MELBOURNE, Australia -- Australian tennis hero Pat
Rafter will undergo tests in search of an answer to the
excessive sweating and cramping which have ruined two of the
biggest matches of his career, family and experts said.
Rafter was beaten by defending champion Andre Agassi on
Thursday in an engrossing five-set Australian Open semifinal in
stifling humidity at Melbourne Park on Thursday.
|  | | Patrick Rafter stopped numerous times for medical aid during his semifinal match vs. Andre Agassi. |
The Australian led two sets to one but cramps began to set
in in the third set, ruining his chance of reaching the final of
his home Grand Slam event for the first time.
Rafter, who sweats profusely during matches, said after that
disappointing loss that he needed to get to the bottom of the
cramping which has become such a problem for him.
"Pat will be having tests done for the cramping," Rafter's
brother Geoff told a Melbourne radio station on Friday.
"The doctors will come around Sunday and they'll have a talk
about his diet and fluid intake," he said.
"He will have a sweat test and a blood test."
Rafter's brother also said the 28-year-old might have more
tests in Perth before Australia's Davis Cup first-round match
against Ecuador.
Rafter was forced to pull out of a singles match against
Juan Carlos Ferrero on the opening day of last month's Davis Cup
final against Spain in Barcelona with a similar problem. Spain
went on to win the Davis Cup.
Thursday's loss was particularly disappointing for Rafter,
who might have played his last Australian Open after saying he
was considering retiring at the end of the year.
The Age newspaper said on Saturday Rafter would meet
Melbourne medical and physiology experts at the weekend in an
attempt to find out the cause of the cramping and sweating,
which have landed him the nickname "Pat the Puddle."
The newspaper quoted one expert as saying that Rafter
probably had enlarged sweat glands, which might mean he was well
adapted to losing body heat.
However the expert, who would not be identified, said it was
possible Rafter did not drink enough fluids.
University of New South Wales sports medicine director Dr
David Garlick said the causes of cramping were poorly
understood, including the link between sweating and the loss of
vital electrolytes or salts.
He said if fluid lost through sweating was not replaced in
the correct ratio with salt, an electrolyte imbalance would
likely result which could affect the behavior of nerves and
muscles.
Other experts echoed those views.
"We don't know what causes cramping but there are lots of
hypotheses," Australian Institute of Sport tennis strength and
conditioning coach Mark McGrath said.
Another expert, Monash University exercise physiology
researcher Dr Glenn McConnell, said it was possible Rafter
simply did not drink enough during the match.
Taking salt tablets would also exacerbate the problem
because internal fluids and sweat have different levels of salt,
McConnell told The Age.
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