Pat Rafter was pushed all the way before completing a 7-6(4), 7-6(1) victory in a thrilling final against John McEnroe at the ATP Champions Tour event in Delray Beach on Tuesday night.

With everyone doing top 10 lists of the decade or the year, I decided to take a slightly different approach.

Playing in his debut tournament on the Outback Champions Series, Rafter used his trademark serve and volley game on the hard courts of the Palmilla Tennis Club to dictate play and set up a possible final-round showdown with Pete Sampras, his top rival during his ATP career. Sampras will play Mats Wilander of Sweden in the tournament’s other semifinal on Saturday.

I am quite certain that at some point today, Thomas Muster, Sergi Bruguera and perhaps a few other former Grand Slam champions all scratched their head upon hearing the news that Michael Chang officially entered the Tennis Hall of Fame.