Q: Do you still stand by your comment about Pat Rafter being a 'one-slam wonder'?

A: Well, firstly, that was not what I said. And it seems that people are going round at tournaments trying to drum up something between Patrick and me. I don't know why they even bother. It's not something that I ever said. I said that Patrick seemed to be having trouble, be it the pressure he was imposing on himself or the pressure he felt from coming  home to Australia afterwards and trying to live up to it and win some more majors. I was concerned about Pat in the sense that it seemed that he was struggling dealing with it or keeping up with the level of tennis that he created for himself at the Open. Right now he seems a little more comfortable with himself. But I would never belittle an accomplishment that 99.9% of the players never get in the first place. If you win one Grand Slam, that's a tremendous accomplishment and I wouldn't, and didn't, ever belittle Pat by saying he was a 'one-shot wonder'. Whether he wins another Grand Slam is very difficult to say right now. But I think that people should get the facts in order.

Q: Do you think Rafter can ever be Number 1?

A: I think that would be extremely difficult. But having said that, it would be extremely difficult for anyone. And there's no player out there at the moment who seems to be ready to take Sampras' place. It's pretty wide open. Pat's got a lot of results to defend. It's difficult to see him taking over that spot. But there are not a lot of people I see taking it over. I think ultimately, whoever does it, is going to go inside themselves to an inner reserve that people from the outside may not have thought they had. Whether it's Rafter or Rios or whoever it may be in the next year or couple of years. Stranger things have happened.