US OPEN
Date: 2005-08-31

US OPEN

August 31, 2005

Mark Philippoussis
NEW YORK CITY
The Moderator Questions for Mark.

Question How much is it mentally compared to physically trying to get back?
Mark Philippoussis It's all mentally. You know, I've been working hard off the court, very hard. You nailed it right on the head, it's all mentally, definitely.

Question After the match, Fred Stolle said maybe the best thing for you, obviously there's a finite number of wildcards you can get, is to maybe go down to challengers and start winning matches again. Is that something at your stage in your career you even are interested in doing?
Mark Philippoussis Well, I'll do whatever it takes, you know, whatever I have to do obviously. You know, everyone has their own opinion. Obviously, I'll do whatever it takes to get back and be where I want to be.

Question You definitely would play challengers?
Mark Philippoussis Of course. It's not like I've got too much pride to play challengers. It's ridiculous. Of course. If I have to do that, then I have to do that.

Question I remember you were known for having that super serve, that was your calling card. Is that still the case or has the competition gotten to where having the killer serve is not what it once was?
Mark Philippoussis I think nowadays, everyone can serve one at 120-something, 130 miles an hour with the technology of the racquets, they're all getting in the gym a little more. Everyone can slap one and serve pretty big. But, yeah, there's a lot more guys out there that can definitely put out the pace when they have to.

Question You're saying you will do whatever it takes. What do you think it will take?
Mark Philippoussis Like I said, I'm on the court. I'm training, you know, four, five hours on the court. I've been on and off. I've been hitting the ball great in practice. As soon as it comes in the match, it's all mental. I've just got to go out and keep at it. Simple as that. These things happen. You know, just have to keep at it and keep positive. Only thing I can do.

Question Lacking confidence?
Mark Philippoussis Definitely lacking confidence. It's definitely what I'm lacking.

Question Against a guy like Kucera, you would think you would have a pretty good chance.
Mark Philippoussis Yeah, I did. The thing with Kucera, it's not like he's going to go out there and blow me away. I was in every single point. As I said, in my practices I was going in, stepping in, hitting shots, whatever, serve and volleying, chipping and charging. When you haven't played for a long time, get there, unfortunately I wasn't as free to do that. I just felt restricted. I guess, you know, I put a little pressure on myself. I let it get to me a little bit. Then my feet stopped moving. It's all downhill from there, unfortunately.

Question Are you in touch with Patrick Rafter at all?
Mark Philippoussis No.

Question Who have you been trying to draw confidence from? Still your father primarily?
Mark Philippoussis Definitely, definitely, my father. Obviously, Lance Armstrong has been a big thing. I've been reading his books. Definitely Andre, still out there at his age. I don't really lack the desire to be out there. I definitely want to be out there or else I wouldn't be training four, five hours a day. I still have it in me. I still want it.

Question Would you like to have just that free spirit you had, like the night you beat Sampras at the Australian Open? Do you think back fondly on those days?
Mark Philippoussis I do. I think about that pretty much every day. You know, it's been a few months where I've been watching that match sometimes, try to think back on how I felt on the court, what I was thinking. Yeah, I can definitely remember back and thinking I didn't have too many worries at that stage. You know, you're 18, 19, you're so free, you're so pumped. I think everything's great at that stage. Then life kicks in, I guess (smiling).

Question Are you married?
Mark Philippoussis No, not yet. Engaged.

Question You're just wear the engagement ring.
Mark Philippoussis Yeah.

Question What's the rest of the year looking like for you?
Mark Philippoussis I've got some tournaments in Asia, playing. I've got to sit down and look at it, you know, whether there's some challengers I can definitely play. You know, just try and pretty much finish the year as strong as I can and start fresh next year. It definitely feels like it's been a long way for me. I've just got to stay positive and stay at it. I'm very positive that I've got a good three, four years in my career. You know, I'm only 28. Physically I'm feeling good.

Question You obviously have to get the ranking up, that's number one, right?
Mark Philippoussis Of course. Definitely get the ranking up and just play matches. I can't expect to go out there when I haven't been winning, a month, month and a half later and win matches. It's not going to happen. It doesn't matter how hard you work. It's going to take matches. It's going to take losses. I've got to go out there and hit the ball and even lose matches, going out there and hitting it. As long as I go out there playing my game, I'd rather lose matches that way, you know, by going for it a little bit. I'll try to get my confidence up. It will come. I know it will.

Question Obviously a lot of unforced errors today. It was very windy out there. Did you think about maybe making him play a little more to see whether he could match it?
Mark Philippoussis I tried. You know, I tried to slow it up a little bit, to slice it to his forehand. He started mixing it up a little bit. I tried to mix it up. I tried to serve and volley. Like I said, this game is so mental, you know. When you're not there, then you put pressure on yourself, a lot of things can happen. My legs -- like I said, my legs weren't moving. I was just a little tense out there. I was trying. Just it all comes down to confidence. That's all it comes down to. I just got to play matches and matches and matches and it will just click in.

Question What is the schedule from here?
Mark Philippoussis There's nothing concrete yet. Like I said, I've got to go and sit down. I've got some tournaments in Asia I'm playing. From then on, whether it's going to try to play some quallies or try and play some challengers, I don't know yet.

Question The game is still fun to play?
Mark Philippoussis Definitely. I wouldn't be playing the game. Like I said, I wouldn't be on the court, like I said, three hours, two and a half, working out like two hours if I didn't want to and I didn't enjoy it, definitely.

Question What did you take from the Armstrong book?
Mark Philippoussis So many things. I mean, it was so inspiring. It was definitely the best book I've ever read. Just what he went through. I mean, it was incredible what that guy went through. Just shows you anything's possible. You know, things have been obviously a lot more positive in my career. But, like I said, I've just got to be positive. As long as I believe what I can do, that's the only thing that matters for me. I don't really care what everyone else thinks.

Question When was the last time you actually felt that confidence, felt positive about playing and could take it out on the court?
Mark Philippoussis You know, I was training pretty hard before Wimbledon. When I got there, I did well. Rosmalen, got to the semis, hitting the ball well. Unfortunately, I got a flared-up tendon. It's kind of frustrating that way where I work hard and I get there, my confidence starts kicking in, I start playing some good tennis, winning some matches, get to the semis, I'm on a roll, then that happens. The toughest thing is mentally coming back from that because physically I know I'm going to rest, I'm going to get strong again, I'll be back. The mental part starts taking a toll on you. You start thinking, "You know what, here I go again. I've got to start all over again. Don't worry about it." That definitely takes a toll. That's the biggest thing.

Question In terms of like a sustained period of time, not a week or a tournament, a sustained period where you felt like you could show up on a given week, maybe not win it, but have a good run at something? How long has it been since you've had that level of confidence?
Mark Philippoussis Probably 2003, you know, because by then, after that, you know, it's been on and off. My confidence dropped. I had injuries on and off pretty much for a year and a half. It's definitely been a little frustrating.

Question Are you getting married at some point, have you set -- are you engaged?
Mark Philippoussis Exactly when, that's tough. We don't exactly have the best schedule in sports.

Question Is something like having a family down the line important to you?
Mark Philippoussis Of course it is. No doubt about that. This is one part of my life that's still not over, that I'd like to finish before I start the next part of my life.

Question Lleyton is looking like a great chance to make the semifinals probably against Federer again. Can you see Lleyton or anyone beating Roger?
Mark Philippoussis Well, everyone's beatable. Everyone's beatable on any given day. Obviously there's no doubt about it, Roger's the man. He's playing with so much confidence. I don't think he at any time thinks he can lose, he's got that much confidence. There's one thing that Lleyton does, he also thinks the same thing. It's a long way for both of them till the semifinals. Who knows. But if he gets there, he definitely has a chance of winning. No one's unbeatable.

Question He's lost the last eight against him. Do you think he needs to change his tactics, maybe be a little more aggressive?
Mark Philippoussis Yeah, it's tough to say. I mean, the matches he's played against Roger have been great matches. He's definitely had some chances in them, too. I think he was up a set in some of them. The last time I think I remember was semifinals of Davis Cup, he was down two sets to love and came back. He can definitely beat him.

Question Do players get intimidated by the reputation of another player?
Mark Philippoussis I don't know if it's intimidating. You definitely know you can have an extremely hard time out there, like I said. The guy's got every shot in the book. He's pretty much playing it every time he's going out there. He's so relaxed and so confident, it just shows. Like I think it showed last night with Muller and Roddick. Anyone can win on any given day.

Question Can you talk about how thoroughly you and your fitness advisors have sort of looked at how you can get the amount of training into your legs without injuring your knee or ankle, how thoroughly you looked at that process? It's been an elusive process, hasn't it?
Mark Philippoussis We definitely looked at that. We sat down. That's what I did for the past month. I just went and worked every day. Now I'm wearing ankle straps on both of my ankles. Knock on wood, that's going to help me, prevent hopefully anything from happening.

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