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Lleyton Hewitt and Pat Rafter, pictured here in 2015, will face each other in Auckland in October.
Two time US Open tennis champion Pat Rafter wants to make current Australian Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt smash a racquet when the duo meet in Auckland on October 12.
The two Australian tennis icons, who have four grand slam singles titles between them, will play as part of The Champions Cup at Auckland’s Trusts Arena, on a portable court provided by Tennis NZ.
“If I can get him to smash a racquet, it means I’m winning!” Rafter told Stuff.
“The one good thing about Lleyton is that he never gives in. He’s a competitor, and he loves to win.”
While it’s been a few years since their respective grand slam titles – 1997 and 1998 for Rafter and 2001 and 2002 for Hewitt – and there’s a few more grey hairs in the beard, they are still going to leave it out on the court, and hopefully put on a good show for the fans.
Glenn Hunt/Getty Images
Pat Rafter spends more time on his farm than playing tennis these days.
“We’ll be going at each other,” Rafter said.
“When we play, we have fun and smile, but at the same time we are trying to win.”
But history isn’t on Rafter’s side when the duo have met in the past.
“He was always better than me. The little bugger was a really good little player,” Rafter laughed.
“He was such a difficult player for me to play against. I loved playing Davis Cup with him and I saw great things about him. But when I’m playing against him, I’m like ‘oh man, I hope I beat this guy’.
“I played him four or five times. I did beat him once. He was just a better player than I was.”
And while Rafter might be 50 now, he’s fit and raring to go. Don’t expect just baseline rallying. He’ll be all over the court giving Hewitt a run for his money.
“Obviously I don’t move quite as well and I hope Lleyton doesn’t move quite as well as he used to; we are getting on a little bit. But I do train really hard and making sure I’m fit and ready to go,” he said.
A bit of trans-Tasman rivalry will also be part of the event with “Fast Fours” double match between NZ and Australia, and games played by up-and-coming youth players.
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Lleyton Hewitt won 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon Championships
The duo will be on the sideline giving words of advice to the next generation. Rafter said even the smallest word can make a huge difference in someone’s development.
For now though, it’s back to work on his farm, located not far from Byron Bay with his wife and two adult children, where he is regenerating his land back to native bush. There are a few snakes he’s got to watch out for too. Then Rafter is across the ditch to Aotearoa, where he played Davis Cup in the early and mid-90s and has fond memories, so is looking forward to being back.
But even if things don’t go to plan, don’t expect a racquet smash from Rafter.
“You know back in the day I probably would have smashed it, but now I laugh at things that don’t quite come off where they used to, but I still enjoy it.”
The pre-sale starts on Wednesday at 9am, with general public sales available on Friday at 9am via www.championscup.co.nz.
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