ATP Kroger St. Jude men's tournament, second round Memphis, Tennessee

Mark Philippoussis is ready to make his 2001 season debut confident that surgery has corrected his prolonged knee injury.

The Australian, seeded second in Memphis, will today play Spain's Juan Albert Viloca in his first competitive match since receiving treatment in December.

Philippoussis has been hampered by knee pain since he tore the cartilage while playing Pete Sampras in the 1999 Wimbledon quarter-finals.

But now he believes he can make a successful comeback. "The knee is feeling good," Philippoussis said.

"They are saying the surgery was a success. I've done all the right things and it's getting stronger, so I just have to knock on wood, but I think I'm ready to play.

"I can't remember the last time I didn't have pain but it was before my first surgery that was after that Wimbledon."

After Memphis, Philippoussis, who ended last season in 11th place on the ATP Points Race, will play in San Jose, where he is two-time defending champion, Scottsdale, Indian Wells and Miami.

But the 24-year-old is not planning to play for Australia is the April Davis Cup quarter-final against Brazil, and is likely to opt instead to rest.

Philippoussis is hoping to develop a stronger mental approach and as a result has re-employed two-time Wimbledon doubles champion Peter McNamara his coach.

"I felt I was losing myself as a player," Philippoussis said. "I didn't know why I wasn't enjoying myself on the court. I didn't feel like I was improving. I wasn't fighting on the court.

"In tennis, there's no one who can keep you in the game but yourself," he said. "The one thing I like about tennis is that it's up to you."