Australian Davis Cup captain John Newcombe remembers
teaching Mark Philippoussis to drive a stick shift after a match in
Split, Croatia, last September.
"He was kangaroo-hopping all over the place, changing gears,"
Newcombe said, laughing at the memory. "I can't even think of
the terror we unleashed."
Newcombe swore -- only half jokingly -- that he would never
again get into a car with Philippoussis, whose appetite for fast
driving and beautiful automobiles already has become legendary
on tour. In less than a year, he has gone through two Ferraris
(one blue, one red) and recently purchased a Lamborghini
(yellow). He also keeps a Jeep.
Toting around a copy of Road & Track at this year's U.S. Open,
Philippoussis promised to stay in the passenger seat when the
Australian team travels to and from the William H.G. FitzGerald
Tennis Center this weekend for its Davis Cup semifinals against
the United States.
"I don't think I'll be driving," he said. "I will be playing."
That's good news for the Australians, who have seen
Philippoussis alternately exploit and ignore his enormous potential
in recent years. The Melbourne native, ranked 21st in the world,
loves tennis, but he also loves cars and being with his girlfriend
and hanging out and having a good time.
Normally, this would not be troubling for a good-looking
20-year-old. But for Philippoussis, his desire to act his age has
been a major problem ever since he caught the tennis world's
attention at 17. His blistering serves (he held the ATP record at
142 mph until Greg Rusedski's 143-mph effort at the U.S. Open)
and powerful groundstrokes evoked gushing compliments from
some of the tour's top players. But a lack of on-court strategy
and a questionable work ethic elicited equally strong criticism.
"There is so much hope and desire, so many people want so
much for this kid," said Tom Ross, Philippoussis's agent at
Advantage International. "He's got a big power game, and some
of the other development is just beginning to catch up. I do think
that he is going to be one of the marquee players for years to
come, but the hype may have gotten a little ahead of the
package."
Philippoussis, who already had signed an endorsement contract
with Fila by the time he was 17, catapulted into real tennis fame
when he shot from No. 304 to No. 32 in the rankings in 1995. At
the beginning of 1996, he knocked Pete Sampras out of the
Australian Open in the third round and appeared on his way to
superstardom. Todd Martin called him "probably the most
talented player to come up since Sampras and Andre Agassi,"
while Agassi's coach, former player Brad Gilbert, predicted
Philippoussis would be "in the top eight by the end of the year.
He has what it takes to be number one in the next three years."
It didn't happen. Philippoussis broke into the top 20 after losing to
Sampras in the fourth round of the U.S. Open, and he stayed
there for four weeks. He won his first title in Toulouse. But by
the end of the year, he dropped to No. 30, accumulating a 2-5
record against top 10 opponents.
In 1997, an arm injury forced him to miss the Australian circuit,
but things began to look up again in March when he won the
Arizona Men's Tennis Championships in Scottsdale. By the time
the clay-court season arrived, Philippoussis finally seemed ready
for that top 10 ranking. He defeated clay-court specialist Alex
Corretja in the final in Munich, and at Queen's, a warm-up for
Wimbledon, he defeated Goran Ivanisevic in straight sets to take
the title.
But, like so many other times in his career, Philippoussis faltered
just when he appeared ready for one of his biggest triumphs.
Rusedski knocked him out in the first round at Wimbledon in
straight sets, and Philippoussis since hasn't made it past the
quarterfinals of a tournament.
"It's been a real on and off year," Philippoussis said. "I had the
desire and then I sort of lost it. I'm still trying to keep it week in
and week out."
Philippoussis's fellow Australians recently have been more
critical of his work ethic, especially after his straight-set ouster
by 65th-ranked Daniel Vacek in the third round of the U.S.
Open. "I think it's time for a lot of hard work for Mark," said
eventual champion Patrick Rafter, Philippoussis's Davis Cup
teammate and one of his best friends. "Mark is someone that
gets away a lot on talent. To do the hard work, you have to have
that desire."
Philippoussis can't explain exactly why he doesn't work very
hard at times, but he said he is aware of his difficulties and is
trying to change. He finally understands, he said, what can
happen if he does.
"I know that's the only thing that's keeping me back," he said.
"You see, all the top guys in the world are talented, that's what
got them there, their ability. But numbers one, two and three,
they are there because they work harder."
The specter of a harder-working, more mature Philippoussis
excites just about everybody associated with him, including his
father, Nick, a Greek immigrant who has coached Mark from
the age of 6.
Nick helped Mark move up the junior ranks, trying to copy the
game of Mark's idol, Boris Becker. Working first on a small
court behind a local church that since has been torn down, the
strong-willed Nick sometimes clashed with Tennis Australia
officials, and people began to whisper that Mark was playing the
sport only to please his overbearing father.
The politics never got to Mark, however, and he has remained
extremely close with Nick, who will be in Washington this
weekend.
"It's great to have a family member around to support you,"
Philippoussis said. As for the claims that his father has pushed
him into tennis, he said: "If he didn't push me, I'd probably be in
some supermarket putting food on the shelf at the moment, so
I'm quite thankful."
So is Newcombe, who still says he believes, after all the ups and
downs, that his pupil someday can reach the top of the game.
"The potential is there to be number one," Newcombe said. "I
don't say it lightly. The thing is, in order to achieve his potential,
Mark is going to have to work like hell.
"Mark's going through the same sort of stage as [Rafter did],
where he's coming to grips with this pretty unreal world of being
a star athlete. Now, Rafter understands the world he's moved
into. We want Mark to be there too."