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| Friday, January 14 | |||||
SYDNEY, Australia -- Patrick Rafter is playing tennis again, but he's not ready to play singles at the Australian Open.
"I definitely won't be playing," Rafter said Tuesday of the year's first Grand Slam, which begins Jan. 17. "I'm not going to push it. My shoulder feels all right but it'll be interesting to see how it pulls up."
Rafter, who underwent shoulder surgery in October, teamed up with Australian compatriot Wayne Arthurs to beat Neil Broad and Brent Haygarth 6-4, 6-4 Tuesday in a first-round doubles match at the adidas International in Sydney. It was Rafter's first competitive match in five months. He did not rule out the possibility of playing doubles at the Australian Open. But he said it was more likely he would rest until Australia's Davis Cup tie in Switzerland next month. Rafter said he was hoping to play his first singles tournament in Dubai a week after the Davis Cup, but had not committed.
"I really have no idea what I'm going to do until I see how
the shoulder pulls up," he said. "I don't even know if I can continue playing here." | ALSO SEE Venus Williams withdraws from Australian Open Injury forces Seles out of Aussie Open |