January 1, 2004: The new year is upon us and it's time for the new season to get underway. Mark said he has completely recovered from the torn pectoral muscle and is ready to go for the Australian summer circuit. He'll first hit the courts competitively at the Qatar Open on January 5th. Then it's back to the mainland for the Adidas International in Sydney on the 11th and then the big Australian Open on the 19th. Mark took to the courts at Melbourne Park yesterday for his first real hit of the new season, spending two hours on court and according to onlookers seemed to be very relaxed and playing with great joy and enthusiasm.
December 18, 2003: A couple of articles about the Athens' Games added. For once Mark is coming across as the golden child who will play for his country, while Hewitt is cast as the bad guy whose only concern is the US Open.
December 17, 2003: The Aussie press announced today that Mark will be playing in the Summer Olympics in Athens from August 15-22nd. However, contrary to what the Aussie press says, the US Open is scheduled to begin on August 30th, not the 25th.
December 15, 2003: Mark's shoulder injury forced him to pull out of the 2003 Paradorn Super Tour this week in Thailand - nothing serious, the shoulder just needs rest. (Of course his pullout was the first I'd even heard of the tour!). Mark's been enjoying his holiday in Hawaii though - he cheered on fellow Aussie Jake Paterson to his win at the Rip Curl Cup. On the Davis Cup front, the tie against Sweden will be played on hardcourt.
December 4, 2003: Mark's schedule is starting to firm up for the new season. Due to the shoulder tear he's out of the Battle of the Ages next week in Minneapolis. He will begin his 2004 campaign in Doha on January 5th, followed by the Adidas International in Sydney on January 11th, and then it's time for the Australian Open. The Davis Cup schedule has also been announced and Australia will play Sweden in Adelade on Feb 6th to determine who advances to the quarterfinals.
December 1, 2003: Media wrap up from the final with 91 articles and 15 more photos added. During a celebration today at Federation Square to honor the Davis Cup team, Fitzgerald hailed Mark as a national hero for playing through the pain to seal the victory. On the injury front, it's a bit of good news as while Mark did tear his right pectoral muschle, an MRI shows it to be a low-grade tear. Doctors recommended three weeks of no tennis which is fine since Mark was planning to head to Australia tomorrow for a Hawaiin surfing holiday anyway.
November 30, 2003pm: First off, a correction to the score for the match against Ferrero; I was in such a hurry I accidentally left out the fourth set! The correct score is: 7-5, 6-3, 1-6, 2-6, 6-0. It was an important set to miss obviously as Mark really fought back in that fifth set after Ferrero got on a comeback roll. On top of being a fantastic win for the team, it was also a great psychological win for Mark to come back after leading. Mark spoke after the match about not knowing how he got through the final set, but felt he was just carried along by the crowd. Unfortunately the one downside to the match is that Mark put some serious strain on his right shoulder and will be having an MRI to determine the damage. 29 great photos added (articles will be added tomorrow)
Congratulations Australia!!
November 30, 2003: Congratulations to the new Davis Cup Champions!
Mark brought the Cup home with 7-5, 6-3, 1-6, 6-0 defeat of Ferrero in 3
and a hlaf hours! Way to go Mark!!
November 29, 2003: Australia now leads Spain 2-1 thanks to a great
performance by Woodbridge and Arthurs to defeat Corretja and Lopez in the
doubles rubber. For today's rubbers, Mark will play Ferrero first with
Hewitt vs. Moya to follow. Good luck Mark!
November 28, 2003: Day one of the Davis Cup final is over and Lleyton got it off to a good start with a 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(7-0), 6-2 marathon match against Ferrero that lasted just under 4 hours. Unfortunately Mark didn't have the same luck to keep it going, taking a 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(4-7) loss to Moya. So the final is currently tied at 1-1 with the doubles rubber up next.
November 26, 2003: The Davis Cup final will open with the Hewitt s. Ferrero match and Mark will play the second match of the day against Moya. More articles and practice photos added.
November 25, 2003: Practice continues in Melbourne with Mark finally getting to play on the grass laid in Rod Laver. The grass is currently playing slow but should speed up as it's cut each day leading up to the start. Also today a new Davis Cup tradition was started; following the traditions of Cricket Australia each player now has a number based on the order they joined a Davis Cup team. Mark plays as #86. Several articles and practice photos added.
November 18, 2003: Mark made a suprise appearance in Australia today, flying back earlier than planned to join the team for practice. He hit for about 90 minutes just to warm up and get loose.
November 17, 2003: Mark heads back to Australia tomorrow to start preparations for Davis Cup. Several articles are out about the team's preparations. Because Mark is now the top ranked Aussie it's his turn to 'lead' the team. Mark has also been announced for the Rotterdam tournament in February. (thanks to Hilde for that news)
November 12, 2003: Mark continues to warm the bench in Houston, but at least he's getting paid for his time and has been practicing. He plans to return to Australia next Wednesday to being practicing on the grass for the Davis Cup final against Spain. In prep for Davis Cup, he's pulled out of the Superset tennis match in Oregon next week. Article added with a nice phone interview with Mark.
November 9, 2003: Mark is still on hold in Houston and tomorrow will determine if Nalbandian's wrist will hold for the tournament or whether Mark will be called in to play. While we don't want to wish injury on another player, we do have our fingers crossed for Mark to be able to play.
Happy Birthday Mark!!
November 7, 2003: Today's the day - Mark turns 27, and he's spending it in Houston waiting to find out if he'll get called as a replacement for someone at the Masters Cup. Update to my video tape trading list has been with two new items, including the Davis Cup match against Federer.
November 3, 2003: Mark is the official travelling reserve for the Masters Cup in Houston next week, and with Nalbandian having wrist problems, there's a serious chance he could end up playing. But even if he doesn't play, he'll take home a nice $50,000 paycheck just for being the alternate on-site. In the rankings, Mark is holding at 9th in both the Champions Race and the 52 week entry list.
October 30, 2003: Media wrap-up from Paris. A few articles and photos added.
October 29, 2003: Barring an injury to one of the Masters' players, Mark can kiss his Houston hopes goodbye. (His best chance is if Schrichpan doesn't win the tournament in Paris and that Nalbandian's wrist doesn't recover in time). He lost an incredibly tight match to Kuerten today 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (11-13), 6-7 (1-7). The match was incredibly tight (not a single break of serve!) and Mark even had five match points in the second set tie-break but couldn't convert.
October 28, 2003: Mark will play Kuerten, who took out Fish, tomorrow night in Paris.
October 27, 2003: Mark's bid for that eighth spot at the Masters Cup got an unexpected boost when Nalbandian had to withdraw from the Swiss final with a wrist injury. He hasn't yet pulled out of Paris (that decision will be made before his second round match) but if he does, that gives Mark an excellent chance to catch and pass him for that final spot (he's needs at least 71 points to pass Nalbandian and must stay ahead of Grosjean who he leads by a 1 point margin.)
October 26, 2003: The draw is out for the Paris Masters and it's not going to be an easy road. Mark has a bye through the first round but faces a second round match against the winner of the Kuerten/Fish match. And lurking in Mark's half are Nalbandian, Federer and Roddick. I believe Mark needs to reach at least the finals to make it to Houston.
October 22, 2003: News wrap-up from Mark's withdrawl. It seems that the chest infection is preventing him from getting deep enough breaths to play. Doctors hope that will a week of rest he should be back to playing in Paris.
October 21, 2003: The end of the season is just not good for Mark at all. He's withdrawn from Basel today with a chest infection. This pretty much means he won't make Houston unless he wins in Paris next week or one of the top eight pulls out with an injury.
October 20, 2003: Mark remained lucky this week and didn't drop in the Champions Race but stays at 9th and by quirk of numbers even moved up one spot to 12th in the entry rankings. The Swiss Indoors begin this week. Mark is the 6th seed and will play his first round match against Lapenti tomorrow.
October 15, 2003: Article update from yesterday's match. Also Mark is now confirmed for the Paris Masters event at the end of the month. While yesterday's loss did put a serious dent in Mark's hopes for the Masters Cup, provided he advances farther into the tournaments in Basel and Paris than Nalbandian he should make it to Houston.
October 14, 2003: Today was not a good day for Mark as he went down 4-6, 6-3, 3-6 to Lopez. Unfortunately this puts his Houston chances in serious jeopardy. Media update will come tomorrow.
October 13, 2003: The Madrid Masters begins today and Mark has a bye through to the second round where he will face either Zabaleta or Lopez. Madrid is an important tournament for Mark if he wants to make it to Houston at year's end. Currently he is sitting at No 9, just 37 points behind Nalbandian.
October 10, 2003: Mark is supposed to be heading to Madrid today complete with a custom neck brace for travel. This update includes two new magazine covers in the gallery.
October 6, 2003: Mark has returned to Melbourne following his retirement in Tokyo. He has the week off til he plays in Madrid next week and plans some new neck strengthing excercises on top of his normal routine. He also plans to travel with a custom nexk brace to help prevent future incidents. The rankings came out today and Mark held steady at 9th in the Champions race and moved up one place to 13 in the 52 week rankings.
October 3, 2003: The curse of the stiff neck has struck again with Mark having to retire 2-5 against Saulnier today. Post-match Mark said he felt asleep on his stomach and must have twisted his neck when he got up. But the good news is he says it's usually gone in a day or two. Next up for Mark is the Madrid Masters on the 13th. The results there are crucial if he wants to make the Masters Cup at the season's end.
October 2, 2003: Mark advanced again at the Japan Open today with a 6-4, 7-5 over Ancic. In a post-match interview he said he's feeling fresh and hungry for more wins. Also Tennis Australia has announced that they will be laying a grass surface in Melbourne for the Davis Cup final against Spain.
October 01, 2003: Mark continued his winning ways with an in-form win 6-4, 6-3 over Browne. He's carrying some good confidence from the win in Shanghai and looked relaxed and powerful in his match.
September 29, 2003: The Japan Open gets underway today and as the fifth seed Mark has a first round bye. Mark's win in Shanghai also jumped him up two places to 9th in the Champions Race and up one to 14 in the 52 week rankings.
CONGRATULATIONS MARK!!!
September 28, 2003: Congratulations to Mark for winning the Heineken Open today! He beat Novak 6-2, 6-1 in an amazing 45 minutes! He was definitely playing some excellent tennis. He also beat Soderling 6-4, 6-4 in the semis. 44 articles and 10 photos added. (and my apologies for the late update - another frustrating power-failure around here)
September 26, 2003: Mark just keeps on rolling in Shanghai, defeating Canas 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) to advance to the semis where he'll play Soderling.
September 25, 2003: Mark rolled through in Shanghai defeating Salzenstein 6-2, 7-5 and showing excellent form, looking light on his feet and moving well. Ufortunately Mark and Verkerk withdrew from the doubles field after Verkerk had to retire from his singles match with a stomach strain.
September 24, 2003: Mark advanced today at the Heineken Open defeating Vinciguerra 6-4, 7-6 (7-2). Next up is Salzenstein He's also playing doubles there with Verkerk (a first time pairing for him) and they'll face Novak & Pala tomorrow. Also Mark has been announced to play in the Adidas International in January as a warm-up for the Australian Open.
September 23, 2003: After much digging, I found a reference that Mark didn't play the final rubber because he was still having some lingering neck stiffness and didn't want to aggravate it further. This week is the Heineken Open in Shanghi, and Mark will play his first round match tomorrow against Vinciguerra. He's also been confirmed for the Tokyo Indoors the following week and the Tennis-Masters Madrid two weeks later.
September 21, 2003: Thanks to two wins by Hewitt and one from doubles team Woodbridge and Arthurs, Australia has advanced to the final! The last dead rubber was played by Woodbridge, who then retired after one set. No word yet on why Mark wasn't playing that final rubber. Numerous articles and some great photos added.
September 19, 2003: It's tied 1-1 after today's first round of Davis Cup matches. Unfortunately Mark was once again bested by Federer, going down 3-6, 4-6, 6-7 (3-7). Hewitt however did win against Kratochvil. A full update with articles and photos will have to wait a day or so as I'm unfortunately without power thanks to Hurrican Isabel and the laptop just doesn't have the juice for a full search. Hopefully I'll have a full update (and power) in the next few days!
September 16, 2003: Mark returned to practice today and after some initial stiffness was showing some excellent form. Several articles and photos added. Two more events were just confirmed today for Mark's schedule. He will be at the Swiss Indoors in Basel starting October 20th and will be doing a one day event called Superset Tennis in Portland, Oregon on November 11th.
September 15, 2003: It wouldn't be Davis Cup without some Philippoussis problems. Rumor surfaced the other day that Mark is combatting a neck injury which was why he didn't practice. Then he didn't practice for a second day in a row. Fitzy says that Mark is just fine and has just taken some time to visit with his mother and isn't one for heavy pre-match practice. Hopefully he's right and all is well. For you folks down in Australia, Davis Cup has a prime time night slot starting at 8pm on Channel 7.
September 11, 2003: Looks like I was off a few days - Mark arrived in Melbourne early this week. He first day of team practice was yesterday. It seems he has a bit of a cough, though he says it's just some phlegm and nothing serious. Let's hope so! Several articles and photos added.
September 9, 2003: Davis Cup begins for Mark on the 19th and he's expected to be in Australia in a few days. Then it's just practice, practice, practice, before taking on the Swiss. It will be a Wimbledon final rematch against Federer for one of the singles slots. Updated Rankings: In the 2003 Champions Race, Mark dropped one place to 10, but by playing the US Open this year he moved up four places to 16 in the 52 week ranking.
September 2, 2003: Small update on Mark - it seems that after his second round match Mark suffered a lower back muscle strain and received treatment for it. The early word is it's not too serious, but of course the Australian press is notably concerned with the Davis Cup match on the 19th. Also Mark will be playing in an exhibition "Battle of the Ages" in Minneapolis in December (thanks to Marjan for that info!).
September 1, 2003: Unfortunately Mark's US Open run ended yesterday with a 5-7, 7-6 (12-10), 6-3, 6-2 to Nalbandian in the 3rd round. And while Nalbandian played well, the problems were squarely in Mark's play with big problems on his second serve and an unbelievable 74 unforced errors. For every ace he fired, he hit two unforced errors! Numerous articles and photos added.
August 29, 2003: Mark advances once again, defeating Dupuis 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the third round. On Sunday Mark will face Nalbandian. Several articles and photos added.
August 27, 2003 pm: Media update from Round 1 with numerous articles and photos added. I highly recommend the post-match interview - some great answers about his passion for surfing. His opponent for Round 2 will be Dupuis whom he'll play on Friday.
August 27, 2003: Mark had a good start to his US Open bid with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 win over Tipsarevic. The first set was a cake-walk but he faced a bit of a challenge at times in the second and third. But he made it through and was a nice warm-up match for him. Next up is either Youzhny or Dupuis.
August 25, 2003: Mark's first match will be sometime Wednesday against Janko Tipsarevic, a qualifier. Several articles added.
August 22, 2003: An article on Mark's chances at the Open added. Also Mark played in the Centre Court Challenge put on by EVIAN and supporting the Harlem Junior Tennis Program today. He was supposed to be doing some serve demonstrations.
August 21, 2003: The draw is out for the US Open and Mark is in the bottom quarter of the draw. He'll face a qualifier in the opening round but after that it's a bit of a tricky draw for Mark with potential opponents of Federer, Moya and Nalbandian just to make the semis.
August 19, 2003: The seeds for the US Open were announced today and Mark has been seeded 20th. THe draw for the tournament takes place tomorrow. In the Champions Race he's dropped a place to 9th but he held steady at 20 in the entry rankings. Mark has also been confirmed for the Heineken Open in SHanghai in September. Updates to the articles and FAQ sections.
August 13, 2003: Yesterday the curse was definitely on the Aussies. Along with Mark, Hewitt, Draper and Arthurs all lost their matches and all had won the opening set. The curse then continued today with a walk-over in the doubles. Hewitt suffered a hamstring strain so he and Mark were out of the doubles today without taking the court. A couple of articles added.
August 12, 2003: Mark was on fire for the first set in Cincinnati today but his return game started to vanish in the second and then the serve errors started to pile up and he lost to Fish 6-1, 3-6, 4-6. He and Lleyton are still in the doubles however and will play Damm/Suk tomorrow. Also The Age reported that Mark has taken his Delray Beach hoome off the market and has decided to keep the property as a training ground - adding a grass court to the existing clay and hard-court surfaces.
August 11, 2003: Cincinnati started out on a high today with Mark and Lleyton winning their doubles match 6-3, 7-5 against Ferrero / Zimonjic. Tomorrow Mark takes the court for his first singles match against Fish at 1pm on centre court.
August 10, 2003: The Western and Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati gets underway today. Mark has unfortunately gotten a rather tough draw early on. He first faces Mardy Fish, but the problem arises with a potential second round match with Hewitt (who faces a tough match with Malisse in the first round). In doubles Mark and Lleyton face off with Ferrero & Zimonjic.
August 6, 2003: The word from Montreal is that Mark has come down with viral influenza and right now it is appearing to be a mild case. A few days of rest and he should be ready in time for Cincinnati next week.
August 5, 2003: Some minor bad news for today, Mark has pulled out of the Masters event in Montreal due to a viral infection. No word on what kind of viral infection, but the press reports that the doctor's have told him to rest.
August 4, 2003: The rankings came out again today and Mark still sits at number 8 on the Champions Race but in the ATP twelve month rankings Mark moved up two spots to number 18. Mark takes the court tomorrow in Montreal to play Max Mirnyi. The two have never met so it should be an interesting match.
August 3, 2003: Media wrap-up from the semis - several articles and photos added.
August 2, 2003: Mark's impressive run at the Mercedes ran into the ever dangerous Wayne Ferreira. Mark put up a agood fight but went down 4-6, 5-7. We're ahead of the media cycle so those will come tomorrow.
August 2, 2003: Mark continued his run in Los Angeles with a tight 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4) win over Kuerten last night to advance to the semis where he will face Wayne Ferreira. Their match is scheduled for 7pm PST. Seven articles and two photos added.
August 1, 2003: Unfortunately Mark & Lleyton lost their second round doubles match 3-6, 7-5, 4-6 to Humphreies and Baranov last night. Tonight Mark will play Kuerten in the quarterfinals. Mark has a 2-1 record against Kuerten, but they haven't played since 2000. Numerous articles and photos added.
July 31, 2003: Mark has another good outing today at the Mercedes-Benz Cup with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Michael Chang to advance to the quarters. His doubles maatch against Humphries/Merklein is set for later tonight.
July 29, 2003pm: Mark passed the hurdle of his first singles match post-Wimbledon with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Kennedy. It was a good win with a match time of one hour and 12 aces. Several articles added. Several photos and articles added.
July 29, 2003: Mark's first match sincle Wimbledon resulted in a tough win with Hewitt 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 over Ferreira & Gimelstob in the doubles. Later today (approx. 1pm California time) he'll play Kennedy in singles.
July 28, 2003: The Mercedes Benz Cup gets underway today in Los Angeles and after two weeks of even more rigorous training Mark is back on the court. Mark is the 5th seed and starts playing fellow Aussie Adam Kennedy. He is also playing doubles with Hewitt and today will face the team of Ferreira and Gimelstob.
July 15, 2003: Mark is now listed for both the Tennis Masters events in Montreal and Cincinnati. He's also rejoining with Hewitt for doubles in both Los Angeles and Cincinnati. The new rankings came out this week and Mark is holding steady at 8th in the Champions Race and has moved up one spot to 21 in the 12 month ranking.
July 12, 2003: If you look up you'll notice that the site now seems to have two new major sections. Well one isn't that new, but it now has a big graphic as opposed to the small text link - it's his tournament schedule. And the other is definitely new. By popular demand the site now features a message board for fans to talk about Mark. Everyone can read the board but you must register in order to post. Happy chatting!
July 10, 2003: Mark returned to California yesterday and within hours was hitting the waves. Of course the Aussie press was there to write about and there's two fun pictures of Mark riding some waves. Also it seems that Indianapolis is tentative right now and it is more likely that mark will not return to play til Los Angeles the week after.
July 8, 2003: A couple of post-Wimbledon articles added describing how Mark is headed home and will be resuming those killer training sessions tomorrow. Also I've updated the FAQ with a detailed timeline of all Mark's knee injuries and what was done (that I know about at least). And a hearty welcome to all my new visitors! So far in July alone there have been over 28,000 visitors which is more than the previous three months combined!
July 7, 2003: The new rankings were released today and Wimbledon was huge benefit to Mark. His 12 month ranking jumped from 48 to 22 and he is now 8th in the Champions Race for this year. If Mark keeps playing well those numbers are bound to improve. Last year he only played 3 tournaments post-Wimbledon and went out in the 1st or 2nd round of each so it means he has very few points to defend for the rest of the season. Mark is currently scheduled for three weeks off and will be returning to play at the Masters event in Indianapolis on the 21st. Also the next round of Davis Cup play has been awarded to Melbourne for Sept 19-21st. 24 more articles added.
July 6, 2003 pm: Media update from today's final with 27 photos and 53 articles added. Fair warning, Pat Cash wrote a scathing column about Mark in teh British papers that was, quite frankly, in very poor taste. Otherwise the articles were all good and the photos are rather nice.
July 6, 2003: Mark put up some good numbers today, but Federer just brought a game that was near unbeatable - hitting near unstoppable shots, but the problem for Mark was that Federer seemed to have no problem handling the power of Mark's severs, no matter that some were topping 130mph. But though Mark has lost, it was still an incredibly impressive run to reach the final and should be something he can build on for the summer circuit. So congratulations to Mark for making the comeback and going all the way to the final.
July 5, 2003: Over 30 articles added about the upcoming final against Federer. I recommend the head to head breakdown from the Daily Telegraph. And to answer a couple of questions, in yesterday's match the tape around Mark's index finger and thumb on Mark's left hand had the words "pothia" and "andras" written on them. This is Greek for "longing" and "man" though Mark has declined to elaborate on exactly what they signify for him. Best of luck to Mark tomorrow!
July 4, 2003 pm: Media update for the semis with 41 articles and 34 great photos added! And for those of us who have seen much of the Aussie press do nothing put take pot shots at Mark over the years, I marked two articles with an * that are worth reading - both Aussie press and both speak of their change in attitude.
July 4, 2003: Way to go Mark! In contrast to his previous two matches, Mark made it off-court today in just three sets 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, 6-3 dismissing Grosjean. While the first set did require a tie-break, Mark was never seriously challenged on his serve with Grosjean only having 2 break chances. Mark now advances to his first Wimbledon final and his first grand slam final since the 1998 US Open. He'll play either Roddick or Federer who play their semi later today.
July 3, 2003 pm: Media update for today's play - plenty of new articles and photos. Mark has the first match tomorrow on Centre Court at 12pm London time.
July 3, 2003: It was an up-and-down fifth set today with neither player seeming to have the clear advantage. But Mark finally prevailed 8-6 so the final score is 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 8-6. Mark advances to his first Wimbledon semi-final where he will face Grosjean who took out England's own Tim Henman in their rain delayed match. Mark has a 2-3 record against Grosjean and has lost the most recent 3 meetings. Several articles and photos from yesterday's play added. Also some Wimbledon trivia - During the longest of the rain delays yesterday Mark wiled away the time playing backgammon with then possible semi-final opponent Tim Henman.
July 2, 2003: The rain played havoc today at Wimbledon with play being suspended several times. Thankfully this was an advantage to Mark as he was able to get focused and come up with some more weapons for Popp who seemed to be handling that might serve with not much difficulty. When play was finally suspended due to darkness the score was: 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 2-2 (30-0 on Mark's serve). Here's hoping that tomorrow brings some good news. Several new articles added - I recommend the first one which talks to Mark's trainer about some of his workouts - including pushing a Jeep up a hill!
July 1, 2003: More media! 45 articles and 15 new photos linked. Be sure and check out the headlines from the Australian press today, they've put forth some real winners. My favorite so far is "New Scud the little Aussie battler," a nice little riff on the children's class "The Little Engine That Could"
June 30, 2003, pm: As you can well imagine this match has generated a huge amount of press. There are 11 new photos and 33 new articles (and probably another 100 more that I didn't link because they were duplicates of the wire articles!). During his match today Mark hit 46 aces which tied Ivanisevic's record for the most aces in a single Wimbledon match. Mark will next face Alexander Popp whom he's never played before.
June 30, 2003: Wow! Way to go Mark!! Talk about an amazing win! He's defeated Agassi 6-3, 2-6, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-4. More updates later.
June 29, 2003: Media update for the upcoming match with Agassi. Several great articles where Mark reflects on the joy of just being able to play tennis again after all his surgeries, plus the Wimbledon site put up his latest post-match interview. Also quite a few more photos added. Tomorrow Mark has the second match of the day on Court 1.
June 28, 2003: Mark moved on to the fourth round today with a solid win over Stephanik 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-4, 7-6 (8-6). He was a little loose in the opening set and was broken on his first serve but pulled his game together nicely for the win. Once he got his serve cracking, Mark hit an impressive 33 aces! His next match will for sure be his most challenging - Andre Agassi. Lots of articles and photos added.
June 27, 2003: Media wrap-up from round three; several articles and photos added. Kudos to the UK's The Independent for this great torunament quote: "As dangerous floaters go, Philippoussis is more Jaws than jetsam." Next up for Mark is Stephanik and this will be their first meeting.
June 26, 2003: Mark showed more of his skills on grass today with a 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (6-2). He faltered a bit in the third set, but in the first set he has an impressive 81% first serve. Media update coming later today.
June 25, 2003: More news from Wimbledon - 14 articles and 2 photos added. Mark has the 3rd match of the day on Court 3 tomorrow against Saulnier of France. Mark's won their only previous meeting at the 2000 Ericson on hardcourt.
June 24, 2003, pm: Media update from Round 1 - 13 articles and 2 photos added.
June 24, 2003: Mark got off to a good start today at Wimbledon with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Zabaleta. Early reports indicate that he looked good out there on the grass. The match just ended so we're ahead of the media cycle.
June 22, 2003: The Boodle tournament has been very good to mark - good enough in fact for him to win his 11th career title. After his win over Enqvist, he won 6-3, 6-4 over Nalbandian and then in the final won 7-5, 6-3 over Malisse. Not a bad way to go into Wimbledon! My thanks to SB and Magali for passing on the results.
June 20, 2003: This week Mark is playing at the Boodle & Dunthorne Challenge in England, but because it's exhibition matches, none of the scores are being reported in the media. So if any English readers happen to find out the full scores please drop me a note. One article (on Dokic oddly enough) included a brief note that Mark was looking in fabulous form on the 18th when he won over Enqvist 6-4, 6-4. Also Mark is now working with Markus Heon, an ex-kick-boxer and veteran of extreme sports and several knee surgeries. Markus has developed a series of workouts designed specifically to help restore knees after surgery and has been ruthlessly drilling Mark. Here's hoping it pays off! The English bookies currently have Mark at 20:1 odds.
June 17, 2003: The Wimbledon draw has been announced and Mark is in the bottom quarter. His first round match will be against Zabaleta of Argentina. Potential match-ups later in the draw include Malisse (14th seed) in Round 2, Safin (18th seed) in Round 3, and Agassi (2nd seed) in the Quarters. Mark plays in the Boodle and Dunthorne Champions Challenge exhibition starting on the 18th.
June 14, 2003: Sadly Mark's double's run at QUeens came to an end
yesterday evening. He and HEwitt lost a tight match to Malisse & Sa 6-3,
5-7, 6-7 (2-7).
June 12, 2003: Mark's doubles campaign at Queens is going quite well, he and Lleyton advanced 6-3, 6-4 over Eagle & Palmer today. Next up: Malisse & Sa.
June 10, 2003: Thankfully it's not all bad news from Queens, as today Mark and Lleyton advanced 6-2, 7-5 over Gambill & Oliver. Next they face the number five seeds Eagle & Palmer. Several articles and photos from the Krajicek match added.
June 9, 2003: The combination of Krajicek and grass are just not a good combination for Mark. The press of course jumped on the match as one of revenge and lost chances as it was Krajicek who took out Mark at Wimbledon last year. But it was not to be and the big serving Dutchman elimated Mark in the first round of Stella Artois 6-7 (4-7), 6-3. Not the start Mark wanted for the grass season. However he still has time to hone his skills as he's teamed with Hewitt for the doubles. They take on Gambill & Oliver tomorrow. 13 articles added.
June 4, 2003: Mark is currently in London where he is practicing on the grass for the upcoming Queens Club tournament beginning on the 9th. The photos have been updated with a gallery of pictures from the 99 Lipton and 99 US Open by Shannon Burdine.
May 31, 2003: Media wrap-up from the French Open, several articles and photos. Also two new tennis covers have been added to that Gallery.
May 29, 2003: Media wrap-up from Round 2 - 17 articles and 5 photos added. While Mark may have left Rolland Garros earlier than he'd like, he did win one thing this week - British tennis magazine Ace named him the sexiest man in tennis!
May 28, 2003: Sadly for Mark, the French Open is over with a 2-6, 6-7 (7-9), 6-7 (9-11) loss to the number four seed, Carlos Moya.
May 27, 2003: Media wrap-up from round one: 18 articcles, one interview and 4 photos. Also it was confirmed yesterday that Mark has parted with coach Peter McNamara and is back to being coached by his father.
May 26, 2003: It began looking like a a really ugly exit for Mark against Alex Kim at the French Open. Thankfully, Mark managed to pull himself together in the 3rd set and went on to win 2-6, 6-7 (1-7), 7-5, 6-2, 6-2. However the numbers tell the really ugly story - Mark had a whopping 101 unforced errors! That kind of play is going to be nothing but trouble against Moya in the next round - here's hoping it was just round one bad luck. We're ahead of the news cycle so articles and photos will be tomorow's update.
May 23, 2003: Mark was a last minute player at the ATP World Team Championships this morning. It seems he had recovered enough from a minor neck sprain this past Monday to play so he was teamed up with Todd Reid (Wimbledon Jr Champion) for the doubles. Unfortunately it was something of a match of errors with a 1-6, 1-6 loss to Corretja and Fernando. The draw for the French Open is also out and Mark is in the bottom half and will face an unknown qualifier in the opening round but faces a potentially tough second round against Moya.
May 22, 2003: Mark has been confirmed for the Boodle and Dunthorne Champions Challenge at Stoke Park in Buckinghamshire, England following the Queens Club event. Check out their website for some nice pictures of Mark on the golf course. ACE Magazine has put out it's Sex List 2003 and Mark came in at number 1. (thanks to Miriam for passing on that info!) Also in today's press, several articles about Aussie football mentioned that it was Dr. Julian Feller who performed Mark's major knee surgery.
May 17, 2003: Sadly Mark's hot streat in Hamburg came to a very cold end with a 2-6, 0-6 57 minute loss to Coria in the quarterfinals. Sticking with his serve and volley game allowed Coria to control the match fromm the baseline. Post-match Mark said he was just mentally fatigued from not planning to play in Hamburg. 11 articles and 1 photo added.
May 16, 2003: Mark made his way into the quarterfinals last night with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 win over the number three seed Federer. The match also marked Mark's first win over him (he'd lost the previous 2 meetings). Reports indicate that Mark was showing some excellent volleys and a variety of passing shots. Also it seems that last week in Rome when Mark lost to Ferrero he was suffered some nasty back spasms post-match. Today Mark faces the 12th seed Coria. 13 articles and 3 photos added.
May 14, 2003: Mark is making a good start in Hamburg, following yesterday's win with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) win over Xavier Malisse in the second round. The Davis Cup semi-final location has been announced and Melbourne has gotten the nod. It will be Mark's first time playing Davis Cup before a hometown audience.
May 13, 2003: Mark is off to a good start at the Tennis Masters event in Hamburg, Germany with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Sluiter today.
May 9, 2003: Thanks to Vincenzo for sending over two photos of Mark from the Rome qualifying rounds.
May 7, 2003: Article wrap-up from Rome.
May 6, 2003: It was an unfortunate draw for Mark in Rome, facing Ferrero (probably the hottest clay court player right now) in the first round and while he managed to stretch him in the first set, the overall result was a 6-7 (3-7), 4-6 loss. Several articles and photos added.
May 5, 2003: It was a good start for Mark on clay this weekend as he played two rounds at the Rome Open to qualify for the main draw. In Rd. 1 he beat Pescosolido 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 6-4 and in Rd. 2 he beat Vliegen 6-3, 6-2. He now has a bit of a rough draw playing the No. 2 seed Ferrero tomorrow.
April 29, 2003: Where's Mark? That's a good question! Unlike previous years, Mark is not playing in the BMW Open this week. Additionally his name has been rather absent in the press these past two weeks. My best guess is that this is the time for another series of knee injections for Mark in preparation for the French Open - Wimbledon run of tournaments.
April 15, 2003: Three articles where Masur speaks of being so impressed with Mark's match against Bjorkman that this could be his Wimbledon year. Thankfully for those of us who've been through the years of Mark opening his mouth on the issue - Mark is keeping mum! Also a new gallery is open with some of Mark's promotional ads for Dunlop and Fila.
April 8, 2003: Article wrap-up from Davis Cup where Mark talks about how good he's feeling and what a potential Davis Cup match in his hometown of Melbourne would be like. Also three great post-match interviews from the Nasdaq-100 added. According to one interview Mark will be skipping the Masters event in Monte Carlo and starting his clay court season after that.
April 7, 2003: Mark helped finish off a 5-0 route of the Swedes in Davis Cup yesterday with a 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 win over Norman. The Aussies are hosts for their semis against the Swiss. Also Mark's former home in Delray BEach, Florida is still unsold. The $2.99 million home features both tennis courts and stables. And thanks to Christine for spotting the Nasdaq 100 doubles match I missed. Back on March 24th Mark played with Hewitt but lost in the first round to Roddick Genepri 6-7 (4-7, 3-6.
April 4, 2003: Mark is off to a great start in Malmo with a convincing 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 win over Bjorkman in the first singles rubber. Go Aussies!
April 3, 2003: Mark hits the court tomorrow for the opening match in the Davis Cup quarterfinals, facing Swede Jonas Bjorkman. For this series, Mark is scheduled to play singles only, with Hewitt taking the other singles slot and Woodbridge / Arthurs for doubles. Several articles and a photo from the draw added.
April 2, 2003: Mark arrived late last night in Malmo and immediately hit the court for a lengthy practice with his teammates. Reports are that he's looking really sharp and focussed. Several preview articles added.
March 31, 2003: Sorry for the lack of updates - I had my phone line go out on me. Mark finished up the Nasdaq-100 last week. In the 3rd round he advanced in a tough match against Enqvist 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-3), 6-3. Next he met the eventual champion Agassi and lost 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, but the good news there was that he took a set from Agassi which he hasn't managed since their meeting at the 2000 Australian Open. Mark is currently in Sweden preparing for the Davis Cup quarterfinal starting April 4th. 36 new articles added.
March 23, 2003: Mark is marching onward at the Nasdaq-100 with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 win over Ferdanando Gonzalez last night. He next meets Enqvist in round 3.
March 21, 2003: Mark's run at the Nasdaq 100 in Miami got off to a good start with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 win over Feliciano Lopez. Also a word on site updates for the next week: I will be offline for much of next week so updates may be a little sporadic until the 31st.
March 13, 2003: It was the errors that knocked Mark out of the Pacific Life Open. In his second round match against Safin, Mark had 41 unforced errors and lost 4-6, 3-6. Several articles added.
March 11, 2003: Mark has carried his improved tennis over to Indian Wells tonight where he defeated Pavel 6-3, 6-4 at the Pacific Life Open.
March 10, 2003: Media wrap-up from yesterday's Scottsdale final - articles & photos. Mark's draw for Indian Wells starts off well with an opening match against Pavel but gets trickier from then on with a potential second round match with Safin and then Hewitt in the quarterfinals. Mark is not playing doubles this week.
March 9, 2003: Sadly Mark's chance to end his title drought ran into the No. 1 player and he lost 4-6, 4-6 to Hewitt. But it was still a fantastic showing for Mark, here's hoping he can keep the final's appearances coming! Last night Mark & Hewitt advanced to the finals in doubles defeating Arthurs / Hanley 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (4-7), 2-1 ret. And they came so close in doubles, losing 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (5-7) to Blake / Merklein. But Mark had the power cranked - he was clocked at 138mph on his serve this week! Several more articles and photos added.
March 8, 2003: Go Mark! Mark advanced to the finals tonight defeating Zabaleta 6-3, 7-6 (10-8). It is his first appearance in a final since Adelaide in 2002. Tomorrow he will face his current doubles partner Hewitt. The doubles semi against Arthurs / Hanley is currently under-way so results will be posted tomorrow. For those of us in the US, ESPN2 will be showing the mens final Sunday at 9pm EST. Seven articles added. Also Mark has also been granted a wildcard into Miami starting on the 17th.
March 7, 2003 pm: It was a good afternoon for Mark tonight with wins in both the singles and the doubles. Fist, after a scary start in the first set, Mark was able to rally and defeat Nalbandian 0-6, 6-3, 6-4. Next he teamed with Hewitt to oust Johnson / Palmer 6-3, 6-4 in the doubles.
March 7, 2003: With a nice collection of 11 aces, Mark advanced to the quarterfinals at Scottsdale, defeating countryman Scott Draper 6-0, 6-4. Mark has a busy day today with a 1:30pm match against Nalbandian followed by a 3pm doubles match against Johnson & Palmer.
March 6, 2003: Mark played a good first round match against Chela last night and advanced 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 6-1. Three brief articles added.
March 4, 2003: The Philippoussis / Hewitt partnership is off to a good start with a first round win over Nalbandian/Prieto 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. Mark's first round singles match against Chela is scheduled for the third match today.
March 3, 2003: The Franklin-Templeton Classic gets under way today and Mark's first singles match will be tomorrow against the No. 7 seed Juan Ignacio Chela. But in something of a suprise move, he'll be playing doubles tonight with Hewitt and face Nalbandian / Prieto.
February 24, 2003: According to an interview from the Aussie Open, Mark is supposed to be in Copenhagen this week, but he's not listed in the draw so that tournament is a no-go for him. But, Mark has been granted a wildcard into the Franklin-Templeton Classic in Scottdale starting March 3rd. Mark won his second career title at this event back in 1997. Also in the photo gallery we've got some fan photos from the 2003 Tata Open.
February 21, 2003: The final year (1997) of Mark's doubles stats have now been entered into the Stats page.
February 19, 2003: Media wrap-up from the Kroger St. Jude - six articles added.
February 18, 2003: It wasn't a good outing for Mark today at the Kroger St. Jude as he was ousted by Taylor Dent 6-7 (15-17), 1-6.
February 15, 2003: Mark is now out of the Siebel Open. He and Wayne lost to Sanguinetto / Thomas 6-7 (7-9), 4-6 in the semi's last night. Next up is the Kroger St. Jude in Memphis.
February 15, 2003: When Agassi is playing at the top of his game he's just about unbeatable, and in 59 minutes Mark had lost to him 4-6, 1-6. Mark even acknowledged post-match that Agassi could pretty much do no wrong last night. On the up side, the short match left Mark enough energy to play with Wayne Black in doubles and defeat Merklien / Shimada 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. They play Sanguinetti / Thomas later today. Twenty-four articles added and three new magazine covers from 1995 added to the Gallery
February 12, 2003: Mark is through to the second round of the Siebel Open with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Lisnard. He next faces Agassi against whom he's got a 2-4 Win-Loss record. Also Mark is playing doubles with with Wayne Black and their first match will be against Merklein & Shimada. This will be Mark's first tournament with Black as his partner. A few articles and photos added.
February 9, 2003: It seems that Mark was let out of the reverse singles match today in order to fly back to San Jose for the start of the Siebel Open. As it always seems to be with Mark and Davis Cup there's a bit of 'he said, she said' in the press. Mark and captain Fitzgerald say that it was always the plan where if that second match was a dead rubber that mark would be excused to catch the plane. Woodbridge however wonders about that as he got almost zero notice that he'd be playing that second match. While it's a good thing Mark was able to catch the earlier flight for San Jose, given all his troubles with Davis Cup and the Australian press already here's hoping the fallout isn't too bad. The draw has been done for the Siebel Open and Mark's got an ugly situation facing him. He opens against Lisnard which is a good match, but unfortunately he's likely to face Agassi in the second round.
February 7, 2003: Media wrap-up from the first round of Davis Cup - 21 articles and 4 photos. Considering Mark was up at 6am, on the practice court at 8am and the match began at 10am he was remarkably awake. He did seem to suffer from a terrible case of nerves and his 8am practice was just dreadful, but he managed to get it under control for the match and his serve and forehand were just deadly.
February 6, 2003 pm: Go Mark! Getting Davis Cup off to the right start, Mark defeated Mackin 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. It just happened so the news articles will have to wait til tomorrow's update :)
February 6, 2003: The Davis Cup draw was today and Mark has the first match up at 10am against Alan Mackin first thing tomorrow. Good luck Mark!
February 5, 2003: Seven new articles on Davis Cup added. I recommend The Age's "Harmony marks Scud's cup return" as it gives a different perspective than the current 'rah-rah Mark' theme. It seems that Mark recently had a private photo shoot in Narrabeen with a surf magazine. No word on what magazine that might be, but I'd ask my Australian readers to keep their eyes open for something and contact me if you see anything! Also there's now a new page open above for this season's tournament schedule.
February 4, 2003: The Aussie team held a press conference yesterday and the big story for the press it seems was how great it was to have Mark back playing for Australia. Nice to know they haven't forgotten him ;) Great quote from Mark: "If you're not having fun on the court, there's no point being out there." Fitzegerald hasn't named his doubles team yet but in practice has played just about everyone in some combination to test out possible match-ups. Ten articles and two photos added.
January 31, 2003: Mark's on site in Syndey and the team took their first run on the clay with yesterday and all seem to like the temporary clay surface. New to the Photo page is a section featuring scans of Mark's print advertisements for Dunlop, Fila and Longines.
January 29, 2003: Davis Cup starts next week and Mark is expected to arrive in a few days to start practicing on the temporary clay surface at the Sydney International Tennis Centre. Also Mark has been added to the roster for the Siebel Open, February 10-16th in San Jose, California. (formerly known as the Sybase Open which Mark has won twice). Three articles added.
January 25, 2003: The Australian Davis Cup team has been officially announced and as expected Mark is part of it. He will be joined by Hewitt, Woodbridge and Arthurs. Philippoussis and Hewitt are set for the two singles berths and Woodbridge for the doubles - though who he'll partner has not yet been decided. Their at-home match against Britian will take place on clay against a decidedly weakened team as both Henman and Rusedski are out with injury.
January 18, 2003: Article wrap-up from the Australian Open. Mark has officially confirmed his willingness to play in the upcoming Davis Cup match. Also when the new rankings come out Mark will have moved back inside the top 100 thanks to some healthy points from defeating Srichaphan in round two.
January 17, 2003: Mark's great run at the Australian Open came to a halt last night with a 7-5, 5-7, 0-6, 4-6 loss to Sargisian. Though it's disappointing for Mark to lose, he is happy with how he played and says that it was just a matter of match-toughness and that he ran out of steam this match after the two long matches in the first two rounds. For only his third tournament back he's been playing very well. He plans to continue to work on his fitness and get in some much needed match play while he builds for Wimbledon. Also in an ironic coincidence, Yahoo! redesigned it's tennis page which it went live this morning, and the mast-head photo is of Philippoussis. Quote of the day comes from Fox Sports Australia: "...he has at least found the right groove as far as his hairstyle is concerned. Constant makeovers in recent years have not quite hit the mark but his present retro look – part Elvis, part short-order chef – just could be the do this year." 22 articles and 9 photos added.
January 16, 2003: Media wrap up from round two, nine articles and two photos added. Also the 2001-2002 photos were moved onto their own archives page.
January 15, 2003: It was another fantastic night under the lights for Mark, as he defeated the red-hot Srichaphan in five sets, 3-6, 6-1, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3. Mark played some of his best tennis in recent years, working both his devastating serve and the good ol' chip and charge tactic. (Nothing like seeing a 6'4" powerhouse charging in toward the net straight at you!) Mark's half of the draw also opened up a bit with three seeds exiting. Next up is Sargsian. 23 articles and 9 photos added.
January 13, 2003, pm: Media wrap-up - thirteen articles and three photos added from Round One.
January 13, 2003: The Australian Open is underway and it's looking good so far. Mark played a night match against Verkerk and won in four sets, 6-4 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-3. We're ahead of the main news cycle, but the BBC has an excellent game-by-game summary at http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/australian_open/2003/2653021.stm.
January 11, 2003: In the play-off for 3rd place in Kooyong, Mark lost to Gasquet 5-7, 2-6 in 56 minutes. No word on how he played though.
January 10, 2003: In another tough three setter, Mark lost to Grosjean 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-2 at the Kooyong today. Mark played some solid tennis but ran into a bit of trouble in the third set when Grosjean managed to get a number of lobs over Mark as he rushed to the net - but kudos to him for trying the aggressive net play! Because of how Kooyong is played, Mark will now take on Gasquet in the playoff for third place. Also the draw for the Australian Open was announced and Mark, in the bottom half, will face Martin Verkerk in the first round with a possible second round clash with Paradorm Srichaphan. Fourteen articles and two photos added.
January 8, 2003: It took more than 2 1/2 hours, but Mark kept up a steady high level of game and defeated Corretja 5-7 6-4 7-6 (7-5) in the
opening round at the Kooyong Classic. In the post-match interview he seemed to be really happy with how his game went and spoke of how the loss in Chennai was just frightening and that it could get better from then on since he didn't think he could play any worse. Fourteen articles and three photos added - I recommend reading the Herald Sun article as it's got quite a few quotes from Mark. On the fashion front, Mark was decked out in red shirt and white with red highligts shorts and sneakers - quite snappy :)
January 7, 2003: Mark is back practicing in Melbourne and also started granting some interviews to the Australian media. He spoke quite honestly about how he isn't ready to win the Australian Open as he's not match tough enough to last the two weeks and that it's just a stepping stone in the recovery process. He hopes to just get some good matches under his belt. Next up is a first round match-up against Corretja at the Kooyang Classic tomorrow. Several articles and photo links added.
January 3, 2003: Fourteen articles covering the second round of the Tata Open added. Seems that Mark's game never showed up on court with him - his serve was off, he was overhitting and just had no game plan. Best quote from him regarding the lack of game plan is that he was "running around like a headless chicken." Needless to say this quote made just about every article :)
January 2, 2003: You win some, you lose some and Mark unfortunately lost his second round match against Schuettler 2-6, 1-6. No word yet on what exactly his play was like, hopefully tomorrow's articles can fill us in. Ten articles about round one added to the articles page and the 2002 articles were moved off into their own archive page.
January 1, 2003: Mark and Justin made their doubles debut but unfortunately (though not too suprisingly) lost to number one seeds Bhupathi / Woodbridge, though they did take the first set 6-4, 3-6, 2-6.
Click on the Below Year for What's New from that year
