2002 Wimbledon
Date: 2002-06-24
Philippoussis def. Boutter 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2

Question Good start, Mark?
Answer Yeah, a little nervous, I think. Didn't really have any timing on my serve until pretty much the start of the third set. Besides that, you know, I felt like I played okay for the first match.

Question You had a lot of publicity leading up. Were you relieved to get out on the court and play?
Answer Yeah, definitely. I didn't play last year, obviously. As I was saying, I was nervous before the match. Just looking forward to it. It's just great to be back, you know, on the courts here.

Question Can you talk about the changes that you've gone through since '99 and kind of your approach to tennis now, your thoughts about your life in general?
Answer I think a few years ago I would have taken a lot of things in my life for granted. Now I look at life in a totally different perspective, as well as my personal life and life on the tennis court, too. When I was on the court, I was young, I never thought anything was going to go wrong. I was having fun. I thought, "There's a lot of years ahead of me." Until something happens, that makes you open your eyes and realize that you never know when your career can end. So just go as hard as you can. That's how I feel now. I'm taking each day at a time, just trying to go out there and enjoy myself. It's tough to think ahead. I just want to think about it now. Pretty much I want to stay relaxed.

Question You moved out of Miami and kind of sold off some of your toys, I guess. Is that fair to say?
Answer Yeah.

Question Why did you do that?
Answer Well, I mean, I had my third surgery. I was in a wheelchair for two months, in bed. The only thing you can do is do a lot of thinking. I thought about if I was happy in my life, and I wasn't. Things that you think make you happy don't. The thing was, I wasn't really happy in Miami - and I thought I was. I just, you know, decided to move, go somewhere that's definitely a lot more quieter, where there's not the same distractions around me as there was in Miami. Just wanted to try and give myself a fresh start.

Question You still haven't played a heap of tennis this year. How far from your physical peak do you think you are?
Answer It's going to take a while. It's definitely going to take the whole of this year. It's tough for me to rush it because, you know, after the Australian Open, I tried to work on my legs and get my legs really strong, and I injured myself again. I can't do that. I've got to take my time, you know, just take it a week at a time and try to get my legs gradually strong. As I was saying, it's tough to look ahead. But I've got to take things, you know, as they come.

Question Have you got seven matches in the legs, do you think?
Answer I never think too far ahead. For a Grand Slam, even if I didn't, I'm still going to try. But I'm feeling pretty good. You know, I can't complain at all.

Question You had a reputation as kind of the good-time guy, the party guy. Is it hard to just kind of cut that off once people kind of associated you with that?
Answer I mean, it's not like -- I definitely partied a lot. It's not like I don't party at all. If I'm not at a tournament, I've got a couple weeks off, I'm going to go out for a couple nights. It's just not going to be the same as it was, that's all. If I train hard on the court, then you can enjoy yourself off the court. You know, you deserve that. It's not like I'm never going to go out again. I'm still having fun. But just, you know, trying to even it out.

Question People would have looked at you from the outside and thought, "He has every reason to be really happy with how his life is, maybe even with the injuries." Pat Cash just came out with a book where he talked about being so miserable that he thought of ending his life. Can you talk about what forces make it difficult to be truly happy and content?
Answer I cannot speak for anyone else. I have no idea how he felt. But for me, the most important thing in my life is my family and their health. Everything else comes second. So I'm the luckiest guy in the world. I have nothing at all to complain about. You know, even after three surgeries, I'm still the luckiest guy in the world. I still have two legs to run around on. I'm blessed. You know, I couldn't see anything that would make me, you know, become, you know -- think about things like that. Like I said, I'm loving life. I love my family. I love my friends. They're all healthy. I'm healthy. That's what it's all about.

Question Is it easy to lose that focus, the perspective that family and health is important when you have so many peripheral things come your way?
Answer No, not at all. Like I said, if that's your number one priority, then nothing else matters.

Question Enqvist next. What are your thoughts on playing him?
Answer He's a dangerous player, no matter what surface you play him on. He hits the ball nice and flat. He's going to be dangerous. He's got good returns, he can slap some back. Again, it doesn't really matter who I play. As long as I go out there. Obviously, you've got to adapt your game a little bit to who you play. But I've just got to go out there and play percentage tennis. I definitely want to get some more first serves in. You know, sometimes I get a little slack, tense, I miss those easy volleys because there's no -- yeah, just my mind is not there. If I see a ball floating in the air, instead of going forward and putting it away, I'm waiting for it. I just hit it with no direction at all. That's what I did a couple times today, and I lost my serve. I can't afford to do that against Thomas. I've got to go out there and think about my serve and take it a point at a time, just try and make him play on his serves.

Question You were saying at Queen's that your new philosophy is to fight for every point. Is concentration a part of that?
Answer Definitely. If you were out there every point fighting, it's going to be hard to concentrate the whole match. But that's what's it all about. If I keep doing that, I'm going to get mentally tougher. That's what I need, I need to get mentally tougher, just focus, commit myself. That's all. If I'm going to serve-volleying, committing to the first serve, the first volley, you know, I play good tennis. If I'm going out there half-hearted on some of the volleys, I'm going to make some silly shots. As long as I go out there and compete, stay positive, stay focused, you know, that's what I'm looking for.

Question Are you doing anything different this year in terms of renting a house around here? Has your mom come over?
Answer Mom's here.

Question Is she doing the cooking?
Answer Doing the cooking.

Question Who is it, your mom and dad?
Answer My mom, Dad, my best friend Charlie, his fiancee, best friend Billy from Australia. Got the full house.

Question How far are you from your peak?
Answer I'm fit. I feel good. I'm definitely feeling as good as I have for a long time. Like anyone, there's no doubt you can get fitter. There's no doubt I can get fitter, I can get stronger. But I'm feeling pretty good.

Question Of the things that you let go of, the toys, can you say what you got rid of? You bought some horses, is that right?
Answer Yeah, I have two horses, and six dogs.

Question What did you get rid of? The sports cars? The motorcycles?
Answer I kept one motorcycle, but pretty much got rid of the rest. You know, the sports cars.

Question Do you feel like the best years of your tennis are ahead of you or behind you?
Answer They're definitely ahead of me. There's no doubt about that.

Question Especially here, do you feel like there's unfinished business for you, the fact that your big serve plays so well here?
Answer Yeah. I mean, this is a dream for me to win. I know I can win it. I'm going to give it my best this year. But if it's not this year, I'm going to give it my best and come back next year. But I'm still here this year and I'm still in it, just like everyone. People come to the tournaments to win, they're not going to be happy, "Okay, couple of matches, whatever, think about next week." Everybody's here to win. That's what it's all about.

Question Were you going to beat Sampras that day when you got hurt here?
Answer You never know. I mean, you never know what was going to happen. Definitely wasn't the way I wanted to get out.