PARIS, May 21 (AFP) - Australian star Pat Rafter, ranked third in the world, would have hoped for an easier draw as he sets about trying to snatch top spot in the world rankings from Yevgeny Kafelnikov at the French Open. Double US Open champion Rafter, a semi-finalist on the red clay at Roland Garros two years ago, will begin his challenge against up-and-coming Swiss youngster Roger Federer, the junior world champion. And while Federer is ranked a modest 114 in the world at present, he could well pose a greater challenge than Rafter might expect. Federer, from Munchenstein near Basel, hails from a tennis-playing family and has been busy putting together a string of useful results since winning the Orange Bowl championship last year. That win brought a change of image, leading him to dye his hair blond as the result of a pre-tournament bet. Just 17 years old, he is one of the youngest players on the ATP Tour, but he is no respecter of reputations, meaning Rafter would do well to beware. Having reached the quarter-finals at Toulouse after coming through the qualifiers, the teenager really signalled his arrival with a first-round, three-set defeat of defending French Open champion Carlos Moya at Marseille three months ago, where he went on to reach the last eight once more. That brought a mental breakthrough and Federer, who had initially hoped to push through the 200 barrier in the rankings, has since swept to the fringes of the top 100. Having taken no less a player than now world number one Yevgeny Kafelnikov to three sets in the quarters at Rotterdam, Federer has already shown he can live with the best. Football briefly took first place in his affections but eventually tennis took over. "I was the Swiss national junior champion - so there was no way I could quit," he told Tennis Magazine. By the time he was 14 the decision was made, and the budding star left home to come under the wing of the Swiss National Tennis Center. Federer is by instinct a baseliner with solid groundstrokes, has a useful forehand and a booming serve and he will hope to exploit the fact that Rafter's serve-and-volley style is not best suited to the Parisian clay. And with Switzerland still looking for their first ever men's finalist here, they could do worse than put their long-term hopes on Federer.  