THE LIPTON CHAMPIONSHIPS

March 17, 1995

Mark Philippoussis

Q. Mark, this is your first match since reaching the final in Scottsdale. How did you feel going out on court today?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Well, I mean, I still felt confident. Still from Arizona I was feeling great out there and I think I am hitting the ball just as well as I was in Arizona.

Q. What about when you were down, how did you feel after the first set? Did you try and do something different or did you just keep hitting?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Well, no, I was missing a lot in the first set and, you know, I just thought, you know, the only reason I lost that first set because I missed a lot. I just kept on playing my game and I think I rallied a little bit more. But I started to get my timing a bit move on my groundstrokes and I started to feel very confident, but I was hitting the ball really great, I thought, and it felt really good and I got to the tiebreaker and I just hit it out and he missed a couple of backhands and, you know, that was it.

Q. Mark, do you have any thoughts on Wayne Ferreira?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I think I play Paul Haarhuis. I mean, you know, I don't think it will matter who I play. I will just go out there and I won't change my game for anyone. I will just play my game. If I think that I am playing really well then I will feel great, I will feel pretty confident; as I said, I will just go out there and play my game.

Q. What are your expectations coming into this tournament the way you have been playing?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Well, you know, I was expecting to do well, but I'm still trying to get a lot of experience on the Tour still, just -- I thought I'd just go out there and give it my 100%. The way I played, I am definitely going to have a lot of days where nothing will go in probably and I will just, you know, get killed out there, but, you know, I am not worried about that. I will just keep going out there and playing my game. I felt pretty confident coming into this tournament, so...

Q. How important was this match for you confidence-wise having done so well two weeks ago and then to come out again?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: It is always good to get that first match out of the way. I think it is very important for me. Each time I win a match, I think I will -- I just get more confident and more confident by each match I go on and I just feel better out there and more -- I don't want to get too excited on the court or get too pumped up. I just want to stay focused and I don't want to tire myself out by getting too pumped up or frustrated so I just keep calm.

Q. Of the many Australian players that are here, which of them is having the greatest influence on you in terms of advising you on how to stay calm or comport yourself on the court and so forth and so on?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: All the Australian players are great. We are very close. We talk a lot. We go out a lot and before we play, if someone has played that person they will just go up to him and tell him I have played him, he does this or he should do that, or he has played him, go and ask him. But I think on the court we try and pump each other up and calm each other and give some pointers here and there. But I think Patrick helps me -- well, you know, just -- he will just say, you got to get that forehand volley a bit earlier; taking it a bit back or good hitting, that is the way I hit it, that is better do this -- you know, just things like that, it is always good to have, you know, have these sort of players doing that. It feels good.

Q. Who did you speak to -- did you speak to any of them before this match?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Well, yeah, like Patrick said, you know, how -- probably dodge your forehand and his backhand will be a bit stronger than his forehand or he has got a weak second serve try and get around it. Woodforde, Stoltenberg said they all know him; they all had the same advice for me.

Q. You said a couple of days ago you couldn't wait to get home to Australia; you have a lot of friends back there. Do you need to learn that it is important for you to stay on the road a long time as you will have to without worrying about "how soon do I get back," you know, I want to see my friends in order to get your mental state right for professional tennis?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I mean, I always -- I mean, I always concentrate when I am out on the court and when I am at tournaments. When I am at tournaments I never think about when I am going to get home. Only reason I said that because I found out that I will be going home after this and I am excited. It is different if I think I am coming home in two months, but I had no idea I was going back until, maybe, a week ago or where they wanted me to stay up here and train, but my father ended up saying it is better for me to go back and looking forward to go home and get excited, but I don't normally look ahead too much or think about that I have to go home or get homesick or anything like that.

Q. How has it been dealing with all the attention that you are getting?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Well, it makes me feel -- I feel good when I know that I am getting a lot of attention at home or I ring up my sister or mom and they tell me this has been in the newspaper there or been in a magazine there been; talking about you have been on the news something like that. It makes me feel good. It just makes you feel good, you know, that is it.

GREG SHARKO: Anything else.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Thanks.

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