He has a new look and loads of new toys. Now tennis ace Mark Philippoussis has a new enthusiasm for the game that provided them. By Kate Halfpenny.

Some things just don't run to plan. First Mark Philippoussis loses September's all-Australian US Open tennis final to Queenslander Pat Rafter, and now he's having car trouble. The new Ferrari ordered by the 1.92m (6ft 4in) tennis ace from Williamstown, Victoria, was due to be added today to the Philippoussis collection (Lamborghini roadster, two Hummers, a Range Rover and four motorcycles), but was damaged while being loaded onto a truck. It's gone back to the shop. Bummer.

At least - in both cases - the Scud scored nice consolation prizes. At the open it was a $US400,000 pay cheque and kudos for making his first Grand Slam final. Now, in lieu of the Italian sports car, a sleek 6.5m fishing boat and a SeaDoo water scooter have just been unloaded at the pristine five-bedroom waterside home the star bought during winter as an alternative to his Monte Carlo apartment.

"I consider myself a big kid," says Philippoussis, who reportedly paid more than $2 million for the house in the exclusive Florida resort island of Longboat Key. "I love my toys. I love just having fun. I'm mature when I have to be, but I don't like to be mature too much."

Well, he's allowed to say that. But since 1993, when the 17-year-old Year 11 dropout from Melbourne's Wesley College turned pro, anointed his former bank manager father Nick, 49, as his coach and lit out on the world circuit, Philippoussis's career has been a tumult of quick-change coaches, unfulfilled potential - perhaps until now - and media skirmishes. There have been rumblings he was committed more to the trappings than the game itself.

"He likes the fast lane. The girls, the fancy cars," says Philippoussis's agent, Thomas Ross of Advantage International. "But he's getting better about knowing how to discipline himself." Philippoussis agrees. "I had too much fun to have some serious results. Not that I was partying too much; just by my cars. I love fast cars. But now it's time to mature and try to set things up. I know I've got what it takes."

Nick Philippoussis, Mark's Svengali, best buddy and constant shadow, says his son "works hard to have it all." No longer his coach, Nick oversees Mark's training, handles the business deals and Ok's rare interviews, while his wife, Rossana, 51, stays home with the couple's daughter, Anna-Maria, 31, a teacher. Watching Mark plays, says Nick, is "stressful enough to take three or four years of your life. At least, of my life."

Not that there's much tension being felt right now in the sprawling three-storey home. Philippoussis, wearing only a pair of Fila shorts and the reflected glory from his six-pack torso, is kicking back on his living-room couch and planning a sunset fishing trip. "Look at this place," he says. "It's beautiful."

There are six bathrooms and five bedrooms, with the wardrobe in the master suite stocked with over 100 pairs of new tennis socks, nearly a dozen pair of white sneakers and all kinds of tennis shirts, still inside their plastic packages. A Jacuzzi flows into a heated pool; there's a gym, library and study. Soon to come is a "cinema room" with a wall-sized projection screen for watching TV and movies.

After his tremendous showing in the US Open, which moved him up to No. 18 in the world, Philippoussis received and rejected two movie offers. In one, he would have played the Greek son of Anthony Quinn. "I need to concentrate on my tennis right now," he explains - but has hopes of launching a second spotlit career some day.

"To be quite honest, I want to stop playing tennis when I'm 28 or 29," he says. "I really want to be an actor and be in the movies. I like to do crazy things here and there. I like to act. I love imitating people. I just love movies so much."

Philippoussis's critics might say that when it comes to drama, the towering pin-up boy is best at losing the plot. A series of devastating losses last year had him thinking briefly "but seriously" about quitting tennis because "it was no fun any more." In Australia, he became an anti-hero last year when he made himself unavailable for the Davis Cup tie against Zimbabwe in Mildura.

Stung by public criticism and a personal plea from Victorian premier Jeff Kennett, Philippoussis eventually showed for the clash, but it was as a spectator who chatted on his mobile phone in the stands as Australia went down 2-3. His friendship with then doubles partner Rafter unravelled, with the Queenslander recently telling Good Weekend magazine he had "no idea" why things went wrong. "It just sort of slipped away," said Rafter. "He's definitely changed."

Things got worse when Philippoussis demanded a public apology from Davis Cup captain John Newcombe for failing to help when he was struggling to find his form. The Australian press hammered the Scud, with Melbourne's The Age calling him Mark "Silippoussis." After the US Open, the brouhaha was further inflamed when Philippoussis, upset that Davis Cup coach Tony Roche sat in Rafter's box during the final, again served it up to both Newcombe and Roche.

"The tour is a really tough place," reflects Philippoussis. "You don’t really have good friends. You get on the court with someone, and you just want to beat them." Which is why being home is so welcome. He works out five to six times a week and hits up to two hours each day. "I like to get all of my stuff out of the way in the morning," he says. "Then I've got the whole rest of the day to go and Jet Ski or ride my motorbike or go fishing. I love to go fishing."

Notice there's no mention in the recreation rundown of a partner to share the idyll. Just before the US Open, Philippoussis ended a two-year relationship with a 19-year-old French model called Melanie. It was his first "serious relationship," he says, but it fell apart because he was travelling so much. Unfazed, Philippoussis says he would "love to be married" and have two children, and can outline his "dream date".

"I don't want to do the normal thing and pick up a girl, take her out to dinner or a movie," he says. "I want to pick her up, and take her out on the boat and take her out to a restaurant with the boat."

There would be no shortage of willing sailing partners, says Gavin Hopper, who has worked solidly with Philippoussis as a trainer-cum-coach for the last two years. "Because of who he is and how he looks, he could be partying with females every night," says Hopper. "But he's very soft. He's a very kind-hearted person. He does find some problems with just disposing of the women." Besides, says Hopper, "that is definitely not where he wants his career to take him. He keeps his prespective."

Even Philippoussis's style has undergone a recent change in line with his new take-no-prisoners tennis resolution. He cut his trademark long hair and ditched the bandannas, then had Alexander the Great's head tattooed on his right upper arm. "He had Greek blood in him," says Philippoussis. "He was a conqueror, no matter what the odds. At the same time, he was gracious and humble. But if you went up against him, he'd tear you apart."