WILL HE CATCH FEDERER UNAWARES THIS TIME?

Philippoussis: at ease and dangerous

By Alix Ramsay
Special to tennisreporters.net

Fred Mullane/Camerawork USA, Inc.

FROM THE US OPEN – There is a sense of unease in the air. Very little ever goes according to plan at the US Open; even the simplest task can only be accomplished after a pitched battle with the authorities while the security officers almost caused a riot on day one by removing suspicious looking sandwiches from hungry punters. But this year, for the most part, everything is going alarmingly smoothly.

Even the buses are running on time.

As for the seedings, they are working out so well as to induce a sense of panic. It is too damned quiet out there. As we move into the heart of the tournament, though, there are upsets of seismic proportions in the offing. After the results of the summer, much has been made of the mental state of the obvious favorites. Roger Federer is a new and confident man after his victory at Wimbledon; Andy Roddick is on a winning roll but, with Brad Gilbert to guide him, he is trying not to think about it and Andre Agassi is … well, Andre is just Andre.

But as the attention is focused elsewhere, Mark Philippoussis has been easing through his opening two matches, enjoying every minute as he goes and feeling quietly confident. His well documented injury problems and three bouts of knee surgery have held him back for so long that he tends to be forgotten when the list of serious contenders is drawn up. In fact, it has been so long since he thought he had a chance of success that even Philippoussis has forgotten what it feels like.

Yet, if winning Wimbledon pushed Federer into the role of superstar, reaching the Wimbledon final moved Philippoussis back into the realm of possible winners. Certainly the experience gave him an added sense of purpose and proved that all the hard work and the months of frustration had been worth it.

"I think the Wimbledon final has made me more professional," he said. "It's made me step up and realize that I've got to be ready for the expectations and the things that are going to be dealt to me. It's extra stuff – sponsors, expectations – on the court. I feel like I'm ready to try and to back myself up. I would say that, mentally, I feel a lot tougher."

THINNER AND FITTER
He is a little lighter than he was a Wimbledon, a little fitter and is reveling in the fact that he can come to a Grand Slam event with a serious chance of doing some damage.

© Mark Lyons

"It's so difficult when you go into a tournament and you know that you can't win it because you're on the comeback trail," he said. "For me, now, it's such a great feeling just being healthy. The match play is there, the hitting is there and all I've got to do is stay healthy and work a little harder and get a little fitter. That's just a good feeling to have. That I'm enjoying it, like I was at Wimbledon, is the most important thing. I was just enjoying every match, enjoying the challenge, enjoying the atmosphere. That's the most important thing for me."

The next challenge for Philippoussis, enjoyable or otherwise, is David Nalbandian, featuring the Wimbledon finalist of 2003 taking on the runnerup from 2002. They have met once before with Philippoussis taking the honors in Scottsdale earlier this year. He knows what to expect as he goes into the match and, much as he doing his level best not to think beyond the next round. The Australian has the appetizing prospect of facing Federer in the fourth round. A little revenge over the Swiss would spice up his stay in New York.

Then again, Philippoussis is slowly growing up and such childish thoughts are far from his mind. Revenge is, after all, for kids. There are a few physical signs that he is maturing.

"I'm filling out, getting a lot thicker on top," he said. "It's time to get some hairs in places that are kind of weird."

But it is his approach to life that is developing with every passing month. This '98 US Open finalist's formative years were spent struggling under the weight of the chips on his shoulders, but these days he is just glad to be playing and glad to be given a second chance of a career. Finally happy, he is at last comfortable in his own skin. "You know, there is nothing to be upset about," he said. "My family is healthy, I'm healthy. That's the most important thing for me."

And with that sort of attitude, taking on a Wimbledon finalist and a Wimbledon champion just for a chance to reach the quarterfinals does not seem so hard after all.