a comedy show, the 37-year-old Pat did well to concentrate on his game right from the start and as a result his classy passing shots proved too strong for Leconte in the end.
The two-time United States Open champion took a lead of 5-1 immediately in the opening set, whereas, Leconte was too much busy entertaining the spectators at the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre on Thursday.
The former world number one Pat broke his French opponent’s serve in the second set again to take a lead of 3-2, however at 4-2 up and with the clash all but wrapped up the Queenslander also got in on the action, sending the score line operator in to play
his next point.
While the Frenchman tried cooling down on the hot Sydney afternoon by jumping into the on-court drinks fridge, Pat wasted no time clinching win in the end.
Leconte did show few flashes of class from time to time, however, his actual motivation on the Champions Tour looks to be too entertaining.
"He is so flashy and can be so brilliant at times. He can be so bloody awful as well. But he is entertaining. It is really easy when you play with Henri because you sit back and let him do it all, I just sit back and laugh. You just let him do his thing,"
Rafter reflected after the match.
The 37-year-old admits that clashes take a bigger toll on his body now than in his major winning-days.
"I will know tomorrow. I will be sore in the shoulder and back and that type of thing. But you get through as it is four matches. By the end of it I will be pretty knackered and need a week off."
Earlier in the morning, Thomas Enqvist of Sweden also thrashed out Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia in two sets in Group A match. The final score line was 6-4 6-4.
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