US OPEN
Date: 2003-08-29

US OPEN

August 29, 2003

Mark Philippoussis
NEW YORK CITY
The Moderator Questions.

Question Long way to go, but nice to be in the second week?
Mark Philippoussis Yeah. Today I felt like I did everything a little better than my first match. I'm pleased with it.

Question Where can you improve on your game?
Mark Philippoussis Well, everything can improve. You know, I think with me, like I said, every match is a little better, every match I play under my belt, more confidence. Today I think I returned a little better, you know, chipped and charged, made him pass me, got the break. I did concentrate a little bit better today. I did lose some concentration during the match. You know, on the tight situations I got my big serve in, got me out of trouble, so it was good.

Question When you heard you were playing Nalbandian in the next round, did you think about all the miles you have to cover on the court?
Mark Philippoussis You know, I don't think I'll just sit back and run all day. I'm going to go pretty much to the net, play my game, play aggressive. I'm not going to sit back and, you know, play his game.

Question Pretty heavy tumble you had there. Did you come up all right after that?
Mark Philippoussis Oh, yeah, I was fine. It was frustrating because I had some breakpoints the game before. I had a breakpoint then. I was going to chip and charge. Felt like it was a decent chip. I was going to come in. Lost some footing. It was just frustrating.

Question What do you do between now and Sunday?
Mark Philippoussis Just relax. You know, get a massage, get out of the hotel room, maybe watch a movie. Just stay relaxed. I think the most important thing is on those days off to stay happy, you know, not spend too much time in the room, you know, walk around, just do something to get your mind off the game.

Question Do you often eat out or eat in? What do you do?
Mark Philippoussis Perhaps before the matches -- I mix it up. It depends. Normally the night before my match, I do like to have room service, watch a movie, relax. You know, it's a lot easier.

Question Compared to Wimbledon at this stage of the tournament, where would you say you are at the moment?
Mark Philippoussis I'm feeling pretty good on the court. I'm a few pounds lighter than I was at Wimbledon. Now I'm a few pounds lighter, which is good. I definitely feel it on the court. It's definitely tough to say. Such a long way to go. But the good news is, you know, I've played two matches, and each match has gone better. My game's gone a little better. Still feeling very relaxed out there, very loose. That I'm enjoying it, you know, I think is the most important thing, like I was at Wimbledon. I was just enjoying every match, enjoying the challenge, enjoying the atmosphere. That's the most important thing for me.

Question One to 10 with 10 being the best, where would you be?
Mark Philippoussis Right now? Today, maybe a seven, yeah.

Question The win you had against Nalbandian earlier in the year, what sort of messages or aspects can you take from that win?
Mark Philippoussis Well, every match is a different match. It was on hard court. You know, that was a tough match. You know, I've seen him play a fair bit now. I kind of feel like I've got a feel of what he likes to do on the court. You know, lost some weight, he definitely looks trimmer than what he has in the past, definitely at Wimbledon. He's moving well. Obviously he must be in pretty good shape. He had a tough win out there today. You know, again, I think for me, I just got to go out there and keep the pressure on - chip and charge, make him pass me. If he does, you know, too good. You know, I can definitely take some things away from the match we played at Scottsdale. I can't rely on it too much.

Question Has your weight loss been planned? Are you fighting weight now?
Mark Philippoussis Am I fighting weight, no. I definitely wanted to lose some pounds, and I did. I feel pretty good on the court. I think it's easy -- I spent some time in Florida before I came here. It was very humid. So, you know, you sweat a lot. So it was easy to lose some pounds there. You know, you normally don't eat as much when you're practicing and training before a tournament. During a tournament, you got to eat a little more so you don't feel, you know, too tired out on the court.

Question Is that enough now or do you want to get more off you?
Mark Philippoussis It's kind of tough because I'm 26. I'm turning 27. I'm filling out, too. I'm getting a lot thicker up on top. You know, I'm becoming a man pretty much (smiling). Just doing what I can.

Question What's that process, can you explain that, becoming a man?
Mark Philippoussis Time to get some hairs in places that are kind of weird (smiling).

Question 1998, long time ago, the last couple of years when you've been here, you've really been on the comeback trail? Can you compare the two years? Any sort of feelings coming back?
Mark Philippoussis You know, looking back, it feels like such a long time ago. Like I said, there are a few times I came here and felt like -- it's so difficult when you go somewhere, into a tournament, and know you can't win because you're on a comeback trail. What you're telling yourself is, "Let's play some good matches and get some match play." That's the worst thing you can feel, especially in a Grand Slam. You want to get psyched, you want to get pumped and do as well as you can. For me, it's such a great feeling, you know, just being healthy for a while where, you know, the match play is there, the hitting is there. All I got to do is stay healthy, work a little harder on my off time, get a little fitter. That's just a good feeling to have. You know, just having rhythm out there. When you come back from injuries, you're always fighting to have rhythm, especially the way I play the game, I hit the ball pretty hard. You know, when there's no rhythm out on the court, it's kind of tough. It's just so good to be healthy, you know, just being ready for matches.

Question Is it fair to say that this is the first year since you reached the final in '98 that you actually give yourself a genuine chance of winning the tournament?
Mark Philippoussis I would say it's definitely the best I've felt since then. I'm not thinking about winning the title; I'm thinking about playing each match as I go.

Question Can I ask how many pounds you have lost?
Mark Philippoussis I don't know. Maybe four pounds, I feel like, three or four pounds.

Question How concerned are you about the depth in Australian men's tennis, what that does to the Davis Cup team?
Mark Philippoussis For the Davis Cup team, I mean, Lleyton and I are going to be around for a while, so that doesn't concern me at all. He's a pretty good guy to have on your team. You know, he's young, he'll be around for a while. I'm getting younger, too. I'll be around hopefully for another six years, six or seven years. I feel like I'm getting stronger and healthier. You never know in men's tennis. Some guy could come out of nowhere like Lleyton did. You really don't know. I think we're doing fine at the moment.

Question I know you obviously want to concentrate on your own matches. Do you and Lleyton swap notes on people that you're going to play or have discussions? If so, he's playing Stepanek next.
Mark Philippoussis I've definitely asked him and he's definitely asked me. I think we've been around, both of us, long enough to know how everyone plays, unless there's some young guy, like Stepanek, I played at Wimbledon. If Rusty doesn't ask me, Roger will.

Question You'll ask about Nalbandian?
Mark Philippoussis I know how Nalbandian plays. I played him in Scottsdale. I've been watching him play. I know pretty much what to do. I think Roger and Lleyton know how Stepanek plays also.

Question Have you ever been a ball boy?
Mark Philippoussis I have been a ball boy once, years ago.

Question What do you think of the caliber of the ball persons here versus the other majors?
Mark Philippoussis I know this is the only tournament where they throw it from one end to the other, which is kind of cool. There's no messing about. They throw it. They always seem to be where they have to be. But the other thing is, you know, they're older, too. They're all stronger. You know, I think they do a great job here. It's definitely one of the tournaments where they do a better job than anywhere else. Very professional.

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