FIVE years into a career that has fallen far short of its celestial expectations, Australia's Mark Philippoussis is getting help from a higher authority. Boris Becker.

Not long after Philippoussis lost in the second round at Queen's last week, Becker phoned him at his London hotel and tried to herd his wandering brain cells back into the corral.

"He told me I was wasting my career and that when I retire I'll regret not having worked more," said Philippoussis, who lives in luxury on Palm Island near Miami Beach. "He told me I was using only 40 per cent of my potential."

Philippoussis, who grew up in Melbourne in awe of Becker's talent, is listening. "I can still hear Boris' voice in my head, telling me I'll be 32 and starting a family and won't be able to tell my children I was a champion. And it will be too late," he said.

Becker's former coach, Mike DePalmer, is now the daily voice inside the Scud's head.

Has an alarm gone off here? Is this the end of Philippoussis' partying? Will there be no more wave surfing with neighbour Julio Iglesias jnr in Biscayne Bay?

DePalmer was asked if Philippoussis could continue to let the good times roll and maintain a full commitment to winning his first Grand Slam.

"In my opinion, no," DePalmer said, and he has made that clear to Philippoussis in personal conversations. "I think that's something he can do when his career is finished. He's got the next seven or eight years where he can maximise his tennis, and I think he has to narrow down his focus. That's what these other guys (Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi) have been able to do."

That's what Becker did, too. "He could really learn a lot from Boris about how to live your life on and off the court," said DePalmer. "We've talked about this, and Mark is very receptive. I can tell him the right things about where I think his career should be going, but whether he takes the advice is up to him. That's what we're going to find out."

For now, Philippoussis is in the game. "I've made up my mind that I'm going to work hard. Instead of working only two hours a day, I will work at least four hours a day," he said. "Boris is right. I am on the wrong path, but there's time to correct it. I'm not saying that I'm now going to win every tournament. But at least I won't regret anything."

Now 23, Philippoussis is no longer the player who looked in 1996 as if he was just a couple of seasoning years from blowing away the top players on the ATP Tour, including Sampras. If there was a new tennis prototype, he was it. Size, brute strength, 220km/h serves and crushing ground strokes.

When he reached the final of the 1998 US Open, where he lost to countryman Patrick Rafter, he seemed centimetres away. Two months into the 1999 season, he won the Master's Series event at Indian Wells, California, and rolled into Key Biscayne on a wave.

But he simply hasn't taken the last step up. There have been injuries. He tore cartilage in his knee when it looked as if he would upset Sampras in the quarters at Wimbledon a year ago. But even when he's healthy, there is a consistency missing, and Becker believes what is missing is hard work and commitment.

On Wednesday afternoon on the practice courts at Wimbledon, Philippoussis traded shots with Andrei Medvedev under DePalmer's watchful eyes.

"I came over here for the next month to see how it goes -- to see if we're compatible," said DePalmer. "So far, everything has gone according to plan. And it could be something long term. We'll see after Wimbledon."

The Becker connection began with Scud's father, Nick Philippoussis, who has known DePalmer for years. "Nick knew I had easy access to Boris, and he wanted some moral support from Boris," DePalmer said.

"I talked to Boris, and he agreed. He likes Mark. He played against him a couple years ago at Monte Carlo and was very optimistic about trying to motivate him."

DePalmer joined him before Queen's, where Philippoussis beat Wayne Arthurs before losing to Goran Ivanisevic.

"There wasn't a lot I could do before Queen's. I didn't want to overload him with information or have him going out there thinking too much and not playing. But that match with Goran showed me a lot of things I thought he needed to work on, and that's what we've been doing the last week," DePalmer said.

"He needs to be harnessed a bit. He's still a young, impressionable kid, and there is still a lot he needs to learn to be at the top of his profession. But he has the capabilities. Whether he gets there is up to him."