Thursday, September 18, 1997;

The Washington Post

Philippoussis: Less Fast Living, More Dedication

By Rachel Alexander

Washington Post Staff Writer

Australian Davis Cup captain John Newcombe remembers teaching Mark

Philippoussis to drive a stick shift after a match in Split, Croatia, last

September.

"He was kangaroo-hopping all over the place, changing gears," Newcombe said,

laughing at the memory. "I can't even think of the terror we unleashed."

Newcombe swore -- only half jokingly -- that he would never again get into a

car with Philippoussis, whose appetite for fast driving and beautiful

automobiles already has become legendary on tour. In less than a year, he

has gone through two Ferraris (one blue, one red) and recently purchased a

Lamborghini (yellow). He also keeps a Jeep.

Toting around a copy of Road & Track at this year's U.S. Open, Philippoussis

promised to stay in the passenger seat when the Australian team travels to

and from the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center this weekend for its

Davis Cup semifinals against the United States.

"I don't think I'll be driving," he said. "I will be playing."

That's good news for the Australians, who have seen Philippoussis

alternately exploit and ignore his enormous potential in recent years. The

Melbourne native, ranked 21st in the world, loves tennis, but he also loves

cars and being with his girlfriend and hanging out and having a good time.

Normally, this would not be troubling for a good-looking 20-year-old. But

for Philippoussis, his desire to act his age has been a major problem ever

since he caught the tennis world's attention at 17. His blistering serves

(he held the ATP record at 142 mph until Greg Rusedski's 143-mph effort at

the U.S. Open) and powerful groundstrokes evoked gushing compliments from

some of the tour's top players. But a lack of on-court strategy and a

questionable work ethic elicited equally strong criticism.

"There is so much hope and desire, so many people want so much for this

kid," said Tom Ross, Philippoussis's agent at Advantage International. "He's

got a big power game, and some of the other development is just beginning to

catch up. I do think that he is going to be one of the marquee players for

years to come, but the hype may have gotten a little ahead of the package."

Philippoussis, who already had signed an endorsement contract with Fila by

the time he was 17, catapulted into real tennis fame when he shot from No.

304 to No. 32 in the rankings in 1995. At the beginning of 1996, he knocked

Pete Sampras out of the Australian Open in the third round and appeared on

his way to superstardom. Todd Martin called him "probably the most talented

player to come up since Sampras and Andre Agassi," while Agassi's coach,

former player Brad Gilbert, predicted Philippoussis would be "in the top

eight by the end of the year. He has what it takes to be number one in the

next three years."

It didn't happen. Philippoussis broke into the top 20 after losing to

Sampras in the fourth round of the U.S. Open, and he stayed there for four

weeks. He won his first title in Toulouse. But by the end of the year, he

dropped to No. 30, accumulating a 2-5 record against top 10 opponents.

In 1997, an arm injury forced him to miss the Australian circuit, but things

began to look up again in March when he won the Arizona Men's Tennis

Championships in Scottsdale. By the time the clay-court season arrived,

Philippoussis finally seemed ready for that top 10 ranking. He defeated

clay-court specialist Alex Corretja in the final in Munich, and at Queen's,

a warm-up for Wimbledon, he defeated Goran Ivanisevic in straight sets to

take the title.

But, like so many other times in his career, Philippoussis faltered just

when he appeared ready for one of his biggest triumphs. Rusedski knocked him

out in the first round at Wimbledon in straight sets, and Philippoussis

since hasn't made it past the quarterfinals of a tournament.

"It's been a real on and off year," Philippoussis said. "I had the desire

and then I sort of lost it. I'm still trying to keep it week in and week

out."

Philippoussis's fellow Australians recently have been more critical of his

work ethic, especially after his straight-set ouster by 65th-ranked Daniel

Vacek in the third round of the U.S. Open. "I think it's time for a lot of

hard work for Mark," said eventual champion Patrick Rafter, Philippoussis's

Davis Cup teammate and one of his best friends. "Mark is someone that gets

away a lot on talent. To do the hard work, you have to have that desire."

Philippoussis can't explain exactly why he doesn't work very hard at times,

but he said he is aware of his difficulties and is trying to change. He

finally understands, he said, what can happen if he does.

"I know that's the only thing that's keeping me back," he said. "You see,

all the top guys in the world are talented, that's what got them there,

their ability. But numbers one, two and three, they are there because they

work harder."

The specter of a harder-working, more mature Philippoussis excites just

about everybody associated with him, including his father, Nick, a Greek

immigrant who has coached Mark from the age of 6.

Nick helped Mark move up the junior ranks, trying to copy the game of Mark's

idol, Boris Becker. Working first on a small court behind a local church

that since has been torn down, the strong-willed Nick sometimes clashed with

Tennis Australia officials, and people began to whisper that Mark was

playing the sport only to please his overbearing father.

The politics never got to Mark, however, and he has remained extremely close

with Nick, who will be in Washington this weekend.

"It's great to have a family member around to support you," Philippoussis

said. As for the claims that his father has pushed him into tennis, he said:

"If he didn't push me, I'd probably be in some supermarket putting food on

the shelf at the moment, so I'm quite thankful."

So is Newcombe, who still says he believes, after all the ups and downs,

that his pupil someday can reach the top of the game.

"The potential is there to be number one," Newcombe said. "I don't say it

lightly. The thing is, in order to achieve his potential, Mark is going to

have to work like hell.

"Mark's going through the same sort of stage as [Rafter did], where he's

coming to grips with this pretty unreal world of being a star athlete. Now,

Rafter understands the world he's moved into. We want Mark to be there too."

© Copyright 1997 The Washington Post Company