By RICHARD YALLOP

The Australian

23dec99

GREEK tragedies do not have happy endings, but this one did.

Melbourne turned out to celebrate Australia's 27th Davis Cup triumph yesterday, and to embrace a 23-year-old who seemed to start 1999 as the unwanted outsider in Australian tennis but ended it as an accepted hero.

As a crowd of more than 10,000 spectators gathered outside Melbourne Town Hall to welcome the victorious Davis Cup team, local man Mark Philippoussis – double singles winner in the recent 3-2 final victory over France – received the loudest cheers and screams.

Having ended 1998 warring with Davis Cup captain John Newcombe, and facing questions about his desire to play for Australia, Philippoussis ended 1999 being admitted to the nation's pantheon of Davis Cup greats, many of whom attended the parade.

The symbolic healing of the rift between captain and player was reflected in the order of the procession, with Newcombe riding shotgun in the final car while Philippoussis rode just ahead of him.

Ahead of Philippoussis were the other players who had fought for Australia during the 1999 campaign: doubles players Mark Woodforde, Todd Woodbridge, and Sandon Stolle and singles players Pat Rafter, Lleyton Hewitt, and Wayne Arthurs.

Philippoussis said the parade was a "great honour", and he showed every sign of acknowledging that his display in Nice had been a career-turning performance, both in terms of realising his own potential and winning over unconvinced Australian fans.

"The match against (Cedric) Pioline was the best win of my life, and a very positive result for my career," Philippoussis said.

For Newcombe, the acclaim of the crowd ended six frustrating years when almost everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

He said the satisfaction of winning was all the greater after the setbacks since 1994.

"Sometimes when you have a goal and you achieve it easily, you don't realise how much you cherish it," Newcombe said. "We were attempting to climb to the top of the mountain, and this year we realised we had the spirit and determination to do that."

23dec99

Herald Sun

MARK Philippoussis believes he can translate his superlative Davis Cup form into Australian Open success.

Feted as the linchpin of Australia's 3-2 victory over France in the final two weeks ago, Philippoussis already has turned his attentions to the January 17-30 Grand Slam.

Overwhelmed by the adulation and emotion surrounding his singles wins against Frenchmen Sebastien Grosjean and Cedric Pioline, Philippoussis said he had learned much about himself during the pressure-cooker final.

"It was incredible, it was hard to explain," he said of his emotions on helping Australia notch its first win in 13 years.

"I don't know how I concentrated that well, hopefully I can carry it on to the summer.

"I'm really looking forward to that, spending time at home with my family and playing the Australian Open."

Australian captain John Newcombe has already predicted US Open finalist Philippoussis is poised to break through at the highest level for the first time after watching his Davis Cup excellence.

And teammate Todd Woodbridge yesterday said he had "never seen anybody concentrate so well and hit the ball so hard, with more up his sleeve" than Philippoussis in Nice. Philippoussis, ranked 19th in the world, will resume training in preparation for the Hopman Cup in Perth where he will attempt to defend the title with Sydney teenager Jelena Dokic.

He will then return to Melbourne for the Colonial Classic, which he won last year, before embarking on a tilt at the Australian Open silverware.

Australian coach Tony Roche, who guided former world No.1 Ivan Lendl to his eight-Slam haul, described the rampant men's game as being "on a roll", predicting not only a successful Cup defence, but also Grand Slam glory.

"We're on a roll, hopefully it can continue into the Australian summer and one of our guys can take it (the Australian Open) out," he said.

"To win the Davis Cup is something special; to defend it would be even better. We've got the Olympics coming up, so it's going to be a big year."

Among the challenges facing Newcombe, Roche and fellow selector Allan Stone is to find a doubles pairing in the wake of Mark Woodforde's retirement from Davis Cup.

Woodforde wants to defend the Olympic Games gold medal with partner Todd Woodbridge, but does not intend to play Davis Cup.

Roche pointed to Australia's enviable depth of doubles talent, which includes Sandon Stolle, Philippoussis, Pat Rafter and Woodbridge ahead of the first-round clash with Switzerland in Zurich in February.

"One of the strong points we have is that all of the guys here play doubles," Roche said. "We have quite a number of combinations we can go with.

"It will come down to who's playing the best."

By MELISSA RYAN

(SportsToday)

Melbourne is no stranger to parades and civic receptions.

It's a city proud to exuberantly congratulate those who have achieved sporting greatness. Olympians, cricketers, rugby players and AFL football teams have been adored by Melbourne's people this year.

But yesterday's ticker-tape parade in honor of the victorious Davis Cup team was special - not only because it was a celebration of tennis, which has rarely received such shows of mass appreciation, but also because it was the first such parade for a Davis Cup team.

It was a rapturous reception for players Mark Philippoussis (in official blazer and cargo pants), Lleyton Hewitt, Mark Woodforde, Todd Woodbridge, Sandon Stolle, Wayne Arthurs and Pat Rafter, coach Tony Roche and captain John Newcombe - the squad that broke a 13-year drought when it defeated France earlier this month in Nice. Newcombe praised the reception as only something Melbourne could do, going on to speak of the victory and the spirit that sustained them throughout the year.

Even weeks after the victory, Philippoussis (who, with Rafter, had the most rousing cheers - especially from young, shrieking females) was still unable to fully describe his emotions, which were ``incredible'' at what was ``the biggest win of my career''.

``It's a great feeling ... Just being home, from where you are from, it's very special,'' said Philippoussis.

Past greats were also honored for their part in Australia's impressive Davis Cup history, with Frank Sedgman, Neale Fraser, Paul McNamee and Peter McNamara among those invited to join the procession.

Although there were thousands massed around the stage in front of the Town Hall, sections of Swanston Street were strangely silent as the motorcade passed by. Holidays and Christmas shopping had conspired to reduce the crowd, estimated at about 10,000 people.

Ms Kaye Williamson and her children Kelly and Stephen, had in June spent an hour lining up for the parade honoring the Australian cricketers' World Cup victory. She was surprised at the small turnout.

``We expected a massive crowd. I thought this would be a lot more popular. I was really staggered, but maybe its because it's Christmas,'' said Ms Williamson, of Scoresby.

``This (the Davis cup victory) is just as good,'' she said.

By Paul Macpherson

(Oncourt.com, 12/22/1999)

Tennis fans took to the streets in their thousands in Melbourne today to toast Australia's triumphant Davis Cup team. The seven players who steered Australia to victory throughout the course of 1999, as well as an entourage of former Davis Cup greats, were ferried down Swantson St amid masses of confetti and cheers.

It was the first time the squad had been reunited since the Final in France. Doubles star Mark Woodforde made a special effort, arriving on the morning after a lengthy flight from the US with wife Erin.

Riding high in the last of the opening-top cars, Davis Cup hero Mark Philippoussis received the most rapturous cheers from fans in his home town. And although injury prevented him from playing in the semi-final and Final, Pat Rafter was cheered on just as loud, if not louder, than his teammates who did make in on court in the Final.

At the end of the ticker tape parade the players were presented to the adoring crowd by Lord Mayor Peter Costigan, who had jumped at the opportunity to stage the homecoming celebrations when Sydney showed little interest.

Davis Cup captain John Newcombe, in his trademark motivational style, paid tribute to his players during the presentation, yelling at the crowd: "In the first round in Zimbabwe the guys drew a line in the sand and we said: 'You're not coming past unless you kill us’."

Woodforde said that the enormous team spirit within the squad played a huge part in Australia's success. "A lot of other teams say that they have great friendship and mateship, but they have zilch compared to what we have."

(sportstoday)

By Robert Grant

If there were any lingering doubts that Davis Cup star Mark Philippoussis had been welcomed back into the hearts of the Australian tennis public they were drowned out in a chorus of cheers today.

Philippoussis was warmly embraced by several thousand people who greeted the victorious team at Melbourne Town Hall in a ticker tape parade.

He drew the loudest roar of approval, along with Pat Rafter, who played a crucial role with wins in all of his matches in the first round against Zimbabwe and quarter-final against the US before injury forced him out. Philippoussis was shunned by his team-mates last year after a fall-out with cup captain John Newcombe, when he refused to play, but controversially turned up, in Mildura for the tie against Zimbabwe. All that is behind him now, and the fans too, it seems, have let it fade.

The 23-year-old told his home crowd today his win over French No.1 Cedric Pioline which wrapped up the Cup final in Nice early this month was the greatest victory of his career. He and his cup-winning team-mates, Lleyton Hewitt, Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde, were driven down Swanston Street to the Town Hall in convertibles, where they were met by Lord Mayor Peter Costigan and Premier Steve Bracks.

There was just a sprinkling of people at the start of the drive with many people still busy with last-minute Christmas shopping but the crowd was packed and enthusiastic at the Town Hall.

The cup team, Rafter, Newcombe, coach Tony Roche and squad members Sandon Stolle and Wayne Arthurs collectively unveiled the massive silver Davis Cup trophy atop the podium. The group was also joined by several of Australia's greatest cup stars, including Frank Sedgman, who first played in 1949, Neale Fraser, Rex Hartwig, Merv Rose, Peter McNamara and Paul McNamee.

Arthurs, who sprung to prominence when he reached the fourth round at Wimbledon this year and upset over-confident Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the semi-final against Russia in Brisbane, told the crowd he was aiming for another cup berth in 2000. According to Newcombe, the turn-out at the Town Hall ``could only happen in Melbourne'' and he told fans to watch out for more next year.

Newcombe said his dream for 2000 was to meet the US, coached by John McEnroe and with Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras in the team, in the final at Melbourne Park. AAP