Interview with P Rafter:

                  Q. Still going according to plan at this stage?
                  A. Everything is going well. That was a good match. It could have gone
                  either way there at the beginning of the third set. I was a little bit down,
                  and the second set would have been great to have closed out. It was a
                  funny set, actually. It was really topsy-turvy, and then after I got the break,
                  I started -- my whole game just lifted.

                  Q. Will you talk us through that second set? You sort of let it slip a little bit there, and then in the third set you just came out and blitzed him. What  happened in the second set and then the turn-around on the serve?
                  A. I think the first couple of games, he had a chance to put a bit more
                  pressure on me than what he did. He did put a bit of pressure, but I
                  thought, you know, if he broke it would have been a whole different match,
                  and I may have been a little bit hard on myself, but my whole game lifted
                  after that and as soon as I got that break, it was, like, you know, I was on a
                  roll again. I had stopped for a while.

                  Q. In the second set you had 0-40 twice in a row and you were able to
                  come back from that. Did that sort of say something to you about the way
                  you were travelling?
                  A. When I broke him, I thought, you know, that would have been -- yes, I
                  thought, you know, that would probably really break his back then. But to
                  his credit he came back. He got a little predictable on returns at times, not
                  at the very beginning of the games, he started hitting winners and all sorts
                  of things, he was very aggressive and then when he got up, he tried to
                  make me play and I was volleying pretty well, I thought, and I think he had
                  to go for probably a little bit more on those points than what he did, because
                  he got himself in a good situation.

                  Q. How do you assess your serving at the moment?
                  A. It's gradually getting a little bit worse. Difficult conditions, though, mind
                  you. The conditions were very swirly, and you don't want to hit too many
                  second serves out there and, if you just put in a first serve, I mean against
                  someone like Gustafsson, he's going to make you pay for it, and so it was a
                  fine line between whether I really go for that first serve, or just try and get
                  it in, get a first volley in. It was at times confusing for me, because he
                  really made me play on a first serve that didn't have enough on it.

                  Q. Pat, you said in the past year that you've struggled with your footwork,
                  because it's a bit slippery and you can't push off properly. Is that something you're overcoming this year, do you think, or do you think just the rest of
 your game is better?
                  A. I think everything is smoother this year. My serve feels a lot smoother,
                  it's got a lot of rhythm on it and when my ball toss is right, which is half the
                  time, I start moving very well behind it. I have very good balance. When
                  it's off a little bit, that's when I get myself in a lot of trouble around the net.

                  Q. Of the guys who are left, and how do you factor yourself into it?
                  A. I haven't looked at the draw. I know I have to play the winner of
                  Henman and Black and I don't really know who's left in it, and one or two
                  of the guys I'm not really sure who they are. But the most talented player
                  there is still Pete Sampras, no doubt about it. Krajicek, well, that's another
                  one. There are a few handy players out there.

                  Q. Are you playing at a level where you like your own chances?
                  A. Yes, I think if I can get some more rhythm on my serve, I think the
                  chances are as good as anyone else's. I'm down to the final 16 now, so I've
                  got myself in another good situation to have a good crack at it.

                  Q. He's got a way to go, but if it is Tim in front of a Wimbledon British
                  crowd, will that be difficult for you?
                  A. You have to block that out. It's going to be a bit difficult, but sometimes
                  that can work against him as well. It is all me blocking that out, if I do
                  happen to play him.

                  Q. How does it work against him, Pat?
                  A. Sometimes a crowd can put a lot of pressure on you. Sometimes, when
                  you're down a little bit, and they say "Come on, Tim", and it's like "I'm
                  trying". They want you to win so badly, it's just the way that they say it. I
                  know I feel that sometimes. They didn't say it -- they say "Come on", like
                  that, with a bit more sprite in it. It makes it a bit more fun to play.

                  Q. Will he be under the same sort of pressure here, or perhaps even more pressure here than you had back in Melbourne in January?
                  A. I cannot see there being any more. I don't know if that's possible. He
                  will be under a lot of pressure. I mean, he's got to get through this match
                  and we all know Byron, how well he's playing.

                  Q. An Australian hasn't won the Australian Open since Edmondson,
                  obviously no British player has won here since Perry, and no Frenchman
                  since Noah. Do you think in some ways that it hurts, there's a home nation  disadvantage; does it put more pressure on you to play in your home nation?
                  A. Yes, I think they're waiting for that time, but I think people really
                  appreciate it if you put in 100 per cent. That's the one thing that I got out of
                  the Australia Open. I busted my guts out there the whole time, and when I
                  happened to lose, they were still very supportive. I think, although it does
                  put a lot more pressure on you at the time, I think if you can look at it -- I
                  think we're using Tim here as an example, aren't we -- if he can look at it
                  putting 100 per cent and trying his hardest, I think the crowd see that, I
                  don't think you have to look at it as having a lot of pressure on you.

                  Q. You have a fair following yourself even here, though, Pat.
                  A. Earls Court is a good area for the Aussies. There are a lot around, yes.

                  Q. Is that helping you at all?
                  A. Yes, and even the English crowds, I think they've -- there's a fair bit of
                  support for me as well from them.

                  Q. It's a fairly female audience?
                  A. Female, is it? That's not a bad thing. But, you know, they'll be turning if
                  I do happen to play Tim, which is fair enough.

                  Q. There's been a lot of conversation this week about the men's game
                  being in a bit of the doldrums, the women stealing the spotlight, and you
                  seem to be one of the few guys who's stirring some excitement out there.
                  Do you sense this situation? What are your thoughts about it?
                  A. I hope that men's tennis isn't really going that flat, and, you know, I think
                  it's important for some of us to have very consistent results and to stay up
                  there, and unfortunately I haven't found myself having those consistent
                  results lately. Now, I would like to be someone who could help start that
                  back up again and you see Andre coming back, and you still see the
                  tremendous following he has, and you can have players like Philippoussis
                  and Rios who are really helping the game as well, and I think Rios is
                  probably one of the best chances because of his consistency. He can play
                  on all surfaces and is very talented, and I think if we can have that
                  consistency with the players, you'll probably see maybe men's tennis getting
                  stronger. Maybe that's what we need, but I think, as we all notice,
                  everything goes in circles, in cycles, and maybe we're in a little bit of a low
                  patch, but if we can -- some of the players can stir some excitement, I
                  guess that's what we need, and I just hope that I can get consistent results,
                  I think, more than anything, to help it.

                  Q. If you do play Byron Black, there's the Davis Cup, I guess, to spur you
                  on there a little?
                  A. Oh, yeah. I won't need that to spur me on, fourth round of Wimbledon,
                  but obviously I would like to get him back. I mean, he's got me the last two
                  times now, and I'm very disappointed, in the Davis Cup.

                  Q. You looked pretty sharp in the last two sets today. How would you
                  compare your form at the moment to the US Open last year?
                  A. I don't think it was quite as sharp as the US Open. I still -- but it's
                  encouraging for me, because I am winning the big points, and I have been
                  able to lift myself when I need to. I think that's very important. So those
                  two things behind me -- and I am still playing very well, I think, I am
                  playing well, anyway -- I think there is a -- there definitely is a chance,
                  more so than every other Slam I've played so far for a while, since the US
                  Open.

                  Q. Is there something else about your game that you think can do with
                  some improvement? The stats actually today said you lost a fair few points
                  on your return of serve.
                  A. He's got a tricky serve, and sometimes you feel like you have to go for
                  quite a lot so he doesn't hit that big forehand. You know, playing those sort
                  of guys, you have to try and work it out. So I'm just sort of finding my way
                  more than anything.

                  Q. Is the depression, the down feeling you felt at Queen's two weeks ago,
                  is that just a distant memory now? Is that fading away quick?
                  A. Yes, it has, especially after probably the -- getting to the semi-finals of
                  Rosmalen, ever since then it really turned around. It just shows you how
                  close you can be from turning that around, from being that flat and that out
                  of it and so disappointed, and being where I am right now. It's such a fine
                  line. Everyone says it, but until you actually get out of that rut, you just don't
                  believe it.

                  Q. Pat, just getting back to the crowd thing, would you prefer to play Tim
                  Henman and have the crowd against you and all the pressure on him, or the  reverse, as it would be if you played Byron Black?
                  A. I really don't have a real preference in that match. They both play
                  different tennis. I might prefer to play Byron, I guess, if I had to have a
                  choice but, you know, they're both playing very well -- well, Byron is
                  playing very well, I think, and Tim a little bit rusty, I think, but he's winning
                  and that's important for him.

                  Q. Are you a bad ball tosser, or just a perfectionist?
                  A. A bad ball tosser, mate, unfortunately.

                  Q. Has it always been the way?
                  A. In a way, it has. I'm working on it.

                  (INTERVIEW CONCLUDED)