With a little luck and several close line calls, defending U.S. Open champion Patrick Rafter pulled out a nail-biter. As usual.
Morocco's Hicham Arazi was weaving his spell over the No. 3 seed, taking the first two sets and closing in on a service break to go up 3-1 in the third.Controlling an opponent as if he had him on a string, Arazi jerked Rafter from side to side, then whipped a backhand crosscourt that bounced right at the sideline. When umpire Norm Chryst upheld the out call, Arazi lost his cool and his concentration, and Rafter began the long climb to the second round at the National Tennis Center.
"Down 2-0, I figured I had a fine vacation coming, be able to watch Pearl Jam," Rafter said. "But I hung in there and came back."
Rafter's 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 victory was his 10th in 12 five-set matches and the ninth consecutive five-setter in which he has been victorious.
The Australian never lost serve again and rallied to win from two sets down for the fourth time. For Arazi, it was his fourth consecutive first-round loss in the U.S. Open.
"I hate umpires, guys in the chair. I hate them!" Arazi screamed at Chryst. "You're always right. You're never wrong."
A couple of other line calls went Rafter's way as Arazi kept up a running tirade at Chryst during the changeovers. After he dropped his serve in the fourth game of the fifth set, he flung his racket to the ground, drawing a Code of Conduct warning.
"He just lost it, and they weren't bad calls, and that got me fired up," Rafter said. "He went on and on. I wanted to beat him up."
Last year's men's runner-up, sixth-seeded Greg Rusedski of Britain, also needed five sets to get past South Africa's Wayne Fer-reira 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 7-6 (9-7), 6-4.
One seeded player lost a first-round match Tuesday as No. 16 Albert Costa fell to Germany's Oliver Gross 2-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4.