The decision had been made long before Patrick Rafter hoisted his second US Open trophy high at Flushing Meadows last September. Come hell of high water in January, the Queenslander resolved, nothing -but nothing- would distract him from his 1999 Australian Open campaign. Stung by previous experiences, where his willingness to accomodate almost every request left him drained and distracted, Rafter this season has decided to do nothing but concentrate on the business of winning a Grand Slam on home soil.

Short of retreating into monkish isoloation on the Sunshine Coast, Rafter instructed his support group - notably George Mimis and brother Steve Rafter - to can all promotional, sponsorship and media commitments until after the Open, where he will again be a marked man. It was no accident that Rafter's return to Brisbane from Bermuda in late November was a closely guarded secret. Passage through immigration doubled, in fact, as Rafter's entrance into his splendid isolation.

As ever, the sublimely athletic right-hander was true to his word. He remained in Queensland, close to his beloved family, the beach and the first tee, before honoring a small selection of charity commitments in favor of close friends and associates, including John Fitzgerald and golfer Jack Newton.

Having had his troublesome left knee examined by three different specialists, Rafter opted not to have corrective surgery to repair a displaced patella and a bruised meniscus. Since the injury had forced Rafter out of the ATP World Championships in Hannover, and the season-ending race for the world No. 1 ranking, it was clearly no trifling matter.

Rafter's concer, with his season over and the Australian Open impending, surrounded the reasonable fear of what might happen to his career should he be sidelined, for however long, mid-season. "That's not a situation I want to be in - it wouldn't be great," he said afer embarking on an intensive rehabilitative program. "My knee feels much better now. I'm happy to be getting the treatment I need in Australia."

And so rolled on Mission Australian Open. Understated to the point of reclusion; measured, yet seldom overwhelming. It casts little light on the Rafter mindset to observe Australian Open excellence sits highly among his objectives. Melbourne Park has not excactly been his palace of dreams over the years - injury and inspired opponents have seen to that.

Rafter was shown the door last season by rampant Spanish baseliner Alberto Berasategui (who advanced to eliminate former winner Andre Agassi) after the Queenslander had fought tigerishly to defeat Todd Martin and Jeff Tarango.

On each occasion, Rafter drew phenomenal support, just as he did in 1995 when he was hopelessly outplayed by an unstoppable Andre Agassi in a match that had been promoted to within a centimeter of its life by host broadcaster Channel Seven. Rafter says he was not particularly fazed by Seven's preoccupation with the match, which admittedly had all the ingredients - and more - any self-respecting broadcaster could want. But whether a tennis match in Melbourne on that January night was sufficient justification for Seven breathlessly leading its news bulletin is doubtful.

Rafter learned a lot that evening. He won a paltry seven games from Agassi in a monumental thrashing. Throughout it all, Rafter did not shirk an issue, suicidally charging the net in the forlorn hope of stemming the Agassi tide of winners. And there was the wrist problem which led to his breakdown against Mauricio Hadad in 1996 and the intervention of classy Albert Costa the following season.

Rafter returns to Melbourne Park this month a vastly improved player. Successive victories at the US Open, a ranking of world No.4 and six singles triumphs in 1998 have Rafter commanding status befitting the elite. But he will complete under the weight of suffocating pressure of national expectation.

No player in this country commands more interest than Rafter, Mark Philippoussis included. But for Rafter to triumph in Melbourne on Rebound Ace, a task so far beyond all Australian aspirants, he must overcome two significant obstacles - slowish pace of the rubberish surface and relatively heavy balls. "I've never done that great there in the past and that's why this year I'm just concentrating on tennis and doing nothing else," Rafter said. "The pace of Rebound Ace is something that's raised a negative for me and, sure, it's not the US Open but, at the same time, it's a surface that can agree with me. It's not that much slower."

"I think the big difference is witht he balls. At the US Open, you tend to get a lot more out of the balls. A lot more zoom. With the courts in Australia, and the balls, the balls don't quite shoot as much for me and it's most noticeable on my serve. Serve/volley is the strength of my game and when the serve is not quite working as well, that's when my movement can be affected. When the serve's not quite getting that zoom, I can get caught out of position on my volley and that's when it can be tought."

By the time the Australian summer circuit lurches into life January 4, Rafter will not have played a singles match in anger since losing at the Paris Indoors in October. But he is no loss a leading Open prospect for his enforced inactivity. Rafter's feat in reaching the French Open semi-finals in 1997, where he spliced his signature net-rushing attacks with revolutionary lengthy baseline rallies, demostrated he was far from being a one-trick pony. Fact is, he is Australia's best home-grown hope since Philippoussis' tactical adviser Pat Cash lsot to inscrutable Mats Wilander at what was known as Flinders Park in 1988.

Having established himself as a worthy Grand Slam champion, Rafter has given no sign of losing his appetite for major silverware. He craves Davis Cup success to the point where he is all but obsessed with it. And with Wimbledon always looming large in his midn, there is nothing he wants more than to snap the title drought which has stricken Australian tennis since Mark Edmondson's upset of John Newcombe at Kooyong in 1976.

Rafter's tennis dreams were intially fired by his family and then, later, increasingly by a grasp of the sport's history. Money and acclaim have long ceased to be motivating factors - if they ever were - for Rafter. He is among the nation's most recognisable athletes, and is only marginally less so in other tennis playing countries. But fame has been a keen double-edged sword for a character who despises egotism in all its extremes. Basic tasks, such as eating a dinner in a restaraunt, have become tiresomely intrusive for him. The questionable novelty of digesting a bowl of pasta and a quiet beer, while balancing an autograph book, has long waned.

Rafter says his most important lesson in 1998 was to understand it was okay to say no. And to do it when it was appropriate. For the most popular player on Tour, though, rejecting the goodwill of well-intended fans has been irksome. "Sometimes it can be overwhelming," he said. "I don't like to say no to people, but sometimes you have to put yourself first and do what's right for you. I've been able to do more of that this year. Going back to Australia is always tough. It's hard to hide anywhere."

Case in point was Rafter's desire to watch the first Test between Australia and England at the Gabba in November. Tempted by the prospect of watching international sport clsoe to the family home, Rafter eventually chose to bypass the cricket, realising his idyll would be shattered quickly. Whatever soporific Brisbane was for Rafter on his arrival home, he expects the demands on his time will intensify with every passing day as the Open impends. Last season's preparation degenerated into a blur of meetings, promotions and media commitments. Eclipsed in the mix was tennis. Hard earned as it was, the lesson cut deep.

Rafter's schedule in 1998 ran to almost 130 matches in total. He won 99, including Davis Cup, and lost just 28. But his itinerary extracted a high cost. By the end of the season Rafter was utterly spent, provoking fears a legitimate title bid at Melbourne Park might have been scuttled almost before the campaign had started. Some of his most ardent admirers subscribed to the view. But not, predictably, Rafter himself. He invariably thrives on hard work, as evidenced by his tour de force through the North American circuit, where he annexed no fewer than four titles during an unforgettable six-week spree.

But Rafer's effectivenes, while largely attributable to a heavy workload, revolves around his ability to muster serve and volley attacks. And his movement - to wit net coverage - is usually the deciding factor separating success and failure.

But, as evidenced by a hitherto best result of semi-finalist on Rebound Ace (at the Addidas International), Rafter's game is yet to flourish on the surface introduced amid tumult in 1988 as Australia bade farewell to its cherished grass. Given the paucity of tournaments in Australia, it is not a statistic that overly troubles the serve/volleyer. Suffice to say, it is a situation Rafter is keen to redress. And what better place than the Australian Open.

The sluggish nature of the surface aside, Rafter's most pressing obligation is to secure the breathing space in which to prepare. As usual the largest family in tennis, led by Rafter's brothers Steve, Geoff and Peter, his sister Louise and their parents Jim and Jocelyn, will throw a metaphorical ring of steel around the man once dubbed the sexiest athlete in the world. Whether that will be enough remains to be seen. Australian Open officials and the ATP Tour, which will attempt to protect Rafter's interest during lead-in tournaments in Adelaide and Sydney, will be mindul of Rafter's needs.

But therein lies the rub. How do tournament directors reconcile Rafter's requirements while servicing a ballooning market desperarte simply to catch a glimpse of a man whose popularity is seemingly boundless? Commonsense is the answer. Men such as Colin Stubs, Barry Masters and Paul McNamee will therefore play a vital role in just how effectively Rafter negotiates this summer. Myriad are the requests put across each man's desk before, during and, sometimes, after tournaments. Rafter, as ever, will be the least of their problems. "I'm going out there to play tennis, mate, and I'll do the best I can do," he said. "Last season was a bit of a zoo and this year is hopefully going to be better."

"I'm going to be really low-key going in and hopefully I'll be able to do really well. It's a Grand Slam so you know it's going to be tough. There's a lot of guys who can win. All I can do is give it my best shot."