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Injured Rafter may take rest of year off

Dual U.S. Open champion Pat Rafter says he will take the rest of the year off if a shoulder injury prevents him from playing on the Australian Davis Cup team for this month's semi-final against Russia.

Rafter, who was forced to retire from his opening match at the U.S. Open last week with the injury, said yesterday he would decide by the middle of the week whether he was fit enough for the September 24 - 26 tie in Brisbane.

"If I think I can play, I'll go home to Brisbane and get ready,'' Rafter said in his column in the Sunday Mail newspaper.

''If not, I'll still go home to Brisbane, put my feet up and take the rest of the year off. I've got to think about the long term.''

Rafter, who briefly held the world No. 1 ranking earlier this year, said his ranking was likely to fall to around 20 or 25 if he doesn't play again this year and he would go into next January's Australian Open unseeded.

''To me that's irrelevant. The important thing now is to get the shoulder right,'' Rafter said. ''Missing three months now is not going to ruin my career.''

Rafter also said the heavy year-long schedule meant players were more prone to injury.

Current No. 1 Pete Sampras withdrew before his first match at the U.S. Open with a herniated disc in his lower back. Spain's Carlos Moya retired from his match with a back injury.

''The schedule makes it virtually impossible for the players to have an off-season,'' Rafter said.

''There's a big demand for tennis and every country seems to want to have a tournament, so there's basically no rest for us.''

He said the game's officials were ''trying to work out a fairer schedule'' and added: ''If they can do that, it's going to help a lot of players have long and healthier careers.''

Meanwhile, Australian Davis Cup captain John Newcombe has told reporters in New York that Rafter is only an outside chance of playing in the semi-final, and Mark Philippoussis, who has knee and ankle injuries, is almost certain to be ruled out.

''We will know more on Wednesday and Thursday,'' local media quoted Newcombe as saying.

In their absence 18-year-old Lleyton Hewitt would be expected to lead Australia against Russia's likely team of Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin.

UNI