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DAVIS CUP - AUSTRALIA vs FRANCE

December 5, 1999

Mark Philippoussis

PARIS, FRANCE

ITF: Questions, please.

Q. Do you feel like a hero tonight?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I feel great. We got here, put in the work, everyone. The whole team feels great. It's hard to explain. Everyone's been working so hard at the start of the week. We've been putting in a lot of hours. We've been having a lot of fun at dinners. We really felt as a team. Really had a good feel about this tie. I think we deserve it. Really do.

Q. Do you feel like a hero, you?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Yes. Why not? I feel great.

Q. Could you have imagined - a year, 18 months ago - that this could have happened?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: No. Who knows what's going to happen next. Like I said, things happen for a reason. I got injured at Wimbledon. Who knows if I would have gown on to win it. Here I am, won the match for the Davis Cup team. I'd take this one over Wimbledon anytime.

Q. How confident did you actually feel going into the match knowing that the Woodies had done their bit yesterday and it was down to you in effect? If you won it, that was the Cup clinched.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Obviously, it made me feel a lot more relaxed knowing we had a 2-1 lead. The pressure was on Cedric; he had to come back to keep the tie open. I concentrated so well today. I knew I had to concentrate extremely well and block everything out. I could honestly say that I heard no noise, nothing. The horns sounded faint to me. The only thing I heard was the ball, you know, the line calls, the heart beating, that's it.

Q. Could you talk us through the last game when you were serving for the match?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I got off, I started shaking. Newc said, "Just concentrate on these points." I couldn't honestly hear anything. 15-Love, like I said, I started shaking. I was like, "Come on, one more point." 30-Love, I was like, "One more point." 40-Love, I was like, "One more point. This is it. One more point, you can do anything you want after that. Just concentrate." What can I say? Game, set, match. I didn't know what to do. I felt like doing cartwheels, doing a backflip. I was so happy.

Q. It's fair to say you've had your ups and downs in what has been a fairly short career so far. You had the injury this year. You had maybe ups and downs with personalities involved with the Australian team here and there. Do you feel at this moment that you've been able to put all that behind you and that you realize maybe sometimes you've been wrong and sometimes they've been wrong, but in the end it's produced the most fantastic result?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Of course. I admitted that in the past. Like you said, I've been young. I've learned from my mistakes. Of course, I've said things that were wrong or right; I've done things that were wrong or right. But, you know, I was young then. I'm still young now. I'm going to make mistakes. But I've learned from those mistakes. Everything negative in the past has been behind me, even before this. You know, we came in as a team; we're going to leave as a team.

Q. Newc keeps saying that clay is maybe your best surface. Now he just said that you could win Roland Garros. What do you think about that?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Well, you know, it took a lot out of me, this match. To win Roland Garros, I have to play seven of these matches. At this time I'm happy to play two. We're going to go out, we're going to party. There's a long way to go till then. I'm just very happy to play really tough tennis now.

Q. What does this mean in terms of the rest of your career?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Like I said, this is the start of my tennis career. I honestly think so. I've never concentrated, played as well as I did today. In the past, Davis Cup matches have started careers. This is the start of mine.

Q. How would you compare this to other wins that you've had or matches you've played?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: This is definitely the biggest win of my career.

Q. As far as intensity and the quality of play and everything else?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Without a doubt.

Q. Was the critical point getting yourself straight back in after losing or the disappointment of losing that second set where you had a set point?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Well, he played some good points, you know. I had that 5-4 breakpoint. I played a good return. He had a great volley. I had a great passing shot. He stretched for it. I came in. I didn't miss the forehand by much. After that, he played a great game. Nothing I could do. You know, I was ready for five sets if I had to. One set all, I was focused, ready again. He started two great points after that. One set all, Love-30. I thought, "God, here we go. Just get a point to stop the roll." I just got some momentum with a break.

Q. It was a case of shrugging it off, these things happen; carry on?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Absolutely. I have nothing to be ashamed of. Played a great set. I thought, "Okay, if he keeps playing like this, good for him." I knew what I had to do. Same as first set, it's going to take a lot of physical and mental strength. I just did it.

Q. What was it that helped you to concentrate better than you have before? Was it something to do with the preparation with Newcombe and Roche, with the team? What was it that brought you up to that level?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: You could honestly ask Newc or Rochey. The way I was playing at the start of the week, the way I was training, you could see this happening. You know, from the start, I was focusing my training. But today when I woke up, I felt like it was going to be a beautiful day, really did.

Q. In your embrace with Newc at the end, were any words exchanged?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Yeah. A lot of, "Thank you's, we did it, finally we did it."

Q. Could you just describe your emotions when you're on the court at the end with your teammates? What did it feel like?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Just joy, complete joy, relief, conquer. You know, it's been a long year. It's been up-and-down for me. These guys went out and did it in Boston. You know, they did it in Brisbane. They got us there. I'm just happy to be a part of it. Just happy to be a part of one great team, holding up that flag.

Q. You drank all the time during the match mineral water and orange juice. What about the evening, same story?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I think a bit of ouzo, a bit of sambuca. I told the guys to go out and look for a bottle of ouzo in France and I hope they found it.

End of FastScriptsâ€¦.

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