9th May, 1999

THE DAY I HANDED BACK $100,000 by Patrick Rafter

I Didn't Deserve Appearance Payment

APPEARANCE money has always been a contgroversial issue in big-time tennis.

Some players take it from tournaments regardless of how they've performed and the figure sometimes runs into hundreds of thousands of dollars. Other guys are different.

I handed back my appearance money in Lyon last year because I felt I didn't do the tournament justice.(The Sunday Telegraph understands the fee was at least $100,000).

I'd just come off a 10-day holiday and had trained for only three or four days going into the tournament and I lost in the first round. My performance didn't warrant the apperance money, so I had no secondthoughts aboout giving it back.

There have been times this year when I've lost in the first round and taken the appearance money because I've given 100 per cent despite the fact my form hasn't been there. Sometimes it's a bit of the luck of the draw with form but it you put in 100 per cent then there's nothing more you can do. Having said that, there is no doubt that some players "tank" (deliberately lose) sets. I've seen it happen a lot. There have been some really obvious tanks.

There's been a controversy blow up out of the Czech Open in Prague last week with the tournament directors refusing to pay Goran Ivanisevic and Yevgeny Kafelnikov $150,000 each in guarantees. I wasn't there and I didn't see them play, so I can't comment on whether they tanked or not.

I've seen Kafelnikov tank sets, but I haven't seen him tank a match.  He's obviously going through a tough period at the moment, adjusting to life as world No. 1 after winning the Australian Open in January. Maybe he's taking his troubles on to the court and that's always a dangerous thing to do.

With Goran, you never quite knowwhat's going through his mind. He can have some big wins and some bad losses. If they have performed badly, it's the tournament director's perogative to do that.

IF anyone thinks we are bluffing about boycotting the Davis Cup quarter-final against the Americans in July, they should think again. The ITF will have the final say over what surface the tie will be played on, but if we want to boycott the match, we will boycott.

The ITF has ordered the Americans to play the match on hardcourt, but they are holding out for clay. If they do get their way, I'm willing to boycott if Newk and Rochey want me to do that.

Since we've given up the home-ground advantage to play the match in Boston for the Davis Cup centenary, I think the least the Americans could do is put the match on a neutral surface. As it is now, the whole thing is a farce, a big joke. It sems they want to change the rules to suit themselves all the time.

If they want to do the whole centennial thing, let them play England on grass in Boston - don't try to make it into something big by playing us on clay. The match with us should be played on hardcourt.

If they get their way - again - we might have to consider green clay, which is a surface myself and Jason Stoltenberg and some of the other boys have done all right on. But ultimately, the ITF should have the final say and the Americans will have to take notice.

Sledging Rare in Tennis

THE Rodney Howe-Gordon Tallis sledging incident last week is something you won't find often in tennis. Every now and again you'll get a few players having a go at each other.

Not everybody clicks on the tour and that's natural. You find that in all walks of life. Generally, there's not too much sledging but there's occasionally a bit.

The Howe-Tallis exchange was apparently prompted by Howe's suspension for steroid use, which raises the Petr Korda issue. I haven't heard of anybody having a go at him and nobody really gives it to him up front, but there is definitely a feeling around the place about him.

People are finding it hard to look him in the eye because he's been found guilty of taking something he shouldn't have and he hasn't been made to sit out of the game like he should have. He's been able to play the whole time when he should have been out for a year. That's where the whole thing has become a joke and a lot of players are still annoyed about it.

I'M in Rome for the Italian Open and the beginning of my campaign on European clay. After Rome, I'll go to Dusseldorf for the Word Team Cup and then it's down to the French Open in Paris.

My form this season hasn't been what I would like, but I feel great after the work I've done through the week with Muddy (fitness trainer Mark Waters) in Bermuda. My best is just around the corner.

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