US OPEN

September 8, 1998

Mark Philippoussis

Q. Did you have a massage?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: No, not yet. After this.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Sitting down (laughter). Just stretching.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Yeah, it was hard for me to talk then. I couldn't really speak. I was just still tired, but just so thrilled, you know, more mentally than anything. Just relief to get through that match.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Yeah, in a certain way, yes. Obviously, not against -- you know, obviously the Sampras match was, but this is an entirely different feeling. This, to be quite honest, was just -- felt just as good inside as that Sampras one.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Yeah. You know, I just wanted to hang in there tough. I was playing some up-and-down tennis, just wanted to keep on attacking, just not give up.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I told you I go for those serves. That's just the player I am. I'm going to go for my shots. I have confidence in my second serve to be able to do that.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I was a bit upset at myself losing that first set. Lose my serve three times, lose at 6-4, has got to say something. I was ready, I was eager out there. I was very disappointed in myself. I just wanted to come at him hard, just let him know that you're going to have to pass me all night, I'm going to be all over the net.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I definitely think so. This match that definitely matured me a lot, coming off that court. This is definitely a step in my life that is going to change something definitely.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Definitely. You know, knowing that I can do it, no matter if I'm down -- when I'm down, just hang on tough. Definitely going to change a lot of things for me.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Why not? Pat is playing some great tennis at the moment. Definitely don't look over him not beating Pete. I mean, it's going to be a great match. Pat is going to be ready to go.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: He is.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Yeah.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: He's just laughing, just a hug, big hug. He said himself, "You turned into a man tonight."

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Very important, very important, for some support. Also, you know, he doesn't love traveling, but he just loves watching me tennis. It brings him joy, makes him happy. And I want to make him happy. He's done a lot for me in my career. You know, I'm here where I am because of him. You know, I want to give back to him now.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Yeah, he said it nearly gave him a heart attack. I think all my team has got some gray hairs tonight. But definitely didn't want to do it that way.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Yeah. I made too many -- I made a lot of unforced errors from the back. It was windy, so the ball was moving around a lot. If you didn't have some good footwork, I miss-hit a lot of balls. It's tough to pass when it's windy like that. It's swirling around everywhere. You know, I'm six foot four, when a guy sees me coming to the net, I don't think it looks too good on his side.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I'm only 21. I'm going to make some decisions in my life, right or wrong, I'm just learning. I'm still a kid. I'm learning not only in tennis, but in life. I've definitely got a long way to go. I've just started my life. You know, this match has taught me a lot about me personally, not just as a tennis player, but as a person.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I mean, I just wanted to show I got some guts out there, that I didn't want to let go. You know, that I'm a fighter. In the past, where it's been tough, I've -- I haven't come back strong. I've sort of not -- not -- tanked isn't the right word, just didn't play the big points right. I just didn't want to sort of take the challenge. And I was ready for the challenge out there tonight.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Yeah, we're friends. We've talked about it. You know, I think we've put things behind us. That's how it is, you know. We're still both young. We have to get things behind. That's happened. We're definitely going to see a lot of each other. He's a nice guy. We just had to get things worked out.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: My concentration on the court, you know, no matter when I was done, I just took it point by point, just concentrated on what I had to do, not worrying about anything, what the score was, you know. Just my fitness at the moment is good. I felt great out there.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I mean, the guy's basically not going to miss from the back. He's going to run all day, he's going to run everything down, he's not going to miss. I've got to be ready to play even a tougher match than I did today against him. I'm ready to do that. It's the semifinals of a Grand Slam. This is what it's all about. You know, I'm motivated. You have to be, definitely have to be motivated out there.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Definitely, to be honest. You know, I knew he had a big serve, but not that big. The guy hit 136 today. That was huge. I mean, I had a lot of chances, a lot of breakpoints, sort of felt like if I didn't take the first one, he was going to come back with some big serves, and that's what he did.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I've been working extremely hard on my all-around game. I made too many unforced errors today I think due to maybe lack of footwork because it was windy, definitely have to have a lot more footwork out there, just get the racquet back earlier. You can't afford to do a lot with the ball, especially when it's windy like this. I was trying a bit too much. Just towards the end, I just had to -- you just pretty much have to just get the ball in play when it's windy like this. Wait for a short ball and come in.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I felt good. I felt great out there, to be honest. Maybe I was also going on adrenaline. I was bouncing on my toes in the fifth, tiebreaker. I won that match. I feel great now.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: The match?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Well, you know, the 4-2 game when I broke back. That was huge. You know, I hit some great volleys on my serve. I saved some breakpoints in the start of the fifth set. That could have been two breaks there. But, you know, I hung in there and just the guy returned well to break me. You can't do anything about that, just stay positive.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Yeah. I mean, that's obviously part of the plan. I wanted to let him know that I was coming in, and he did. He knew that. He tried -- had to do a bit too much on his second serve. I put a lot of pressure on him.