Pat Rafter moves to end feud Jessica Halloran From: Sunday Herald Sun November 07, 2010 12:00AM PAT Rafter has become the peacemaker of Australian tennis and will bring Lleyton Hewitt and young gun Bernard Tomic together after the Australian Open. Rafter, who will take part in this week's ATP Champions Down Under tournament in Sydney, spoke about several pressing issues in Australian tennis. The incoming Davis Cup captain also said Australian juniors need "more mongrel" when they go on the tour. Pat Rafter在澳网後，将扮演和平使者，撮合Hewitt和年轻选手Tomic两人， 并在本周在雪梨举行的赛事上，诉说关於澳洲网坛的迫切议题。 这位新任的台维斯杯队长，也认为年轻选手，在参加巡回赛时应该更独立。 TOUGHEN UP BEFORE Rafter made it big, he borrowed money from his family to tour Europe, sleeping in tents and fighting hard for prizemoney in minor tournaments to get by. He also believes Australian juniors should finish school before embarking on the Futures, Challengers and senior circuits. "I'd like to see our kids tougher and harder. I'd like to see kids have more mongrel about them," Rafter said. "I'm a big believer in keeping kids at school as well. I don't like seeing kids who leave school and do it full-time. What I'd love to implement again is kids back at school full-time playing tennis around it. "Even if they are the best kids, I'd like to see them going to school at least four days a week. "A big reason for my thinking is because I did that. I finished my Year 12 off and that gets me into college down the track." He also does not believe in young players being signed up to management groups and being housed in five-star hotels. "I would send kids away and say: 'You're off on your own in Europe. You've got two months there.' You learn to do your own train travel. You book all your own accommodation," Rafter said. "Sometimes we stayed in tents in people's backyards. If you don't have enough money? Well, you can win money, because you're good enough to get by. "To me, that's toughening up." 在他成就伟大纪录之前，他跟家人借钱到欧洲去参加比赛，这段期间内，他睡在 帐篷里，在小型赛事中奋斗，并以此维生。他也认为年幼选手的应在正式进入职 业网球生涯前，先把学业完成。 他说，"我想看到孩子们变得更坚强且独立。" "我很赞同把孩子们留在学校里打网球，而非离开那个环境专注於比赛。 即使是天分很好的小孩，我也希望他们一周至少有四天留在校内。" "因为我也是过来人，我花了12年完成学业，那让我能和大学生活接轨。" 他也不赞同年轻选手早早就和经纪公司签约，以五星级旅馆为家。 "我会把孩子送出国，并跟他们说：你们有两个月的期间，在欧洲得自力更 生，学着怎麽自己搭火车旅行和安排住宿。" "有时候我们会在人家的後院搭帐篷，如果你没有足够的生活费，你可以靠 赢得比赛奖金维生，因为你够棒而且能做到。对我来说，这就是变坚强的开始。" THE FEUD HEWITT, 30 in February, and Tomic, 18 last month, had a public spat last summer. But it fell apart for the pair six months earlier when Hewitt was snubbed by Tomic and his father and coach, John, after the dual grand slam winner had asked the youngster to be his hitting partner at Wimbledon. Hewitt last summer questioned whether Tomic was ready for Davis Cup. Still, Rafter is hopeful Hewitt will become a mentor to Tomic. "I think after the Australian Open would be a nice time for us all to sit down. Both boys have to agree," Rafter said. "I spoke to Bernard recently and we had a really good conversation with both him and his father. "That's been a great thing. Obviously he is really important to us. "He's a great player, a great talent and he's got a good opportunity of making it. "He's someone, with me being Davis Cup captain, who will definitely come into the fray." 即将在明年二月满三十岁的Hewitt，和18岁的小将Tomic，在去年夏天有过摩擦。 因Hewitt被Tomic的父亲兼教练－John排斥，导致两人的合作，提早六个月结束， 原先Hewitt想找Tomic当他温网双打的搭档。 当时，Hewitt也对Tomic是否能参加台维斯盃，提出质疑。 Pat Rafter则希望Hewitt能成为Tomic的良师， "我想等澳网过後，两边的人都应该坐下来好好谈一谈，我已经事先和Tomic与 他的父亲沟通过，这是件好事，Tomic对台维斯盃来说，是重要的一员，他是个 好选手，有足够的天赋和机会去缔造佳绩。" THE DECLINE RAFTER does not "have the faintest idea" of when it all went wrong for Australian tennis. The 37-year-old believes Tennis Australia is doing a good job of attracting youngsters to the game, but it may be some time before we are again dominating the top ranks. "Yeah, we've been in big trouble for a little while now," he said. "It's something that you hope we can turn around. Things have been in place for a while now to try to remedy our situation. "We are at one of our low points now. We are struggling. "The problem is with tennis, if you don't pick it up at a young age, by 11 years old, it's too late. Unless you're a freak you can't expect to pick up a sport that late and play. "It's not like other sports you pick up late and you can become a good union/league/AFL player at 12 years old. It has to be addressed early and they are trying to get kids to do that now. And that doesn't kick in for another 15 years." Pat Rafter相信澳洲网球界，正不停地吸引更多年轻人开始打网球， 但离主宰世界顶尖排名，还需要一点时间。 "不可否认的，澳洲男子网坛已经沉寂了好一阵子，是时候该扭转这个局面了， 而我们正为这困境挣扎。" "主要问题是，若你不从选手年幼时就开始培养，当他们到了11岁，那就太迟了， 只有怪胎才会觉得晚点开始打网球是可行的。" "这并不像其它的运动，你晚点着手，仍可以在12岁变成某个足球球队队员，一定 得及早打下基础，这也是澳洲网坛目前试着让孩子去做的，而且到选手成熟，不用 花费15年这麽长的时间。" http://tinyurl.com/23c5bko --

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