"All these guys knocking on the door": Pat Rafter excited about local talent ahead of Australian Open

Former world number one Pat Rafter is excited about the Australian talent on display in the upcoming first Grand Slam of the year. The Australian Open 2025 will begin on January 12, where players from all over the world will participate to showcase their talent and secure the ultimate prize.

Former world number one Rafter has been recently quoted in a report on the official website of the Australian Open where he talked about a lot of things related to the sport. The 52-year-old, who won two Grand Slams in his illustrious career, expressed optimism about the future of the sport and believes that it looks really ‘healthy’. “It’s good, it’s healthy,” he said while talking about the sport’s future. “It’s really healthy competitiveness and that’s what tennis is at right now.”

Talking about the Australian talent likely to be on display in the upcoming mega-event, Rafter expressed excitement and believes that the current crop of local talent will ‘knocking on the door’. “That’s what drives the next top 10 guys,” he said while talking about the local talent. “Alex (de Minaur) is in the top 10. Does it get Nick (Kyrgios), Jordan Thompson or (Alexei) Popyrin into the top 10? And there’s all these guys knocking on the door.”

Talking about his own experience of playing at the highest level, Rafter identified that winning the Grand Slam was a ‘career-changing’ moment for him. “In terms of career change, it was definitely winning the US Open final in ’97. To me, winning a Grand Slam is what it’s all about.”

This year, in the men’s singles category, Italy’s Jannik Sinner will be defending his title. Last year, he defeated Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in the final in a five-set thriller with a score of 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3. In the women’s singles category, world number one Aryna Sabalenka will defend her crown for the third consecutive year.