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Thursday, 21 September, 2000, 13:02 GMT 14:02 UK
Rafter suffers Olympic KO
Rafter feels the heat on the way to a shock defeat
Australian Pat Rafter has been knocked out of the Olympic tennis tournament by little-known Canadian Daniel Nestor.
Nestor, ranked 256 in the world and playing in the Olympics as a wild card, stunned a packed crowd with a straight sets victory. He beat the double US Open champion 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) at the New South Wales tennis centre to book a place in the third round. Rafter, the 13th seed but one of the favourites for gold on his favourite surface backed by his home fans, never really got into the match.
The Canadian squandered a series of break points early in the first set before finally converting one for a 6-5 lead and a chance to serve for the set. Nestor broke Rafter's serve twice more to race to a 5-2 lead in the second but the Australian battled back only to lose out in the tie break. Nestor was out of action until May after shoulder surgery in January. He said the win was one of the biggest of his career and the best he had played since returning to the circuit. Tribute "It ranks up there with beating (Stefan) Edberg in the Davis Cup in 1992," he said. Rafter, who has now lost to Nestor in three out of their four meetings, paid tribute to the way the Canadian played. "I didn't play great tonight but at the same time he did some things very well," he said. "He is one of those dangerous players -- you always have to be careful playing him." Nestor's win earned him a third round clash with Juan Carlos Ferrero, the eighth seed from Spain.
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See also:
19 Sep 00 | Racquet Sports
08 Sep 00 | Racquet Sports
30 Aug 00 | US Open Tennis
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