WIMBLEDON

July 6, 2000

Mark Philippoussis

MODERATOR: Questions, please.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I hung in there, stayed mentally tough. We were both tired. I was very tired. It's a little tough in the whole of the fifth set where I'm serving, you know, sort -- a game away from the match. Last one that serves is always going to be a little tougher. Definitely all the training I've done with Mike and Gav, that paid off. That got me through the match. It's simple.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Yeah. I mean, I've always considered myself a fighter. That was a good match for me, you know, just to hang in there. I very much enjoyed that match.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Definitely the longest.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: He was laughing when I came in. He came in from my match at 1-Love in the fifth. When he came off it was 16-all. Obviously, I wasn't laughing. I was bleeding, blood on my shorts. Felt like I'd just been punched to death for five hours.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Those are the kind of matches that I'm proud of. That's why you play tennis, those kind of matches. The crowd, you know, looking at the crowd, they're into it, enjoying themselves. Not to say I was enjoying myself, obviously. I was just hanging in there. Now that I've finished it and I've taken a deep breath, you know, the tournament just started now, we're in the second week. It's like nothing to get excited about. I'm happy I got through that.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I don't know about the Playboy lifestyle. Obviously you can say I enjoyed myself too much to give myself a chance to become a serious tennis player. Like I said, a couple weeks, I've wanted to try to set myself in the right direction. If it's not going to happen here, it's going to happen, I know, down the track. With the amount of training we've been doing, the three of us, you know, this is putting me in the right direction.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Definitely, I've got to stay strong. He knows I'm tired. I know he's tired. It's pretty much when it gets to that situation, I think the guy who wants it more and is a little tougher mentally and physically.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Must be an old man. I think I've peaked becoming a man. I'm an old man now.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I've got a day off. You know, I've worked hard. This is what working hard is for. Tomorrow I'm going to have a light hit, a massage tonight, longer one tomorrow. I'm going to be fine. I'm going to be ready to go.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I mean, I think we played a great match. That fifth set, it wasn't really like anyone was -- felt like we were both nervous. I mean, we played some great tennis. He was hanging in there. He started hitting the lines. Chalk came up everywhere. He served incredibly. When he hit the slice backhand at breakpoint down, I was going to cry. I couldn't believe that thing went in. A match like that, it's tough for someone to lose. You know, he can hold his head up high. Just happy to get through.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I don't think I played a bad match.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Like I said, I don't think we played a bad match at all. I obviously played a good match, great match, just like him. You know, I think the only disappointing thing was that four double-faults. I think that was just the most disappointing thing of the whole match, where I lost some concentration. The first service game I lost in the first set, I didn't really do that much wrong. He returned well. Good thing is, he's such a clean hitter of the ball, give him a chance, he's a great striker.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: It's not that he's unbeatable. Obviously, he loves it here. He's going to get a lot of support. But I also love it here, too.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Obviously, when you're down at the other end, it's packed, you see the members area. You look up a little, on top of the player's restaurant, the balcony, that was packed. That's also a great feeling, playing in front of everyone watching you. Really felt like an entertainer out there. Obviously, at the end of the day, I was happy to be the one to win.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: How do you mean?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Well, sure. Henman mixes up his serve and volleys. He doesn't serve-and-volley all the time. You know, it's not like I'm intimidated or anything. I'm feeling good. I think it's good to get through a match like that, a tough one, because if it gets tight, I know I've been there before, and I'm going to feel good. I'm looking forward to it.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I'm not sure.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Sure. There's nothing like a Davis Cup final. Put it that way. I'm going to have everyone with me. That's what it's going to sound like compared to what we had to go through in Davis Cup final.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: No, it's not that hot.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: That's right. I didn't really think about it. I was extremely happy with the way I served. I think the biggest thing was once when I was 15-30 down, went for a second serve, made it. That love-30, he hit a great return at my feet, I scooped it up, went over the net. I jumped up just to help it go over. I mean, I was extremely happy with the way I served in the fifth set.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I'm a little disappointed with that.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I hit 43 aces in a three-set match. I'm actually quite disappointed with 44.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Sure, it's a great atmosphere. The English, the public here, the spectators are great. Of course, they're going to be on Tim's side, but they're very fair, which is nice. They're going to enjoy their tennis. If it's a good point for me, they're going to applaud. Obviously, a good point for him, they're going to applaud a little bit louder. They're very fair. Wherever we play, Centre Court or Court 1, I'm going to enjoy being out there and obviously out there to win.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I'm expecting to go out there and win. I'm not going to go out there and think anything else.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: No, not at all. I completely forgot about that when I left. I'm back here. This is next year. I'm back in the second week.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Yeah. Like I said to the guys, "I just qualified for the tournament. The tournament starts now."

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Mike and Gav, you know, they saw me when they came into the locker room. My head was on the ground. Obviously, there was like blood all over my shorts. My arm was dripping. They said, "A late hit." I said, "Light, too." They said, "Yes."

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: No, no. He actually came to the house this morning. He said he's around if I want anything.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I'm not sure.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: We spoke. Spoke to my father a little bit. We just spoke a little bit. He just said, "Go out there." He watched my match. He said it was good. If you want to talk about anything, just call him.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: No. I'm going to lock my door. I think my mother will be my body guard. She won't let no one in.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: To be quite honest, there's no second best here. It's like people are going to remember the winners, they're going to remember the names on the trophies. They're not going to remember the runners-up years later. I know what I'm capable of doing, and I've come here to win this.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Sure. What else is there? Is there anything else?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I tell you what, Sjeng is one of the nicest guys, definitely is. We've had a lot of practises. It's always been fun in practise. At the end of the day, you've got no friends on the court. He's there to win, just like I am.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Just a lot of hours, a lot of hitting, a lot of rallies, a lot of drills side-to-side. That paid off for today. A lot of hitting, a lot of fitness. Gav has been working me hard. Mike has been working me hard. They said all the work we've done got you through that match. I agree with them.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I feel very strong. My legs feel as strong as they've ever been.