US OPEN
Date: 2003-08-31

US OPEN

August 31, 2003

Mark Philippoussis
NEW YORK CITY
MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Question How do you sum that up, that performance?
Mark Philippoussis I mean, disappointing. You know, slow start, really slow start, four unforced errors off the bat. Fought my way back. You know, I didn't play those big points well in the end of the first set. Again, slow start. Came back, ended up winning the second set. You know, I just -- he just, you know, he definitely played better than me today.

Question Do you feel you might have pressed too hard in the first set at least?
Mark Philippoussis I pressed...?

Question Going for a little bit too much sometimes.
Mark Philippoussis Yeah, I mean, there's a certain way you can look at that. You can, you know -- I really didn't want him to dictate the points too much. When he did, he was running me side to side. Then when you play a point like that and you run side to side 10 times, you tell yourself, "Okay, hit it down the line." You hit it down the line. It's easier to make him play. Kind of a tough situation.

Question What about after you won the second set, you were pumped up. Was there a danger you'd have a bit of a flat spell after that?
Mark Philippoussis No, no. I just stiffened up too much. You know, he just -- I think I just went down, he kept his level there and took advantage of that. Again, just loose points on my serve, you know, to give my serve away. Those games when I lost, I was always down earlier. I was down love-15, love-30, I was fighting my way back, saving some breakpoints. I had a breakpoint again at I think 4-2 in the third. Which was big. Long rally. Went for the big forehand. You know, I think I sort of just let him dictate too much today. I think I played his game a little too much.

Question What about that 2-1 in the fourth set, that call, second serve out. You had some words with the umpire, didn't you, after that?
Mark Philippoussis Well, you know, I just questioned the ball. You know, I thought it was close so...

Question It was actually in?
Mark Philippoussis They showed it on the replay? Yeah, well, nothing you can do about that, you know. So I thought it was close.

Question Big turning point?
Mark Philippoussis Yeah, it definitely was important. You know, obviously, it's a little frustrating, but nothing you can do about that. It happens both ways.

Question Have you played in a match before where you served so many aces, you had so many winners, but yet so many unforced errors?
Mark Philippoussis Have I played in a match?

Question Yes?
Mark Philippoussis Definitely. Definitely I've played a match like that. You know, just wasn't feeling great out there. You know when you feel great, you can keep the ball in play, you can run everything down, be patient. I just -- didn't feel great, and I was going for cheap points, easy points. You can't afford to do that. It's not gonna happen in five sets, except to go for winners that aren't there, stuff like that. You know, just took advantage of that. Too much of a steady player.

Question Did you feel like your fitness let you down a little bit towards the end? I mean, four sets in three hours is pretty long.
Mark Philippoussis Well, it was long. I mean, my fitness can always improve. Fitness-wise, I felt good. Can't complain about that. I just kind of stiffened up.

Question When you say you didn't feel great, is that a matter of physically you didn't feel right, or was it just the whole surround to that court or...?
Mark Philippoussis No. I don't know. Just can't complain about it. Sometimes you go out there, switch it on. Other times, you feel like you're battling out there. They're the ones where you got to try to overcome it and win, those kind of matches. I was fighting really hard, you know, to make it one-set-all. It's like when you have such a long set like that, I think the first few games are so important. You know, in the third and fourth, I was just down early breaks, just fighting the whole way, you know. Makes life a lot more tougher.

Question If you had that match over again, what would you change? Would there be anything, besides the result?
Mark Philippoussis Yeah, it's so easy to say that. I would think I'd change a lot of things. Again, you know, it's disappointing, but I just got to look at it and see, you know, what went wrong and just, you know, got a lot of things to work on. And the good news is I have time to work on them now before the Davis Cup. I have time to work on those things, those unforced errors, so...

Question Were you surprised by how much success Nalbandian had on the second serve?
Mark Philippoussis No, 'cause I just didn't -- had no work on his second serve. You know, I wasn't -- you know, wasn't getting up and really working for the kicker out wide. You know, he's a good returner. I don't know what the stats were, but the way I was serving, I'm not surprised.

Question Did you make any changes in your tactics in the second set?
Mark Philippoussis I tried to. It was just tough. Like I said, I dug myself in a hole. When you dig yourself in a hole and you're down a break early, it's tough to try and change. If you're up, you're on serve, you know, you're not thinking about being down a break, you can afford to do some things a little differently. Kind of puts you in a little negative state of mind when you're trying to fight back, just trying to survive, trying to get back into the game.

Question Having reached the final of Wimbledon, third round here, is it disappointing?
Mark Philippoussis Yeah, it's disappointing, definitely. But, you know, there's no easy matches, that's for sure. He's a tough player. Like I said, I've got things to work on. You know, I'll definitely be around definitely a few more years so, you know... Just got to keep my head up, keep working hard. Simple as that. Things are going to pay off.

Question In terms of Davis Cup, what are your plans? When will you go to Australia?
Mark Philippoussis I'm going to go back to San Diego, start training there a little, have a few days off. And then I'm pretty much gonna time it so when the guys go back, I'll go back probably the same time.

Question Did you start out today with the idea that you wanted to be at the back and rally with him a little bit rather than come to the net?
Mark Philippoussis I kind of just wanted to see where, you know, where the game was going. I felt with my forehand I can dictate the play. You know, I put myself down a break, like I said, but I got back because of my forehand. You know, I felt like I was starting to dictate the points. I went for too much. Double-fault here, forehand there. You know, it just cost me, you know.

Question His backhand also, as it went on, he just didn't miss a thing on his backhand.
Mark Philippoussis Yeah, I mean, I knew he's not gonna miss much. That's his strength. His strengths are his ground strokes and his legs. He moves well around the court and hits the ball well off the ground.

Question There were a lot of Aussies here, big crowd support for you. What kind of role did they play in your game?
Mark Philippoussis Oh, yeah, they're great. Those guys definitely get you pumped, get you going and relax you at the same time. So it's always great to listen to. They've got some funny comments, so...

Question Have you heard their chants before?
Mark Philippoussis Yeah, you hear them at Davis Cup. Every Davis Cup they have some new ones. I don't know what they'll come up with.

Question Is it difficult coming in here after Wimbledon, probably having higher expectations since before your injuries, is it difficult to go home now?
Mark Philippoussis Yeah, it's disappointing. But, you know, what can you do? It's over now. The US Open, you know, for this year is over for me. You know, I'm gonna go back and surf for a few days. I'm pretty sure once I'm in the water I'll forget about it. Now my mind's on Davis Cup. Before I wasn't thinking about that. But now the US Open is over for me. Next thing is Davis Cup. Now it's getting myself ready physically and working on the things I have to. The great thing about Davis Cup is you know you're playing two matches, you know who you're playing against, and you know what you got to work on, so...

Question How much does reaching the Masters Cup play on your mind?
Mark Philippoussis You never really worry about that. You just worry about yourself. You play it a match at a time. You win matches. You're not thinking about the prize money, or you don't think about things like that. Obviously, it's gonna come. The more matches you win, the higher your ranking gets, you know, the closer you'll get to that top and hopefully the Masters at the end of the year.

Question You organize your schedule around hopefully making Tennis Masters Cup or...?
Mark Philippoussis Pretty much the schedule's already made. You know, I've never been the kind of guy to play 30 tournaments a year. I think I average maybe 20 tournaments a year. You know, I don't like to play more than three tournaments in a row. I like to have a week off. So, you know, I've got Davis Cup then I go to Asia, a few tournaments indoors. The great thing about them is I think they're like two Masters Series or three Masters Series to go. Is it two or three? I think it's two.

Question Two.
Mark Philippoussis Two, yeah. You know, one win there is a lot of points. I remember I think a few years ago, I think in 1999 or 2000, where I ended up losing the final of Paris indoors and I just missed out, if I would have won that match. So the great thing about it is you never know. One big tournament win like that is all it takes.

Question Do you find, as you've gotten older, do you find it easier or harder to deal with, the disappointment?
Mark Philippoussis I mean, I don't know whether it gets easier. It's always tough when you first get off the court. The emotions are still running high, the adrenaline is still there. For me, I look at life pretty positive. I don't look at it in a negative way. I'm sure once I'm riding back to the hotel, you know, you're in the car and you're in your room, you know, it's over. You know, like I said. And at least you can try and take things away and work on it. If I'm gonna play a match like this today and I go to my next match and do the same thing, then it's pretty frustrating, pretty stupid that I didn't really take advantage of it or didn't think about what happened in today's match. As long as I take advantage of what happened today and work on those things and make sure it doesn't happen again then, you know, this could be something good.

Question Do you see a chance for Nalbandian to go deep, if he plays the way he played today?
Mark Philippoussis He's a tough player. I mean, I think he lost a few pounds. He's moving better around the court. You never know. I mean, he's had a decent summer so far. So he looks pretty hungry. He's hitting the ball pretty good. You know, next match is Blake or Federer. That's gonna be a really tough one. So men's tennis, you never know.

Question Would you say it was more him today or more you?
Mark Philippoussis I think both. Both. I think the thing with me is most matches, I hurt myself, you know, because of the game I have. But it is definitely a lot of him, too, today.

Question The Davis Cup starts on the 19th. How many days preparation will you have?
Mark Philippoussis We'll definitely, you know, do the right thing to prepare perfect. I mean, I'll be in touch with Fitzy and Wally. You know, see when the guys go back, see when Rusty goes back. I'll definitely go back a couple days before those guys to see my mother and my sister, my friends. I'll definitely have time to train and be ready for it.

….