Philippoussis Continues Aussie Charge
tennisgold.com

21st September 2000


Dutch wildcard Kristian Pless was no match for 11th seed Mark Philippoussis, with the big hitting Australian accounting for Pless in straight sets (6/4 6/4).

Today's was an uneventful match which was dominated by the Australian from the first bounce. Philippoussis unleashed 12 aces with an average first-serve speed of 214 kmph.

However, there was an anxious moment. The parochial crowd held its breath when Philippoussis appeared to struggle with some left knee tightness mid-way through the second set.

"I felt my knee around 3-all, 3-2 slightly and it got a little worse," Philippoussis said. "It's not where the surgery was which is good. I had it in Indian Wells and all I did was tighten the IT band (knee band), and that's fine. All I needed was to loosen that up."

Philippoussis is enjoying Olympic life in the village which he says is one of the highlights of the experience.

"That's probably one of the most exciting things, for any athlete staying in the village, just walking to the lounge, or walking into the dining hall. I thought I was pretty big and intimidating until I walked past some Chinese guy who is like 6 ft 7!"

Next up for the Australian is fifth seed Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Kafelnikov boasts a slight edge in the pair's head-to-heads which he leads 3/2.

This time around however, Philippoussis boasts a home-ground advantage complete with a partisan crowd.

"You can feed off the crowd, and that's what it's all about," he said. "I'm here and I'm going to give it my all. It's a huge honour."

 

The Scud through to third round
By GARY STOCKS (SMH-The Age)
2:53PM, Sep 21

Mark Philippoussis set the scene for an engrossing third round showdown with Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov after a business-like victory over Danish wildcard Kristian Pless today.

The Scud had to work harder than he might have imagined in achieving his 6-4, 6-4 victory against a man ranked 257 in the world, but it also appeared that he had plenty in reserve if required.

Pless, after dropping serve early in the second set, retrieved that situation to lead it 3-2 and then had a break point for a 4-2 lead. He had a good opportunity to convert the chance but confusion in his own mind was costly.

He appeared to waver between a backhand offensive lob or a passing shot, did neither, and shanked it wide.

Against quality opposition those chances must be taken and once given a reprieve, Philippoussis turned up the heat. His serve was raised a level or two and he also applied pressure to the Pless delivery, breaking for a 5-4 lead and then serving it out untroubled.

Kafelnikov, the fifth seed, also had his problems dealing with Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela before advancing 7-6, 6-4.

While the bottom half of the draw is loaded with big names, including Philippoussis, Kafelnikov, Gustavo Kuerten and Magnus Norman the top half contains only one seeded player after a first round punctuated by upsets. Spain's Alex Corretja, the sixth seed, is the only survivor to the second round among the fancied contenders.

The presence of Philippoussis in the last 16 was important because the other early starter from the host nation on day three, Nicole Pratt, was eliminated.

The defeat left the feisty Queenslander more determined than ever to work on her game.

Pratt had already set aside November and December to add some arsenal to her range and that resolve firmed in her mind after a 6-3 6-1 defeat by 11th seeded French woman Nathalie Dechy.

Pratt, ranked 54 in the world, wants to develop her backhand because at the moment she feels her opponents can work their way back into the point by directing the attack to that wing. She also wants more grunt in her game generally and is prepared to do what it takes.

''I've really got to work on my game,'' Pratt conceded. ''They exploit my weaknesses and they're the type of players I've got to be beating. I need to work on my backhand so it becomes a weapon for me and players can't go to that side when they feel like it to get back into a point.

''My serve has improved, but it still needs to get better and I've just got to be hitting the ball bigger and harder.''

 

Scud plays down new knee problem

Sydney Morning Herald
By DARREN WALTON
9:15PM, Sep 21

Australian medal hope Mark Philippoussis dismissed concerns about another knee injury today after setting up an Olympic tennis showdown with Russian firebrand Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

Immediately after posting a 6-4 6-4 win over Danish wild card Kristian Pless in the second round of the men's singles, Philippoussis sought treatment for an injury to the same knee that required an operation last year.

Despite approaching the chair umpire at the last changeover of the match to explain that he was feeling increasing pain in the leg, the world No.15 said there was never a chance of a repeat of Wimbledon 1999 when he was forced to retire in the quarter-finals against eventual champion Pete Sampras.

"It's not where the surgery was, which is good," Philippoussis said.

"I had (the injury) in Indian Wells and all I did was tighten the band (on my knee), and that's fine.

"It was a bit stiff this morning. I was surprised. It came on towards the end. I've got a day off tomorrow so I'll just loosen it up."

Any slight injury would likely be exposed by Kafelnikov, a two-time grand slam champion and fifth seed who progressed with a 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 victory over Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela.

No men's seeds lost today, with No.2 Gustavo Kuerten, Magnus Norman (3) and Juan Carlos Ferrero (8) all joining Philippoussis and Kafelnikov in the third round.

Australian 13th seed Patrick Rafter was to meet Canadian Daniel Nestor later tonight.

In the women's singles, Jelena Dokic moved to round three beating Danish wild card Kristian Pless 5-7 6-3 6-3, while Frenchwoman Nathalie Dechy eliminated the other Australian Nicole Pratt 6-3 6-1.

Women's top seed Lindsay Davenport was a shattered withdrawal with a possible stress fracture in her foot.

Davenport had the opportunity to become the first tennis player in history to win two singles gold medals, but instead the world No.2 didn't rule out the possibility of taking abreak of up to two months to rest the chronic injury.

Such a scenario would leave her preparations for the defence of her Australian Open title in January in tatters.

"It has just been a really tough year with injuries and to have to pull out and not be able to perform and in a tournament that you know will probably be the highlight of my career ... it's just devastating," the 24-year-old Californian said.

"I've had to pull out of a lot of tournaments before but obviously nothing compares quite to this one."

Spanish fourth seed Conchita Martinez also bowed out, losing 1-6 6-0 6-4 to Slovakian Karina Habsudova, but all other women's seeds playing today advanced to the third round.

 

Kafelnikov, Philippoussis through to third round

21 September 2000

Fifth-seeded Russian Yevgeny KAFELNIKOV and 11th-seeded Mark PHILIPPOUSSIS of Australia advanced to the third round of the Sydney 2000 Olympic tennis men's singles tournament Wednesday with comfortable straight-sets wins.

Yevgeny Kafelnikov
socog / SOCOG


KAFELNIKOV, the 1999 Australian Open champion, defeated Juan Ignacio CHELA of Argentina 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 in a hard-hitting baseline duel although the versatile Russian, who served up ten aces, also hit 15 winning volleys at the net compared with CHELA's two.

CHELA launched a strong challenge for an upset on a court that was regarded as a graveyard for the men's seeds on Wednesday when Australian LLeyton HEWITT and Russia's US Open Champion Marat SAFIN were both eliminated. In the first set the Argentinian rallied from a break down in the first set to force a tie-break, but the Russian claimed it 7-4.

In the second set, KAFELNIKOV broke CHELA for a 2-1 lead and held that advantage to win the match. He looked to be in dangerous form and a strong medal contender.

PHILIPPOUSSIS was also impressive during his 6-4, 6-4 victory over Kristian PLESS of Denmark, serving 11 aces with a top service speed of 214kph.

The Australian dictated the match from the start with a service break in the third game, winning it with a crosscourt backhand passing shot. Games went to serve after that, with PHILIPPOUSSIS serving out the set.

In the second set the Australian again broke serve in the third game, but the Dane broke straight back with precise passing shots. But the Australian's confidence stayed strong, and he hit some huge forehand winners to break PLESS again for a 5-4 lead. He finished with a flourish, hitting two consecutive aces.

PHILIPPOUSSIS and KAFELNIKOV meet in the third round.

 
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