RETURN OF SERVICE
WHO Magazine - December 20, 1999
Mark Philippoussis celebrates the end of his Davis Cup exile by bringing the historic trophy back to Australia.
Until Monday, Mark Philippoussis looked doomed to be typecast as Australian tennis's glowering villain to arch rival Patrick Rafter's golden boy hero. For all his talent and good looks, Philippoussis was strife-prone: he had a snarly spat with respected Davis Cup captain John Newcombe and angered fans and players alike by choosing not to play for his country last year. He was, says his agent Thomas Ross, fond of 'the fast lane, the girls' and seemed to flaunt his millions, his collection of homes, boats, motorcycles and cars including a Lamborghini and a Ferrari ("I love fast cars"), and his Alexander the Great tattoo. But on the red clay of Nice's Palais des Expositions on Dec. 6, the man also known as "Scud" for his missile-like serve clinched the Davis Cup for Australia and found redemption.
"I was very positive and played well" declared Philippoussis of his 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 win over France's Cedric Pioline. "I hung in there and played some great points. It's a very emotional moment for me."
And for us. In a vintage sporting year when Australia's trophy shelf sags with the weight of world titles in cricket, rugby, rugby league, netball and women's hockey, recovery of the Davis Cup after 13 years may be the sweetest victory of all. Injury to top players, including Rafter, had hampered the '99 campaign. "This has to go down as one of the greatest years for Australia in Davis Cup history." Exulted Newcombe, "Every time someone had to step up, they stepped up and played at their maximum."
None more so than Philippoussis, 23, who awoke on the morning of his crucial reverse singles match with Pioline feeling "like it was going to be a beautiful day.", it was. When he strode onto the court, Australia held a 2-1 lead in the five-game series, thanks to a fighting four-set victory by Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge in the doubles. But with no trace of the nerves that unstrung him in the US Open, he "jumped all over Cedric and never let him breathe." Said Newcombe.
At the match's end, grateful teammates, Newcombe in the vanguard, rushed the court, embracing him and hoisting him into the air. The Scud, swathed in the Australian flag, and eyes gleaming, was at last among friends and happy to bury the hatchet. "I've been wrong," he said. "I've learned from my mistakes. I've said things that were wrong and right. I've done things that were wrong and right. We came in as a team, we're leaving as a team."
