Rafter confident he'll be fit for Masters

Australia's injured Pat Rafter told Australian media on Monday he would be fit for the upcoming Masters Cup to be held in Sydney in November this year.

Last week the two time U.S. Open winner pulled out of the Stuttgart Masters series along with two other tournaments due to an ongo1ing shoulder injury.

Nevertheless, Rafter was upbeat about his chances in the masters.

"The shoulder is pretty good mate," Rafter told reporters in a teleconference. "I'm really happy with it, at this stage it just needs to recover a bit more that's all".

Despite being injured, Rafter has qualified along with Australian Lleyton Hewitt for the US$3.7 million Masters Cup due to his ATP ranking.

It will be the first time since 1970 that Australia will have two player in the annual season-ending tournament.

Although Rafter, the current world number four, has been plagued by shoulder injuries over the last couple of years he has enjoyed a relatively good run so far in 2001.

"This year has been a very solid year for me," Rafter said. "Every tournament that I have played I've been very consistent in".

Rafter said he was also looking forward to the upcoming Davis Cup tie against France.

"We're really looking forward to upsetting the apple cart when they get here as well," Rafter said.

The Masters and the Davis Cup will be the last two tournaments Rafter plays before he takes a break from the game at the end of the year.

"I need to take a break away from the game and see how much I miss it and if I do miss it I'd love to come back", Rafter said.