US OPEN

August 31, 2003

Mark Philippoussis

MODERATOR: Questions, please.

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.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I pressed...?

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.

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.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Well, you know, I just questioned the ball. You know, I thought it was close so...

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: They showed it on the replay? Yeah, well, nothing you can do about that, you know. So I thought it was close.

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.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Have I played in a match?

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.