Rafter tips Roger By PAUL MALONE 09jan05 PAT Rafter believes Roger Federer can become the greatest tennis player of all time. "I never played Roger at his best, thank God," Rafter said. "Federer has the opportunity now to go down as the greatest player of all time. To me, he's the smoothest player. "Tony Roche will make Roger an even better player. But he already has the most complete game I've ever seen." Federer's three grand slam titles in his $7.9 million 2004 took his total to four by the age of 23 -- 10 short of Pete Sampras's men's record of 14. Rafter, 32, won all three matches he played against Federer in 1999 and 2001. By that stage, Federer had played three full years on the tour and entered the top 20, but was yet to reach a grand slam semi-final. Most of Rafter's career-defining battles were against Sampras and Andre Agassi, winner of eight major titles. Yet even they did not make Australia's former world No. 1 marvel in the same the way Federer has in performances such as his two "love" sets against Lleyton Hewitt in last year's US Open final. "There's a lot that makes up a winning formula in players," the dual US Open winner said. "In terms of Pete and Andre, they all have different attributes that makes them champions in their own right. "Confidence was the difference with Roger as a player, then and now. He's different to Lleyton. Lleyton believed in himself from the start and would rip your head off to win a match. "Federer wasn't like that. He had to get the belief and his game has fallen into place, too." Federer's winning streak against opponents ranked in the top 10 has risen to 23 matches. The only man to win the Grand Slam twice, Rod Laver, said Federer was equipped to become the third man to achieve it, although the French Open, the one major title he was yet to claim, would be difficult. Laver said Federer was "head and shoulders" above his rivals last year, but was at his most vulnerable in the first week of a grand slam event. "He's got great talent and desire -- he's such an instinctive player," said Laver, who will come to the Australian Open for the event's centenary year celebrations. "If he really gets into a tournament, he's so hard to beat these days. But there are a lot of good players and he might need to be playing well in the second or third round." Laver declined to say how his game from the 1960s would have gone in a time-tunnel match against a 2005 model Federer. "I'd say give Roger an old racquet, then we're looking at equal things," he said. "You shouldn't compare players from different eras in my book. The amount of spin and power they get with the composite racquets now makes it even harder to compare people from this era with Don Budge (1938 Grand Slam winner)." Rafter said there was good reason to believe world No. 3 Hewitt would go further into this month's Australian Open than he had done previously in a tournament in which his best result so far has been the fourth round. "He's prepared better than any other year and I think he's really excited about the Australian Open," he said. "Lleyton's really given himself a good chance. We'll wait and see how the (speed of the) courts pan out." Laver said Australian Open officials were right to no longer tinker with the speed of courts to maximise Hewitt's winning chances, as European players criticised them of doing when Rafter and Mark Philippoussis were given faster conditions to win at Melbourne Park. "You shouldn't do it to prove a point and get your player a win, which some tournaments have done in the past," he said. "It has to be level for everyone, and I thought Rebound Ace was a fairly good court anyway." Agassi, 34, a four-time Australian Open winner with a determination for off-season training some of his contemporaries have lacked, has accepted he needs to lift his performance level to challenge Federer. Agassi lost both his clashes with Federer in last year and has an unusual complaint about the Swiss star's effect on men's tennis. "Most of the time he's making it look too easy to enjoy," said Agassi with a smile. "His biggest weapon is his forehand and his movement. He's a really explosive mover and his forehand's just a nasty shot. "He does a lot of things really well and he does a few things really great." -- Watching Federer play tennis is like witnessing a very gifted artist find his full expression. Seeing true greatness in sport is a rare privilege... Roger also seems to be very honest and genuine. Here's hoping he stays that way. --

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