Davis Cup 2001
Semifinal
- Sydney -
HI all,
well now I can say I have seen Pat play live 
and been a Fanatic, and that is an experience in itself as many of you know
already. Still it was not smooth sailing.
As you know my Dad had a knee replacement 2 weeks before the DC tie, so I was
really tired after looking after him and Mum and wouldn't you know it, I came
down with bronchitis the Monday before the tie began. I took some strong
antibiotics and sniffed and coughed throughout the week, very determined that
I would not miss Pat. Vince had to go to Sydney for a conference on the
Wednesday and I was hoping to go with him and maybe meet Robyn,Kerrin and
Ranji (and anyone else) who were going to any practice sessions, but it I was
not well enough so I crossed fingers and hoped for the best, stayed home and
tried to recover. It did not help that I lost my voice. 
I was feeling OK by the time we left Newcastle at about 9pm Thursday night to
drive to Sydney and we arrived at about 11pm. My only problem was feeling very
tired and hardly any voice so I knew that I could not sing too loudly with the
Fanatics as did not want to go around all weekend writing notes.....those who
know me well will know that I like to talk so no voice would be traumatic 
. We stayed with Vince's Mum who lives about 20 minutes away from Olympic Park
where the Tennis Centre is located so we would have no trouble travelling
there each day.
It was a very early start Friday morning - about 5.30am, - for the Fanatics
BBQ breakfast and to collect our T-shirts and tickets from Robyn. We caught a
taxi from the local train station at Lidcome and were there at 7am on the dot
and there were only a few people standing around and even fewer Fanatics. I
introduced myself to a few people and asked them if they were waiting for
Robyn and they said no, they were the catering staff
so we had a talk to them until Kerri arrived and then we met Robyn, Peta,
Ranji and the other Babblers.
I'm not sure of times after that as did not have my watch on, but after
breakfast and meeting Kerrin and other Babblers, someone said that Pat was
practising on the stadium court, so some of us walked over to peer through the
glass inserts at the side of the doors. We were not allowed in, but it was a
clear view and, after waiting for 5 or so years to see him, there he was. He
was dressed in white and was serving well, volleying well and some great
overhead smashes. It was surreal, like watching TV but he was real and
gorgeous. <Sigh>. I did not try to take photos from that distance as I
do not have a zoom lens so I just watched. A dream come true!
It was getting hot by that stage so I put on yellow and green zinc all over my
face and smothered my neck with sun block made for "extreme
conditions" and we eventually made out way into the stadium and found our
seats. We were in a fantastic spot with a great view of the court. When Pat
walked out dressed in his yellow shirt and green shorts and the crowd cheered
I was in heaven! We were in full sun when the cloud cover lifted but I did not
notice until Pat left the court as I was in a daze for most of the first few
sets. I was so busy watching Pat with my binoculars that I did not even notice
the score for most of the first set and I checked out the players box and saw
Lleyton's Mum and Dad, Pat's Mum, Steve Rafter, Louise and another sister and
Lara. There might have been more of Pat's family there but they are the ones I
recognised.
I finally came down to earth and started following the score in the second
set. It was so different to the TV and harder to see whether the balls were
really out or not as we were side on and there were a few occasions that I was
sure Pat got some bad calls. (I have not watched the video to check on that
though.) I felt a turmoil of emotions during that match. First the euphoria of
seeing Pat and he was winning and then the second set tie break was like being
on a knife edge and when he finally won it and pumped his fist at one group of
the Fanatics (where Woz and Mongrel were sitting across the aisle from us
Babblers) I was really into it and pumped. I was sure that Pat would win and
it did not even cross my mind that he would lose but at the end of the 3rd set
Vince said it may go to five sets and I said "No way" as I was sure
Pat would pull out of the 4th set. As you know that was wishful thinking and
somehow Pat lost the plot. He looked like he was not there, not exactly tired
but just that he could not consolidate any break points, he served too many
double faults (I think it was 16 overall) and he missed volleys that he never
would usually miss. His body language changed and then he looked tired and it
was obvious what was happening , just as he explained it in his interview. It
was partly "mental" and he did not look like he was enjoying himself
at all and he must have felt an amazing amount of pressure to win.
The crowd were trying everything they could to get him over the line. We sang,
we called out "come on Pat, you can do it" and so did the
"civilians" around the stadium and we were all stunned when he lost.
I watched him through my binoculars as he walked off the court, and it was so
sad, he rubbed his head, and did not acknowledge the other guys in the team,
the Fanatics or the crowd, he looked devastated. By then I was a wreck but we
did not leave the stadium for awhile and I was happy to see Lleyton. It struck
me how little he is and I now know why Pat calls him "the little fella"
or "little Lleyton" . He is so slight but as Vince said his tennis
arm is bigger than his other arm so he has obviously done a lot of work at the
gym and in training and his serve was strong and he looked great. After the
first set I had to get some air as it was boiling hot; I am not sure if it had
been like that all the time or whether I suddenly noticed the world around me
because Pat was not there, but I was not feeling too well and Vince had a
headache so we walked out of the stadium that felt like an oven into the shade
and cool of the outside areas under the stadium.
We met Peta and Robyn who were also taking a breather and saw Peta's great
photos that she had taken with her wonderful snazzy camera (great shirt
changes ) and long before Lleyton's match was over Vince wanted to leave as he was not
well. It was a 15 minute walk to the train station and we were home at his
Mum's place in about 30 minutes. The transport system worked like clockwork
and I can now understand how it coped with the Olympic crowds when there were
thousands and thousands more people. We watched the end of the match on TV and
we were both really tired so had an early night.
It was not such an early start for the doubles the next day so we felt rested
when we got back to the tennis and it was even hotter as there was no cloud
cover to cool us down. I put more zinc war paint on my face, we bought bottles
of water, put on our hats and then were ready for some singing and clapping
and waving signs. (As an aside: Optus communications sponsor the DC team and
they had made 2 signs that were given away free to anyone who wanted them. One
was "Go Aussies" on one side and "Sorry Mate" on the other
side, while the next sign was "Come On " on one side and "Go
Aussies on the other." It was funny when Pat said "sorry mate"
in his first match as everyone who had one of those signs held it up.)
We saw a presentation to Newk and Rochey for what they did for the DC and many
past DC players were there as well. Pat and Lleyton came out last and Pat got
such a wonderful reception from all the crowd, the screams and claps went on
and on and I was happy about that as hoped it might have made him feel a bit
better about Friday's match and would show him that we still loved him
Lleyton got a rousing cheer as well of course. After the presentation they
announced that Todd and Wayne would play and I must admit that I had been
secretly hoping that they would select Pat and Lleyton and take a gamble that
Lleyton would win his reverse singles on Sunday, but I knew it was wishful
thinking and was not disappointed at the announcement. Wayne was much slimmer
and far more handsome than he appeared on TV and Todd looked about the same,
and what a match it was. As you know it was a roller coasted of a match, so
close. Pat did not come out straight away to watch it with the other guys but
when he did he pulled his chair behind Frommie (???) and near to Lleyton and
he looked like he wanted to hide. Lleyton and Pat talked a lot and around
lunchtime they both left, maybe to hit up for the next days matches? They came
back just before it was over and were there to congratulate the boys. We were
especially happy for Wayne when our boys won and as he said in a great
courtside interview, he "badly" wanted to win this one. So it was
now 2-1 OZ and I think most people expected that we would win this tie.
I have not mentioned that Vince told me he had a sore throat during the match
and by the time we got home he was sneezing and felt terrible, so we did not
go to the pub that night. We had a Chinese meal with Vince's sister and friend
and watched TV and by next morning Vince was really sick and he obviously had
caught what I had the week before. He had not slept all night as he was
coughing too much so he said he could not go into the tennis as he felt
sitting in the heat would really be too much. I did not go in either as I was
not sure if we would have to drive home and get him to the doctor so I phoned
Robyn at 8.30am when she was trying to get ready with about 10 minutes to
spare (sorry Robyn ) and told her Vince was sick and that his sister Kathy and
our friend Phillip would like to see Lleyton and that we would come go that
afternoon if Pat was playing, a dead or alive rubber. I **had** to see him
again.
Of course, silly me actually said earlier in the week that I will be happy if
I saw Pat play once (yeah right) and it did not worry me if I did not meet him
(yeah right again.) Seeing him once only made me want to see him again and see
him up close and wonderful Vince knew this so said OK he would sleep and we
would go to the afternoon match if he played and then the party. He thought
Pat would not play, but I said he would he **had** to as he would want to make
up for Friday and there would also be a riot if the crowds did not get to see
him again. So I watched Lleyton with Vince's Mum and at the beginning of the
4th set, Vince and I drove to the station and got a taxi to the tennis. We had
arranged to meet Kathy and Phillip outside the gate after Lleyton's match and
we got their tickets and changed shirts. They were so thrilled with Lleyton's
match and loved being part of the Fanatics. (BTW, Phillip just missed catching
Lleyton's shoe and was thrilled about that. We were joking with him later
about what would he do with one used tennis shoe
After we said goodbye to them we ran as fast as we could to get into our seats
and made it just before Pat walked onto the court. It was perfect timing as he
was in a rush to get through the match.
This was a different Pat to Friday. Brilliant shots, played crisply and he was
commanding at the net. I read where he said that he played his "grass
roots" game and I do so hope that he sticks to this type of play for the
rest of the year and does not try and slug it out with the baseliners too
often on surfaces that do not suit his game. Of course it was more relaxed as
we had won and he was not under pressure but he moved better and looked more
at ease. The crowd just love him, and it was not just the Fanatics in fine
voice as there were others singing "We love you Patty oh yes we
do...." or calling out "Come on Pat" but there was none of the
desperation of Friday. After the match there was a great courtside interview
(which was not on the telecast- grrr) and he said that he would play some
tournaments in Europe now as we had won this tie, and he would not have
bothered if we had not won. He also said that Lleyton was the best DC player
in the last 30 years.. As it was also Jocelyn's birthday -we had sung Happy
birthday to her and "there is only one Mrs Rafter" - Pat said he
would save the most important part for last and said "Happy birthday
Mum" and they he went over to talk to Lara who must have come into the
stadium late, signed autographs and left quickly to watch the Broncos play
with Lleyton in the Stadium near the tennis centre. Unfortunately for Pat they
lost.
I was so happy with this match, this is the Pat I wanted to see; in control,
calm with no nerves, playing his instinctive game and I felt OK about the fact
that I may not see him "live" again, as I felt robbed after Friday's
loss as it was not the Pat I knew. I am sure you will all understand what I
mean by that.
By that time Vince was not feeling at all well and we went straight back to
his Mums and he had a shower and a nap and said he'd be OK for the party. We
got there at 7pm, caught up with Kerrin, Peta, Robyn and Ranji then went
inside the bar and met everyone else. The players did not arrive until later
on and by then Vince was dead on his feet, so I knew we would not make a late
night. I did see Pat up close - in profile- as I went near the players section
when they first arrived so that was a bonus. We decided to leave after 10pm as
we thought it would be hours before anything happened. I was sorry to hear
that we just missed the speeches and that Pat had left by 11pm and as we could
have waited a bit longer,but no-one knew what was happening so it was a gamble
we had to take as we had a 2 and a half hour drive back home.
We did not get to say goodbye to everyone as we were all scattered throughout
the bar, so sorry for leaving in a rush.
It was a wonderful weekend. I was disappointed that we did not make it to both
nights out and that neither of us were well enough to do much other than watch
Pat, but that's the highlight anyway isn't it?
It was fantastic to meet so many of the Babblers there (I know I missed some
of you) and to meet Robyn, Peta and Kerrin after all the years of emails .
It was an amazing experience being a Fanatic and I can recommend it. One thing
that stood out was that when we were walking home from the train station so
many people came up and said how much they enjoyed the Fanatics singing and
thanked us for making it fun, and then others asked what the score was and
"did Pat win?" As we walked to the party venue last night dressed in
our Fanatics t-shirts a few people called out to us "did we win?" It
was so wonderful to say "yes"!. I was sorry not to see Pat at
practice or to talk to him, but I cannot be too disappointed as I did stand
inches (centimetres) away from him and Lara and he is **so** gorgeous. It was
all a dream come true.
Thanks to everyone for making this a wonderful experience. I have always known
what a great lot of people we have on Planet Rafter and it was fantastic to
meet so many of you.
So now I can say I saw Pat play twice, I stood next to him, I was a Fanatic, I
met up with my wonderful Babbler friends and we won the DC tie. Vince wants me
to go the final as he is not keen to go (once was enough, he loved it but is
not as obsessed as I am ) so I will try for that. Another option may be the
Masters Cup which would easier to get to as its in Sydney.
GO PAT for Melbourne.
