Rafter loses final but remains an Australian hero

Australia's Pat Rafter may have lost the Wimbledon men's singles tennis final for the second successive year but he was still a national hero on Tuesday.

Australia's World Cup-winning rugby union captain John Eales and Prime Minister John Howard were among those heaping praise on the two-time U.S. Open champion on Tuesday after his dramatic loss, 9-7 in the fifth set, to Croatian wildcard Goran Ivanisevic.

Rafter, 28, recorded a special message of support for the Wallabies before their second rugby test against the British and Irish Lions in Melbourne last week.

Rafter's words, shown pre-match on the scoreboard to the crowd of 56,605 at Colonial Stadium, helped inspire the Wallabies to a 35-14 victory to level the series.

Eales, preparing for this week's third and deciding rugby test in Sydney, spent Monday night watching Rafter on television, just like his teammates.

"Pat really showed everything about what it means to be an Australian sportsman," Eales told reporters at Wallaby training.

"He showed great humility in defeat and his road to the final was outstanding.

"He put a lot of effort into it. It was disappointing to see him go down," added Eales, who said his fellow Queenslander had been trying his hardest.

The Australian media noted Rafter's humility in defeat was similar to that of former world number one golfer Greg Norman, 46, who like Rafter was born in the small Queensland town of Mount Isa.

GREAT AUSTRALIAN

Talkback radio callers said on Tuesday Rafter was a great Australian who showed his true colours when able to accept defeat with grace while his family members said they were extremely proud of Rafter's sportsmanship.

"I was disappointed for him but he behaved magnificently," Howard said on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Radio.

"He's displayed great sportsmanship, enormous grace under pressure and made all of us very proud of him."

The afternoon edition of the Herald Sun in Melbourne ran the front-page headline: "Down but not out" with a full-page photograph of a smiling Rafter and girlfriend Lara Feltham heading out for a meal.

"A sporting Pat Rafter put on a brave face today after losing one of the greatest Wimbledon finals in history -- and shouted his fans a drink," the newspaper said.

The back-page lead article, under the headline "A pity, Pat", quoted Rafter as saying: "Listen, it's disappointing but at the end of the day it's a tennis match."

The Age in Melbourne said on its front page that the Wimbledon final provided Rafter, who is considering retirement, with "the perfect way to say goodbye".

He had to settle, however, with the role of co-star in the story of Ivanisevic's resurrection, the newspaper said.

"Both Rafter's brilliant play to reach the final, and his cool and sportsmanlike demeanour, have enhanced his reputation as one of Australia's best-loved athletes," the newspaper said.

"Nothing that happened on centre court last night changed that."

With a front-page headline of "Rafter loses greatest final", The Australian newspaper said: "He gave his all but it wasn't enough."

In the lead article in the sports section, the newspaper said Rafter has struggled previously in front of home crowds and he had done so again before thousands of Australians fans at Wimbledon who had given him loud encouragement, similar to an Australian Open.

"They were scenes that Rafter didn't need. From the moment he walked on court to the sounds of Waltzing Matilda, Rafter struggled, with his game, with his concentration and with the pressure to be the first Australian since Pat Cash in 1987 to win Wimbledon."