AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 26, 2004

Mark Philippoussis

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Mark.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I felt pretty confident going into the match, felt pretty relaxed, been practicing pretty good. Just, you know, the guy was pretty much too good today. He played, I thought, a flawless match, really didn't make any unforced errors, took advantage of any chances he had, breakpoints. I was zero for, I don't know, eight, seven in the breakpoints. Way too good on the day.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I tried coming in, serve and volley, chipping and charging, but he was just on today. You know, nothing much I could do. Just have to take my hat off to him, say, "Too good."

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I never looked -- I didn't know, you know, who was ahead, who I played next. I always looked who I had to play on the day. Sure, you know, when you look at it, he wasn't a seeded player. You know, people looked at it as a good draw. But every match is a tough match, and there's no easy matches out there. You know, like I said, it's tough to look at it now and say I let it go because he, you know, played a great match today. Like I said, he was too good. It's not like I had some chances and should have taken advantage of it.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I've played him before. Today, just I wish I could tell you. He was just on. You know, he felt very comfortable on both wings. He was ready, you know, whether I chipped and charged, served and volleyed, he was on it. He was hitting the ball very cleanly. And he's very talented. You know, he was just hitting the ball really clean today.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Well, obviously, I didn't have a great day out there. You know, I tried changing things, tried to get back. But, you know, I was trying to do a lot of things out there. But just -- just have to say I guess it's just one of those days where, you know, the combination of me not playing great and someone just playing too good, it's just not a great combination.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Oh, to be quite honest, I didn't feel any pressure. It's just great support. You know, the only thing that felt bad is just I felt like, you know, I tried to do everything out there, and I just -- you know, I sort of let 'em down. Obviously, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4, I want -- they would have loved to see me come back, and I was trying like anything to come back and trying to give them a match. I just want to thank them for their support. Unfortunately, I couldn't give them one today.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Yeah, you know, he was just hitting the ball cleanly, just moving the ball around really nicely. I felt like every time he wanted to go for it, he went for it and made it. He looked very comfortable out there. I'm sure he felt very comfortable. Unfortunately, I couldn't do anything to try to put him off or do something to get myself going, you know. And early in the third set there with 2-Love and Love-40, you know, didn't take that opportunity. He was always on top, you know, never really put any pressure on. He was leading from the start at the second break of serve, first break of serve in the second set, then 2-All he broke me. He was always ahead, you know, playing with some confidence. Always felt like I was catching up.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: Yeah, I expected much more aces from me, too. I don't know.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: In the past he's been a little -- he's very talented, and he's been a little wild with some of his shots in the past. As I said, he seemed very controlled today, very patient. And when he did go for them, he looked in control. So it will be interesting to see how he plays his next match.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: I'm sure I'll go to Adelaide with the team, going over with them. Take a couple days off and just start getting into it again.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: The Davis Cup?

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS: It is, definitely a good point. Grand Slam is an event where it takes a lot out of you. And you do like to have a bit of time to relax and get ready for the next event. To have that following weekend Davis Cup is I think a little too soon, especially for the people who end up doing extremely well, you know, in the Australian Open, and who have to travel to Europe or whether back to America. So it is very early.