WIMBLEDON
Date: 2004-06-27

WIMBLEDON

June 27, 2004

Mark Philippoussis
WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND
The Moderator Good afternoon. Questions for Mark Philippoussis.

Question That was another good victory for you. You must be growing in confidence as the tournament progresses.
Mark Philippoussis Yeah, that was definitely a little better this time from my last match. As you said, every match gets a little better. That's I think what you're looking for in a Grand Slam. You know, it's a long two weeks ahead. So I feel like I just didn't need to do enough to get through today, put the pressure on. I was pretty happy the way it went.

Question Tim Henman is your next opponent. Do you want to talk a little bit about how you might look at that.
Mark Philippoussis I think I know exactly how Tim's going to play. Everyone knows. He knows how I'm going to play. We've played each other before. Pretty much, you know, going to go out there and give it our best. You know, I'll definitely enjoy myself.

Question Does it make it any difference that it's Centre Court Wimbledon, his home crowd?
Mark Philippoussis Not at all. I love that Centre Court. Obviously, the crowd's going to be on his side. But I've been there before. For myself, I've just got to concentrate on what I do. And that's be aggressive, just try to play a solid match.

Question Can you recall how you managed to blot out the home support when you managed to beat Tim three or four years ago? Do you remember anything at all about that match?
Mark Philippoussis Like I said, the crowd's going to be on his side. At the same time, it's a very, very fair crowd. They enjoy their tennis. They're a good educated tennis crowd. They know when to clap. They're not going to clap any double-faults. They're really good like that. Like I said, obviously they're going to be on his side. But there are going to be some Aussies there, too. Definitely it will be a good atmosphere.

Question Was it like playing at home today with the atmosphere?
Mark Philippoussis It was a lot of fun. I tell you, they're all some nice guys. I was pumped and happy they were out there. It does give you a lift, especially coming out of that last game, the change of ends, they got pretty loud. It does, you know, send some shivers down the spine. It's a good feeling.

Question What's pleasing you most about the way you're playing?
Mark Philippoussis Just, you know, every match getting a little better. I was happy the way I concentrated today. A little -- you know, maybe a little unlucky. I had Love-30 at 4-All in the third, then Love-40 at 5-All, to take that in three. But I'm just happy the way I kept my cool. I didn't lose serve all match. It was a good thing.

Question At Queen's you said you didn't feel you belonged to be listed among the contenders here. What did you come in here hoping to achieve?
Mark Philippoussis After Queen's, I just, you know, had two weeks to just sit back and think about what I had to work on. That's what I did. I ended up going to Stoke Park to play the exhibition there. It was perfect preparation for me for Wimbledon. You know, I got three matches, three good matches there, worked on the things I needed to work on, and I came here with, you know, a fresh frame of mind, just ready to, you know, give it my best, enjoy myself.

Question You say you didn't lose a serve today. Your serve has been impressive throughout. Served something like 27 aces today. On the other hand, Tim has given up breaks in just about every set he's played. Is that an area you think you can exploit?
Mark Philippoussis You know, I think, as I was saying before -- if I'm -- obviously, if I'm serving big and holding serve, then I can afford to take a few chances on someone else's service game. But, you know, Tim in the past has shown he's had some slow starts. But, you know, he does come back and he's a fighter. So no matter what game it is, every game I'll just be looking to just try and, you know, step up and put the pressure on him, just make him play.

Question Some people believe in destiny. Do you believe in destiny? Do you believe, if so, that you're destined to win here one day?
Mark Philippoussis I definitely -- I honestly believe that I will win here one day. Whether it will be this year, who knows. But, you know, that's always been a dream for me to play here. I just love coming out here, and especially that Centre Court. I love that Centre Court. The atmosphere there. There's no other court that has the same feeling, looks as good, I think.

Question Are you disappointed you haven't been on centre before now?
Mark Philippoussis No, not at all. Not at all. So, you know, if you keep on winning, you're going to get there sooner or later.

Question How bad did it get? You had a very poor run earlier this year. How bad did it get and why have you managed to turn it around in the last few weeks, or last week, actually?
Mark Philippoussis I've been working hard. Obviously, things haven't been going my way. But I know if I put in the time off the court, on the court, things will turn around. You know, if you work hard, it will end up showing out there, and I have been doing that. You know, mentally I'm fresh and just, you know, pumped to be here. So I'm just enjoying myself out there.

Question Do you think you're playing now with a little bit more controlled aggression rather than sort of really flailing away at big forehands? You're hitting them hard, but it's a little more controlled?
Mark Philippoussis Well, I'm always going to be an aggressive -- you know, I'm always going to play the way that's got me here, and that's being aggressive. I do go for risks. That's the kind of player I am. I'm never going to stop doing that. I'm always going to be that player. But there are definitely times when you do need to take it back a couple of notches and be aggressive, but, you know, use a little more spin. Because sometimes, you know, my 70, 80%, can be sometimes,you know, someone else's groundstrokes of a hundred percent. So it's tough. Definitely when the blood gets rushing, it's tough not to give the shoulder a swing, yeah.

Question Almost all the big shots you went for you got in. He might have got some back, but you didn't hit them out.
Mark Philippoussis No, I felt -- I was telling myself, if I'm there to hit the ball, I'm going to hit it. A couple of times I just wasn't quick enough to move to the ball. I mean, he's an aggressive player, especially on his forehand and his backhand. He doesn't really leave much behind. He puts a lot into his shots.

Question Physically last year when you came, you talked about working with Marcus Heon, what you were doing with him. What were you doing with Brett Stephens that may be different or similar?
Mark Philippoussis Everyone is different. Brett brings something to the table that's different. He does it in his way. The thing about Brett, he's been on the tour for a long time. He knows what you need to get strong, what everyone needs on the court. A fitness trainer can be great, but if he doesn't know the tennis side, it's tough for him to, you know, put that off court on the tennis court. And a lot of training we do is to benefit me on the tennis court in my moving.

Question Are you doing anything that you haven't done before? ?
Mark Philippoussis I worked with him years ago, but this is the first time I've worked with him full on. So, you know, I've worked with him before. So pretty much nothing different. We've done it before.

Question You're 4-2 up in the head-to-head with Tim. Does that give you confidence going into this game, maybe a psychological edge?
Mark Philippoussis I won't be thinking about that. I'm sure Tim won't. Every match is a different match. Tomorrow I'll just be looking to go out there and, you know, try and have a good start. You know, if he gets on a roll with the crowd, you know, it could be tough. I'm just going to go out there and just give it my all, enjoy myself. That's what I want to do, go out there, enjoy myself, give it a hundred percent. If the guy's too good, he's too good.

Question You two still get on quite well together, play golf like you have done a few times?
Mark Philippoussis Oh, definitely get on well together. We have that respect on and off the court. We congratulated each other today after our matches. You know, we know what's got to be done. We've been there before. So once you're on the court, obviously you're there to win the match, simple as that. Off the court, that's a different story.

Question I know you said it's Wimbledon and if you're not pumped up for this, you'll never be pumped up for anything. The fact is you did have probably the longest slump of your career. What changed from here? Is it just winning the first round, just winning a match? What actually changed?
Mark Philippoussis Well, you know, I mean, I'm healthy. It's not like, you know, the end of the world for me. So I've had a bad five months. I mean, who cares? The great thing about tennis is, one good tournament and then it's in the past. I mean, it's in the past for me. So maybe you should put it in the past for you, too.

Question You talked earlier in this tournament about kind of keeping a relatively low profile, suited you to avoid the limelight. 24 hours before you take on Henman. Does that bother you, the fact that you will be very much the center of attention, along with Tim?
Mark Philippoussis No, not at all. I've been there before. You know, I've played on that court. I've played Tim before on that court. We've both been there before. You know, I think Tim, with the pressure here, he deals with it extremely well. And for me, whether people are starting to look at me now and realize I'm there, it doesn't really worry me. I'm going to wake up, do the same thing, prepare for the same thing I have been doing every day, go on the court and just do my thing.

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