Pat Rafter began the year haunted by John McEnroe's comment that he was a "one Slam guy." His Australian Open effort-he fell in a gruelling third-round match to Alberto Berasategui after draining wins over Jeff Tarango and Todd Martin-raised the question of whether his strenuous style can stand up to seven tough matches, let along the weekly grind of the Tour.

The doubters were quietened in early April, when Rafter won the event at Chennai. But then the atheltic Queenslander won just one match in the next two months. Jason Stoltenberg put him out in the second round at Roland Garros and Tim Henman in the fourth round of Wimbledon. As if for dramatic effect, Rafter turned on the form exactly when he needed to, winning three of his five lead-up events (in Toronto, Cincinnati and Long Island) before the defense of his US Open title.

His sensational repeat perfomance in New York, a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 victory over Mark Philippoussis in the final, was achieved with just five unforced errors-the most amazing stat of the year. More impressive figures: Rafter's record over the US summer ended at 25-2 and his six titles for the year was the best haul by an Aussie male since John Newcombe in 1974. If anything, the Queenslander was even more faultless off the court, dedicating his Canadian Open victory to the stroke-afflicted Rod Laver on the Rocket's 60th birthday, donating $300,000 to build a children's recreation room in a Brisbane hospital and laughing off the fact that every second magazine has proclaimed him the sexiest man this side of Mars.