San Jose Mercury News

1 March 2001

He has had better days on the tennis court, but Mark Philippoussis had a pretty good excuse for his unsteady play Wednesday night at the Sybase Open. He was sick.

How Philippoussis survived his first-round match against unseeded and unheralded Markus Hantschk of Germany is anyone's guess. But somehow he did.

``It was a little bit of an ugly match,'' Philippoussis conceded after his 6-3, 6-7 (9-7), 6-3 win, ``but I'm just happy to get through it.''

Happy because he didn't even get to practice on the San Jose Arena court before playing Hantschk, who isn't ranked among the world's top 100 players. And happy because he had a number of chances to win -- including four match points in the second-set tiebreaker -- but lost all of them until grinding out the last few games.

``I got here Monday afternoon and had a really bad virus,'' said Philippoussis, who is 11-1 in the Sybase and is seeking his third consecutive San Jose title. ``I was drenched in sweat coming down here, and I didn't even hit on Monday. On Tuesday, I took antibiotics and had tea and soup, but this was my first time hitting on center court.''

It showed. Philippoussis, who had 13 aces in the 2-hour, 14-minute match, seemed to fall out of his rhythm after winning the first set easily. He had chances to break Hantschk's serve in the first and third games of the second set but lost them. Then, in the tiebreaker, he muffed three match points in a row -- a forehand into the net, a double-fault and a backhand that sailed wide.

Later, Hantschk ended a long rally with a nice touch volley that held off another match point.

``I thought maybe I had a chance after the second set,'' said Hantschk, who is ranked No. 106 on the ATP Tour. ``I broke him, but he made some good shots. I think, in the end, he was a little bit better than me.

``There's no shame losing against him.''

And what was going through Philippoussis' mind after his second-set flop? ``I was thinking, `I could be on the massage table,' '' he recalled.

Understandable. Philippoussis had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee two months ago, recuperated at home in Australia, then submitted to grueling workouts in Miami in preparation for his return to the circuit. His reward: a tournament victory last week in Memphis, where he didn't lose a set in five matches and served 106 aces, including 31 in the final against Davide Sanguinetti.

Philippoussis' win moves him into the second round tonight against Juan Balcells of Spain, immediately following the Andre Agassi-Michel Kratochvil match at 7. Philippoussis is attempting to become the first player to win the Bay Area tournament three years in a row since Tony Trabert in 1953-55.

His first Sybase title came two years ago against Cecil Mamiit, who earned a spot in the draw Wednesday when No. 7 seed Byron Black was forced to withdraw because of an ankle injury he sustained earlier this month. But Mamiit, replacing Black, lost to Goran Ivanisevic 6-2, 6-2 in a late match Wednesday.

Ivanisevic, of Croatia, will play Xavier Malisse of Belgium today.

Earlier Wednesday, sixth-seeded Jan-Michael Gambill eliminated U.S. Davis Cup teammate Andy Roddick 7-6, 7-6 to move into the quarterfinals. The two players combined to serve 20 aces and were forced into two tiebreakers when neither was able to break the other's serve.

Roddick wowed the arena crowd on Tuesday when he uncorked a 138-mph serve in his first-round match, and he came close to hitting that mark against Gambill, firing one serve at 135 mph.

By Jonathan Okanes

1 March 2001

SAN JOSE -- Mark Philippoussis learned his lesson Wednesday night at the Sybase Open. From now on when he's sick, he shouldn't expect Markus Hantschk to provide the best medicine.

Philippoussis, who has been fighting a fever all week, wanted to dispose of Hantschk as quickly as possible. But the pesky German made Philippoussis work overtime before the Australian pulled out a 6-3, 6-7 (7), 6-3 first-round victory.

Philippoussis had several chances to put Hantschk away in straight sets. But he lost all eight of his break points in the second set, including seven in Hantschk's first two service games. He then squandered four match points during the second-set tiebreaker.

"It's frustrating because when you're not feeling well, you want to get off the court as soon a possible," Philippoussis, the third seed and the two-time defending champion, said. "I had so many chances. I'm just happy to get through the first round."

Philippoussis, coming off a victory last week at the Kroger St. Jude Classic in Memphis, Tenn., for his ninth ATP Tour title, didn't practice at all Monday and for only 20 minutes Tuesday. He said he began to feel better Tuesday night, but is far from 100 percent.

Philippoussis had 5-1 and 6-3 leads in the second-set tiebreaker before wasting four match points. Hantschk caught a break when his forehand skipped over the net and past Philippoussis for an 8-7 advantage. He then came up with a service winner to force a third set.

"(After the second set), I was thinking I could be on the massage table at the moment," Philippoussis said. "When you're not feeling well, it's harder to concentrate. I'm happy I fought my way back."

Wednesday also featured a Davis Cup reunion of sorts. U.S. team captain Patrick McEnroe was on hand to watch two of his star pupils, Jan-Michael Gambill and Andy Roddick, slug it out in the second round. In a match that featured no service breaks, Gambill won two tiebreakers to notch a 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1) victory.

Gambill and Roddick were part of the U.S. Davis Cup team that lost 3-2 to Switzerland last month. Each are considered to be part of the future of American tennis, especially Roddick, who finished last year as the No. 1-ranked junior player in the world.

Roddick, 18, turned professional last February and reached the quarterfinals of one tournament, where he lost to Andre Agassi. Agassi apparently was impressed enough with Roddick to invite him to practice with him for a few days.

"Andy and I are going to have a lot of matches like that," Gambill, 23, said. "We played a really competitive and good match. We both played the big points big, and I came out on top of the breakers. But those can go either way.

"They're saying a lot of positive things about Andy right now. What they are saying about him, I think it's true. And it's positive stuff for Andy to hear."

1 March 2001

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Mark Philippoussis was grateful he made it through the match. Winning was a bonus.

Philippoussis, fighting a high fever and flu-like symptoms after arriving for the Sybase Open, struggled to beat German Markus Hantschk 6-3, 6-7 (7), 6-3 Wednesday in the opening round of the indoor tournament.

``When you're feeling like that, you're just happy to get through it,'' he said.

The third-seeded Philippoussis, who won the Kroger St. Jude title in Memphis last weekend, had a chance to take the match when he went up 6-3 in the second-set tiebreaker.

But Hantschk outsmarted Philippoussis with well-placed shots, finally besting the Australian to win the tiebreaker.

``What can you do? My mind wasn't on it,'' Philippoussis said. ``I wasn't feeling great out there, so I wasn't really concentrating.''

Philippoussis, the two-time defending Sybase champion, came back in the third set, double-faulting on a potential match point before his serve was returned into the net by Hantschk.

Philippoussis, who had surgery on his left knee in late December, kept Hantschk back at the baseline for most of the first set, aided by a booming serve that reached speeds of 131 mph.

Although he still had his serve, Philippoussis appeared to lag midway through the second set, frustrated by his mistakes. For the match, he had 45 unforced errors.

``I think in the end he was a little bit better than me,'' Hantschk said. ``He's a good player and there's no shame to lose to him.''

Later Wednesday, wild-card entry Goran Ivanisevic defeated Cecil Mamiit, who two years ago lost to Philippoussis in the Sybase final at the San Jose Arena. Ivanisevic won 6-2, 6-2, acing Mamiit for match point.

In a second-round match earlier Tuesday, Greg Rusedski of Britain cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Renzo Furlan.

Furlan, who won the Sybase in 1994 by beating Michael Chang, was overwhelmed by Rusedski's serve. The eighth-seeded Rusedski had 10 aces in the 57-minute match.

Rusedski made his first Sybase appearance since he reached the 1997 final against Pete Sampras. He retired from that match with a wrist injury.

In other second-round matches, sixth-seeded Jan-Michael Gambill beat American Andy Roddick 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1). Roddick, a wild-card entry, was the youngest player in the field at 18, and he beat fellow American Chris Woodruff to advance to the second round.

Armenian Sargis Sargsian defeated Australian Wayne Arthurs 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (2).

In the completion of the first round Wednesday, Michel Kratochvil of Switzerland defeated Italian Davide Sanguinetti 6-2, 6-0, and Argentina's Jose Acasuso beat Juan Balcells of Spain 7-5, 6-1.

The San Francisco Chronicle

Anne M. Peterson, AP Sports Writer

1 March 2001

(03-01) 00:57 EST SAN JOSE, CA 95101, USA -- (03-01) 00:57 EST SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Mark Philippoussis tired against German Markus Hantschk but prevailed to win 6-3, 6-7 (7), 6-3 in the opening round of the $400,000 Sybase Open on Wednesday night.

Third-seeded Philippoussis, who won the Kroger St. Jude title in Memphis this past weekend, had his chance to take the match when he went up 6-3 in the second-set tiebreaker.

But Hantschk outsmarted Philippoussis with well-placed shots, finally besting the Australian to win the tiebreaker.

Philippoussis, the two-time defending Sybase champion, came back in the third set, double faulting on a potential match point before a serve that Hantschk returned into the net.

``It was very difficult because he is very fast and his serve is very hard,'' Hantschk said.

Philippoussis, who had surgery on his left knee in late December, kept Hantschk back at the baseline for most of the first set, aided by a booming serve that reached speeds of 131 mph.

Although he still had his serve, Philippoussis appeared to lag midway through the second set, frustrated by his mistakes. For the match, he had 45 unforced errors.

``I think in the end he was a little bit better than me,'' Hantschk said. ``He's a good player and there's no shame to lose to him.''

Philippoussis also had 13 aces during the 2-hour, 14-minute match.

In a second-round match earlier Tuesday, Greg Rusedski of Great Britain cruised to an easy 6-3, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Renzo Furlan.

Furlan, who won the Sybase in 1994 by beating Michael Chang, was overwhelmed by Rusedski's serve. The eighth-seeded Rusedski had 10 aces in the 57-minute match.

Rusedski made his first Sybase appearance since he reached the 1997 final against Pete Sampras. He retired from that match with a wrist injury.

In other second-round matches, sixth-seeded Jan-Michael Gambill beat American Andy Roddick 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1). Roddick, a wild card entry, was the youngest player in the field at 18, and beat fellow American Chris Woodruff to advance to the second round.

Armenian Sargis Sargsian defeated Australian Wayne Arthurs 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (2).

In the completion of the first round Wednesday, Michel Kratochvil of Switzerland defeated Italian Davide Sanguinetti 6-2, 6-0, and Argentina's Jose Acasuso beat Juan Balcells of Spain 7-5, 6-1.

1 March 2001

On Wednesday at San Jose, defending champion Mark Philippoussis advanced to the second round, but it was a tough fight.

Three days after winning the Memphis title, Philippoussis struggled in his match against Germany's Markus Hantschk who saved seven match points, but eventually the Australian prevailed 6-3, 6-7(9), 6-3.

"I'm just happy to get through this match," said Philippoussis, who was weakened by a flu. "I'm feeling a lot better."

He will now face Spain's Juan Balcells who ousted Special Exempt Jose Acasuso 7-5, 6-1.

In other first round matches, Switzerland's Michel Kratochvil defeated Memphis finalist Davide Sanguinetti 6-2, 6-0 to set up a match against top seed Andre Agassi. Wild card Goran Ivanisevic scored a 6-2, 6-2 win over Lucky Loser Cecil Mamiit.

In the second round, Armenian Sargis Sargsian battled past Australian Wayne Arthurs 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-6(2) to become San Jose's first quarterfinalist.

In a first-time match-up, Sargsian edged out Arthurs to secure his first quarterfinal of the new year.

Jan-Michael Gambill won the all-American match against youngster Andy Roddick in two tie-break sets, 7-6(5), 7-6(1). Britain's Greg Rusedski prevailed against Italy's Renzo Furlan, winning 6-3, 6-2.

1 March 2001

Mark Philppoussis bt Marcus Hantschk 6-3, 6-7 (7-9), 6-3, first round, Sybase Open, San Jose

Two-time defending champion Mark Philippoussis, struggling to fight off flu, scraped through his first match in only his second tournament following a knee operation in December.

Hantschk battled hard, fighting off seven match points using long, deep goundstrokes but crashed to big-serving Philippoussis who smashed 13 aces.

Third-seed Philippoussis clung to four match points in the second-set tie-break, but was unable to take advantage of any of them. And in the third set he was down a break 1-2 before rediscovering his form.

The 6ft 4ins player was most powerful at the net but also employed baseline moves to combat those of the German.

After the match, the power-hitter admitted he was content just to win the match having suffered with flu leading up to the game.

He said: "I was lying in bed drenched with sweat and shivering at 4 a.m. on Tuesday morning and I didn't think I was going to play.

"I'm just happy to get through this match. I'm feeling a lot better. Last year, I might have been gone. But now I don't like to lose.

Philippoussis is confident that he can add to his previous two championships having worked on abolishing any of the weaknesses in both his game and his confidence.

"It's a tough field but when I walk on the court now I know I can beat anyone out there," said the 24-year-old.

"In the past, I would just try my best and if I lost I said, 'That's what happens.' At he end of last year, I asked myself, 'what am I doing?'

"So I worked with my coach Peter McNamara on eliminating any weaknesses in my game. Before, I was too stubborn to accept that I had any."

His former coach Pat Cash, who now works with Greg Rusedski, recently described Philippoussis as the most talented player he had seen but also the laziest. But he is now working hard to eliminate this description.

"I've realized that I don't want to finish my career at age 30 and think that I had so much talent and if I worked hard look what I could have become. I could have been number one.

"I want to say to my kids, 'your father was the best player in the world.' "I know I can do it."

1 March 2001

Defending champion Mark Philippoussis, who battled a fever earlier this week, defeated Germany's Marcus Hantschk, 6-3, 6-7 (7-9), 6-3, in the first round of the Sybase Open.

Philippoussis, the third-seeded Australian, is playing his second tournament of the year after off-season knee surgery. He made a successful debut last week at the Kroger St. Jude in Memphis, firing 31 aces against Davide Sanguinetti en route to his ninth career singles title.

"I got here Monday afternoon," he said. "I really had a bad fever, like a virus. I was sweating, I was really drenched. Tuesday, I woke up at 4 a.m., had to change and put three shirts on."

Philippoussis, 24, is the two-time defending champion here. The last player to win three straight titles in the Bay Area was Tony Trabert from 1953-55.

"Tuesday, I only practised for 15 minutes and had some soup and a cup of tea," Philippoussis said. "I had no rhythm out there, but I did get that feeling that I had to get tough."

In other first-round encounters, Switzerland's Michel Kratochvil routed Sanguinetti, 6-2, 6-0, and Juan Balcells of Spain defeated 18-year-old Jose Acasuso of Argentina, 7-5, 6-1. Acasuso reached the final in Buenos Aires last week as a qualifier, earning a special exempt entry into this event.

In the final night match, Croatia's Goran Ivanisevic swept to a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Cecil Mamiit. Lucky loser Mamiit took the spot vacated by seventh seed Byron Black of Zimbabwe, who withdrew due to an ankle injury.

Three second-round matches were played on Wednesday.

Sixth seed Jan-Michael Gambill won a pair of tiebreakers to defeat 18-year-old Andy Roddick, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-1), in an all-American battle. Gambill and Roddick were members of the United States Davis Cup team that lost to Switzerland earlier this month.

Roddick turned professional last March and made his Davis Cup debut for the United States against Switzerland. In 2000, he won the junior titles at the Australian and US Open and has captured three Challenger events since October.

Eighth-seeded Greg Rusedski of Britain ousted Italian qualifier Renzo Furlan 6-3, 6-2 and Sargis Sargsian of Armenia outlasted Wayne Arthurs of Australia, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-2).

28 February 2001

SAN JOSE, California (Ticker) -- Mark Philippoussis looks to continue his successful comeback on Wednesday night when he plays Germany's Markus Hantschk in the first round of the $400,000 Sybase Open tennis event.

Philippoussis, the third-seeded Australian, is playing in his second tournament of the year after offseason knee surgery. He made a successful season debut last week at the Kroger St. Jude tennis event in Memphis, firing 31 aces against Davide Sanguinetti en route to his ninth career singles title.

The 24-year-old Philippoussis is the two-time defending champion here. The last player to win three straight titles in the Bay Area was Tony Trabert from 1953-55.

In other first-round encounters, No. 7 Byron Black of Zimbabwe meets Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia in an evening match and Swtizerland's Michel Kratochvil faces Italy's Davide Sanguinetti.

Also, 18-year-old Jose Acasuso of Argentina goes against Juan Balcells of Spain. Acasuso reached the final in Buenos Aires last week as a qualifier, earning a special exempt entry into this event.

Three second-round matches take place on Wednesday.

Sixth seed Jan-Michael Gambill takes on 18-year-old Andy Roddick in an all-American battle. Gambill and Roddick were part of the same United States Davis Cup team that lost to Switzerland earlier this month.

Roddick turned professional last March and made his Davis Cup debut for the United States in last month's first-round loss to Switzerland. In 2000, he won the junior titles at the Australian and U.S. Open and has captured three Challenger events since October.

Eighth-seeded Greg Rusedski of Britain plays Italian qualifier Renzo Furlan. Rusedski is making a strong comeback from an injury-plagued 2000, reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open and the semifinals at Marseille, France.

This is Rusedski's first appearance at this event since 1997, when he retired with a left wrist injury in the final against Pete Sampras. He also was a quarterfinalist here in 1995 and 1996.

In another match, Sargis Sargsian of Armenia squares off against Wayne Arthurs of Australia.

First prize at this hardcourt tournament is $54,000.