December 29, 2004: Mark arrived in Perth yesterday and today practiced with David Sanguinetti in preparation for the Hopman Cup. Mark is still declining all media requests so the press had to rely on Sanguinetti for some news on practice. He reported that Mark seemed to be playing well with better groundstrokes and moving into the court more often than in the past. The Hopman Cup starts January 1st. Good Luck to Mark in 2005!
December 18, 2004: Mark has been granted a wildcard for the Adidas International in Sydney that starts on January 10th. Mark has continued to decline media requests in order to focus on his season preparations so news has been rather scarce.
December 8, 2004: Mark slipped quietly back into Melbourne this week and has been spending time practicing on the coruts at Melbourne Park. Mark's been hitting with several of the younger future Australian tennis stars. However Mark has been declining all media requests for interviews so other than a few quick comments that he's ready to go, he's keeping quiet. Photos from practice show him in a white t-shirt with the large winged version of his MP clothing logo (looks like this one might be replacing the original sunburst design).
November 24, 2004: Mark is set to return to New York for three more weeks of pre-season training with John McEnroe. Hopefully this will give him the push he needs to start his season off right.
November 16, 2004: Mark is currently working hard during the off-season to prepare for 2005. He is working out with fitness trainer Heon and working on-court with John McEnroe. On the personal life front Mark and Delta did indeed split in October, though contrary to the various reports Mark is currently single. [My apologies for the lack of updates - too much work travel has kept me from having the time to get it done.]
October 23, 2004: There's some hope for Mark's game next season. The Herald Sun has reported that Mark is making a permanent move to Cardiff-By-The-Sea and will resume working with fitness trainer Markus Heon. Heon is the man who got Mark into top shape in 2003 when he made his run to the Wimbledon finals (most notably by having him push Heon's Jeep up a hill). Here's hoping he can work his magic a second time. The Stockholm Open starts this week and while there has been no official announcement of withdrawl, Mark is not listed in the draw so it looks like he won't be playing and his 2004 season is over. But looking ahead, Mark has been confirmed for the SAP Open (formerly the Siebel Open) in San Jose from February 7-13th. Lastly the Australian press is reporting that socialite Paris Hilton made a public statement that she is now dating Mark. Neither Mark nor Delta have made any formal announcements as to their possible split.
October 15, 2004: Mark's early 2005 schedule is starting to take shape. His first appearance will be at the Hopman Cup in Perth on January 1st. This is a mixed doubles team tournament and he'll play with Alicia Molik. Also, while Mark's ranking is riding right on the edge of not having direct entry for the Australian Open (top 106 is the cut), tournament director McNamee has gone on record as guaranteeing Mark one of the wildcards.
October 4, 2004: Try though he might Mark just cannot seem to break this streak of first round loses. Mark played today (though oddly was never listed on the official order of play) and lost to Zib 3-6, 4-6. The Entry Rankings released today also show that Mark has slipped to 104. Currently the only event remaining on Mark's schedule for the rest of the season is the Stockholm Open starting October 25th. He is not currently listed for either remaining Masters Series events.
October 3, 2004: Once more with feeling! The Tokyo Outdoor Championships start tomorrow and Mark will once again quest to make it past the first round of a tournment. His opponent is Tomas Zib, currently ranked 151. This match will be played on Tuesday.
September 29, 2004: Sadly Shanghai wasn't the same tournament for Mark this year as it was last. He lost 6-3, 4-6, 4-6 to unknown American Weiner. Afterward Mark said he felt physically fine but just couldn't seem to get his game together. Several articles and photos added. Of course one of them is Cash opening his big mouth again and wondering about Mark's relationship with Delta being a distraction and that he needs to prioritize better - *sheesh*
September 26, 2004: Mark is in place in Shanghai and the draw complete. His first round match will be against Glenn Weiner of the US.
September 23, 2004: Mark's comeback is still set for the Heineken Open in Shanghai, China starting on Monday. His agent at IMG confirmed that Mark is currently training in Florida with a fitness trainer and at this point is hopeful of taking the court in Shanghai.
September 14, 2004: Mark has withdrawn from the upcoming Davis Cup match against Morocco due to injury. It's the same hip/upper thigh muscle problem that caused him to retire from his US Open match. He's being replaced by Todd Reid. At this time Mark will be resting up for the Heineken Open in Shanghai at the end of the month.
September 2, 2004: In a somewhat odd twist, the Australian press has devoted very few headlines to Mark's latest first round loss; they must have run out of nasty things to say about it. Post-match Mark said that he felt his left upper leg tighten up and that he just got sick of playing with the pain and so retired. He is now on his way back to Florida for some planning as to what he needs to do next. Mark played in shirt and shorts from his new MP line that were several shades of solid blue and white sections. Also it appears that Mark is still working on what the final logo will be as yesterday's clothes featured a logo of his initials in a circle with wings as opposed to the MP surrounded by flames we saw earlier.
September 1, 2004: Unfortunately it's another first round loss for Mark, going down 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 1-4 (retired) to Davydenko. Poor Mark just cannot seem to catch a break this season, and this time it's a new injury. While leading two sets to one Mark twice needed the trainer to come out to work on his left hip. Initial reports are sketchy but it seems to be some kind of muscle pull. Full media update still to come.
August 31, 2004: Mark is scheduled tomorrow for the first match of the day on Armstrong court. Play is set to being at 11am EST.
August 29, 2004: The US Open starts tomorrow but Mark isn't scheduled for the first day of play. The Australian press has been busy writing articles stating that Mark's spot in the Davis Cup relegation match against Morocco might be at stake if he doesn't play well in New York. However Davis Cup captain Masur has been completely silent on the matter of who the team will be.
August 25, 2004: The draw for the US Open was today and Mark is in the top of the bottom half of the draw and will face off against Davydenko in his first round match. Top seeds in his quarter are Nalbandian (8) and Hewitt (4). Also in the quarter unseeded is Tommy Haas. See the full draw.
August 24, 2004: In a search for some good and winning numbers for Mark, I've updated the Stats section with Mark's singles record for 1993 including his junior tournaments. The men's draw for the US Open is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.
August 17, 2004: In his post-match interview, Mark said his poor form was a result of a tendonitis flare-up in his knee that prevented him from pushing off to power a serve. This is a first time for tendonitis and Mark doesn't think it's related to his cartilage injections, but he will be stopping in Miami to see his specialist before heading up to New York to prepare for the Open. The biggest problem seems to be that due to the scheduling of the injections, prior to his first round match Mark was only on court 4 times in the past month and didn't have time to adjust his knees to the hard court surface and triggered the tendonitis.
August 16, 2004: Olympic disaster for Philippoussis is what the headlines are going to read later today. Mark lost 6-3, 0-6, 1-6 to Rochus today in Athens. Something serious must have happened (no news reports just yet) because he was serving well (75%) in the first set and then it all jsut went to hell. The second set is listed as only lasting a mere nine (yes 9!) minutes (and probabaly wins some record for shortest set ever). But looking at the numbers Mark had 11 (!) double faults in that set - that's more than two complete games! Add to that an 8% first serve percentage. And even more frightening - he didn't win a single point on his serve that entire set which means he lost every game at love! Hopefully news reports later today can offer some explanation - or if any readerss saw the match and would care to report please email me at hoo@hooloovoo.com.
August 15, 2004: The schedule for Monday has been released and Mark will play Rochus as the second match of the night on Court two. The night session starts at 5pm Athens time and they follow a ladies match.
August 14, 2004: The Olympic opening ceremonies were yesterday and Mark was marching in the forefront of the Aussie team. Sadly even the good looking Greek-Australian couldn't even make the team uniforms look good - they were lambasted all across the Aussie press spectrum. The tennis Olympic action starts tomorrow, but Mark will have a day of rest and isn't expected to play his first round match til Monday. In an article about Delta's health scare in The Australian (she was taken to the hospital with a slight fever after performing for the team), there was one very interesting sentence: "The two were joined by his coach, Brad Gilbert." This is the first mention of Mark working with Brad Gilbert and given that Brad is currently Roddick's coach it's highly likely that The Australian got it wrong. But this is tennis, so anything is possible.
August 12, 2004: The draw has been announced for the Olympics and Mark will have the chance for a little revenge against Olivier Rochus in the first round. It was Rochus who defeated Mark in the first round of Dubai earlier this year. See the complete draw
August 10, 2004: Mark arrived in Athens this morning and ready to go in his quest for the gold. The tennis is set to begin on August 15th and the draw is expected to be announced later this week. The ITF says it will be featuring live scoring on their website: http://www.itftennis.com/olympics/. They also posted an audio interview with Mark - it's dated this week, but based on the content it's from much earlier in the year. On a lighter note, the Australian edition of match.com voted Mark the sexiest male Olympian!
July 25, 2004: Unfortunately Mark has indeed scheduled a series of knee injections before the US Open and as a result has pulled out of the Tennis Masters event in Toronto. He hasn't formally withdrawn from the Cincinnati Masters next week, but I would expect him. I've updated the print articles with an interesting bit on the Pacific Life commercial.
July 14, 2004: Photos from yesterday's match added, but Mark isn't yet debuting his new colorful line - he's still playing in all white; albeit different all-while than he wore for Wimbledon. Fans should also brace themselves to see Mark's 52 week rankings drop outside the top 50. He made the semi's in Los Angeles last year and his first round loss means a significant point loss.
July 13, 2004: Sadly it seems that the pre-Wimbledon match jinx is back upon Mark with a 1-6, 5-7 loss to Frenchman Benneteau at the Mercedes-Benz Cup in Los Angeles. Unfortunately there were no posted match reports that indicated whether Mark was fighting but losing or just playing badly. Here's hoping it was the former.
July 7, 2004: A correction to Mark's schedule. He is entered to play the Mercedes Benz Cup in Los Angeles starting on July 12th. (thanks to Ilana for the info).
July 5, 2004: The post-Wimbledon rankings are out, and while Mark advanced farther than many thought he would given his recent results, his failure to defend many of the points he got from making the finals last year resulted in a drop of 27 places to 44 in the entry rankings. He's also currently ranked 60 in the Champions Race for this year.
July 2, 2004: There's a new gallery open with a set of photos from Wimbledon by Marsha van Pel! Also it seems that Mark will be taking another break from tennis and won't play again until the Tennis Masters event in Toronto at the end of July. Although there's been no announcement of it, the three week time period of rest has been the time he's taken when getting a new knee injection, so this is a possible reason for the break.
June 29, 2004: At his post-match press conference Mark made a passing apology to the kids who might have heard his obscenities, but he stands behind the tirade itself. The ATP fined him US $1500 for the outburst. Numerous photos and articles added.
June 28, 2004: Unfortunately Mark's run at Wimbledon was derailed by Henman 2-6, 5-7, 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (5-7). Henman practically owned the first two sets, but Mark stormed back in the third, only to lose his composure and swear at the chair over the call of a Henman ace. He was given a warning for audible obscenity - not your typical Philippoussis behavior. Mark rallied again in the 4th and even broke Heman when he was serving for the match, but it was too good from Henman who won in another tie-break. Media update to follow.
June 27, 2004: It's that old Wimbledon magic working for Mark again as he advanced to the 4th round with a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 win over Gonzalez. And with another round came an even higher ace count - 27. But Mark's resurgence game will face a real challenge when he faces Henman for a spot in the quarters. Because of the rain delays Mark and Tim will play tomorrow on Centre Court.
June 26, 2004: Today was a another total wash-out at Wimbledon with no tennis being played. So for only the third time, tennis will be played on the middle Sunday. Mark is scheduled for second match of the day on Court 2.
June 25, 2004: Down goes Verkerk 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 and it's back-to-back wins for Mark - something I've been unable to type for months! Mark struggled a bit in the first set, being broken on his first game and unable to find a good rhythm, but he settled down and played some good tennis in the next three sets to win the match. He was even broken at the end of the fourth, but didn't let it rattle him and isntead broke right back. Match total of 24 aces. His next opponent will be Gonzalez, against whom he lost a tight battle at the BDCC last week. Also there's a nice photo that shows some detail on Mark's new clothing line. The white shirt he's wearing has lime green piping on the seams and the MP logo is in lime and yellow.
June 22, 2004 pm: CORRECTION: Today Mark won his match against Christophe Rochus, not his younger brother Olivier. It was Olivier who started Mark's horrid run with his win over Mark at the Australian Open, so it's sort of fitting that Mark takes revenge on his brother. This update includes several articles and photos from Wimbledon.
June 22, 2004: Wimbledon is under way and Mark started off with a nice win over Oliver Rochus of Belgium, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. It took Mark about a set and a half to settle into his serve and put the brakes on some unforced errors and double faults. He did serve an impressive 22 aces. His next opponent will be the winner of the Verkerk / Davydenko match. Media update to come later today. Also a final update on the BDCC, Mark played his final match against countryman Todd Reid and won in straight sets 6-3, 6-3.
June 18, 2004: Mark had today off but will return to court tomorrow to play Massu at the BDCC. At Wimbledon Mark's first opponent will be Rochus of Belgium, whom Mark lost to earlier this year in Dubai. Several articles added - I recommend "We love you, we love you not..." as it's an excellent snapshot of Philippoussis.
June 17, 2004: Mark played Gonzales in the first round robin of the Boodles and Dunthorne Champions Challenge yesterday, however it was another loss: 7-5, 5-7, 6-7 (1-7). What's tough about Mark's recent losses is that they've been very close - a point here or there makes all the difference. Next Mark was due to play Moya today but Moya withdrew to the flu so Mark played against Lee Childs (an upcoming English player ranked 262) and finally got that winning feeling 6-3, 6-1. . On the Wimbledon front, Mark has been seeded 11th for the tournament, which puts him in the top of the bottom half of the draw. Fellow seeds in his quarter include Henman (5), Robredo (20), and Nalbandian (4). (Thanks to Judith for the BDCC info!)
June 15, 2004: The Boodles & Dunthorne Champions Challenge starts tomorrow and while it's only an exhibition, it is a good chance for some grass matches against some of the top players. Unfortunately they don't always post their results so if any Londoners see the results posted locally, please let us know! And while Mark hasn't been playing well lately, there is hope for the future. His current trainer Brett Stephens has said that the results of his work with Mark won't really show til January. They plan to spend the limited off-season doing some heavy duty training in Australia, something Mark has never done before. But Brett says that he has been working with Mark and he will be ready and physically fit for Wimbledon.
June 8, 2004 pm: Mark and Lleyton pulled out of doubles today at Queens, immediately after Mark's loss - no word as to why though. Mark fans can find some hope though - he lost first round at Queens last year as well. On the fashion front, Mark debuted some of his new clothing line at Queens. The outfit was white with a steel blue pattern down the left side of the shirt and shorts. My guess is that some sort of marketing deal still exists with Fila as he was wearing their sneakers, which actually had the same steel blue coloring. There are some nice photos in the Photos section showing the complete outfit.
June 8, 2004: Just where has the Mark of 2003 gone? In the opening round at Queen's Club, playing someone who was ranked 866 and in his first ever ATP tour event, Mark lost. For the player who ran all the way to the Wimbledon final just one year ago, this is not a good start to the grass season. As to how he played, I give you this from The Age: "In what, on paper, was probably the worst defeat of his career, the Australian was scratchy from the start, serving three double-faults to lose serve in the fifth game, missing simple volleys, dumping overheads into the net and generally looking ill-equipped for the short grasscourt season." Not the way to start your grass court season, but at least he still has doubles this afternoon with Hewitt.
June 6, 2004: The draw has been released for Queens/Stella Artois and Mark, seeded 9th, will face qualifier Ian Flanagan of Great Britian in the opening round on Tuesday. Trouble looms almost instantly though with a potential second round match with Ivanisevic. Mark is also entered in the doubles with Hewitt and they'll face off against Gambill and Hill in their first match.
June 5, 2004: Mark the fashion designer! There's finally an explanation for Mark no longer wearing Fila apparels. Mark has been working on his own clothing line called "MP" and will be debuting the first pieces at Wimbledon. The line is co-designed by fellow Australian Bruno Schiavi and is expected to launch in early 2005. The clothing will feature a sun logo and should be rather unique - he was inspired by streetwear and the colors are lime green, burnt orange, blue and red (well at least the future ones, obviously the Wimbledon line will be white). The good news is that Mark told The Sunday Telegraph that he has four more years of tennis ahead of him!
May 27, 2004: A few more French Open articles added. The field for Queens is filling out and along with Mark will include: Agassi, Henman, Roddick, Hewitt, Ivanisevic and Srichaphan.
May 25, 2004: The latest news from Roland Garros is that Mark's shoulder played the pivotal role in his first round loss. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Mark awoke Sunday to swelling and soreness that prevented him from doing any serious practice that day. Then when the match began there was pain whenever he served or attempted to hit a ball that was above shoulder height. The on-court trainer gave him some anti-inflammatory and said it's nothing serious but does need rest. Post match Mark said he was suprised he even managed to finish the match but didn't want to quit. Mark is expected to not pick up a racquet for a few days and will instead focus on leg strength in preparation for Wimbledon.
May 24, 2004: That crash you heard was the sound of Mark exiting the French Open. In a day that also featured the shocking first round exit of Agassi, Mark lost a tough battle with Horna 1-6, 6-7 (9-11), 3-6. Mark did have the trainer out after the first set to look at his shoulder, but after receiving treatment he powered back in the second. The killer blow came when he doubled faulted on his own set point in the second. But there's always an upside (and Philippoussis fans are good at looking for them!). With Mark out of the French, he can get off the dirt and get an early start on his grass preparations!
May 22, 2004: Mark lost his match today in the World Team Cup finals against Massu 3-6, 1-6. He had a rough start, dropping serve his first two times up. But after winning the next two games, Mark called for the trainer and received treatment on his shoulder. But fans need not worry, post match Mark said it just felt really tight and so he took it easy on the shoulder in the second set (thus more serve problems) and that with some massage therapy he'll be ready to go for the French Open. Eighteen articles and twenty-one photos added from the past two rounds added.
May 21, 2004: It's taken a few outings, but it looks as if Mark has finally found some of his form on clay. He defeated Zabaleta 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 today at the World Team Cup. With Hewitt losing his match today, it's up to the doubles team of Hanley and Arthurs to help Australia advance to the finals. The draw for the French Open (http://www.rolandgarros.com) is out and Mark, seeded 18th is in the bottom quarter. His first round opponenent will be Horna from Peru who's had his best results on clay and could prove a tricky opponent. While Mark might arguably have one of the easier quarters, with the depth of men's tennis today there is no truly easy section at a major. With Mark in the bottom are Agassi, Corretja, Henman and Roddick!
May 19, 2004: Another outing and yes, another win for Mark. This time it was a 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 defeat of Schalken in the second round-robin at the World Team Cup. It was a nearly three hour match that featured some big forehands and generally agressive play from Mark. With his win today the Australian team advanced and they'll face-off against Argentina on Friday. Also photos show that Mark is still playing without his usual Fila gear on.
May 18, 2004: Mark's win yesterday got some good write-ups in the press and Mark was especially praised for holding it together when he faced match point in the second set and fired off a series of aces. On Wednesday the Blue group will have it's second day fo play and Australia faces off with the Netherlands. Several articles and photos added.
May 17, 2004: Finally! Mark's got a win! Matches for the Blue Group at the World Team Cup started today and in his first round match Mark played American Vince Spadea and won 6-7 (1-7), 6-3, 7-6 (7-4). It's Mark's first singles match win since the Australian Open.
May 14, 2004 Mark has been confirmed to play in the 2004 Boodles & Dunthorne Champions Challenge in London from June 16th to 19th. It's an exhibition tournament that features some of the best grass court players (so far Roddick and Nalbandian are also confirmed). Mark won the event last year which gave him a amajor boost toward his Wimbledon final appearance. Here's hoping the magic can work again this year!
May 12, 2004: Mark and Fila no more? Eagle-eyed fans noticed that in the recent batch of photos Mark is wearing clothing without the Fila symbol. He is however still wearing the red and white Fila sneakers. A recent check of the ATP website shows that Fila is no longer listed as his sponsor and Mark is absent from the Fila website. No word on what's up, but it's likely that Mark might be switching sponsors. A few more Hamburg articles added.
May 11, 2004: Match reports from Hamburg say that Mark started off the match playing strongly and the first set was close. However as Johansson started finding his serve and putting more pressure on, Mark started to show some frustration and clearly went for too much on some points. In the second set Mark's fitness also started to show and he slowed down a bit which was all Johansson needed to take the win. Several articles and match photos added. In Davis Cup news, the Royal Kings Park in Perth was chosen as the venue and the surface will be grass for the September tie against Morocco.
May 10, 2004: Germany was no luckier for Mark than Italy, as he suffered his eighth straight singles loss to J. Johansson 6-7 (5-7), 1-6. We're ahead of the news cycle so there's been no word on exactly what happened between the first and second sets to cause such different scores. The Articles pages have been modified to the new layout system and now match the Photos section.
May 9, 2004: The draw is out for the Hamburg TMS starting tomorrow. Mark will play Johansson of Sweden in the first round. The two players have never met before and they have the last match scheduled for Centre Court tomorrow. Mark is not playing doubles this week. New to the Articles section is a Dunlop promotional interview with Mark from 1997. Interesting to note that he speaks about needing to approach matches with a game plan and not just hope to overpower his opponent - something he's clearly still trying to master 7 years later.
May 8, 2004: Yesterday Mark and Marat finished their second round match in Rome and unfortunately they lost to the Bryan Brothers 7-6 (7-3), 5-7, 3-6. While it was a loss, the fact that they took a set off the reining French Open Champions is pretty impressive.
May 6, 2004: The rain in Rome has created some scheduling problems with Mark's doubles match today being postponed (his partner Safin has to play 2 singles matches and if the rain hadn't fallen he's have had to play the doubles as well!). A few articles and photos from Rome added. Also the last of the Getty images are now in the archives with the final 250 covering 1996 to 2000.
May 4, 2004, pm: So close, but not quite enough. Mark played a good match but ultimately lost 2-6, 6-4, 4-6 to Robredo in Rome. It may be yet another first round loss, but fans can take hope in the fact that Mark did manage to win a set, his first in seven matches. And he and Marat did advance in the doubles so he'll get more court time. The downside there is they next take on the number one team of the Bryan brothers. Also there's more Getty images - 105 photos added to the 2002-2001 photo archives.
May 4, 2004: It's taken a while but Mark finally has some kind of win under his belt. He and Safin defeated Arnold & Sargisian 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the first round of the doubles event. Later today Mark plays Robredo. Here's hoping for a singles win too!
May 1, 2004: Mark fans can rest easy as Mark was not staying at the Parco dei Principi hotel which suffered the terrible fire yesterday. The draw is out for Rome and Mark will face Tommy Robredo in the 1st round which is a potentially very tricky match as Robredo just won the Barcelona tournament. In addition, Mark is playing doubles with Safin and they will face Arnold/Sargisian in their first round match.
April 28, 2004: Mark is currently in Florida training for the Rome Masters that starts on May 3rd. As a result of Mark's lack of recent play it's been a very quiet news cycle, but I've updated the 2003 photos with 145 more pictures. Also please note, this site is moving to it's own domain - mparchives.com. So please take a moment and update your bookmarks or links!
April 19, 2004: Mark and Delta made their first formal public appearance together last night at the Logies. Due to overwhelming media requests, it took them nearly an hour to walk the red carpet. It was nice to see Mark in more formal attire, namely a black Hugo Boss suite, open-necked black shirt and silver cross necklace. Both Mark and Delta earned points with the crowd, often stepping to the ropes to sign autographs and pose for pictures.
April 15, 2004: It seems that Mark is not listed as participating in the BMW Open on the 26th. (thanks to Ilana for finding the player list!) And according to the press, Mark is set to now resume at the Tennis Masters Rome on May 5th. The next Davis Cup match has been announced and Australia will be playing at home against Morocco on starting on September 24th. Also I've restructured the Photos section so that it should be easier to navigate.
April 13, 2004: With Mark not playing any tennis right now it's been a slow news cycle. And unfortunately just when he'll return to the game is uncertain. He formally pulled out of the Monte Carlo Open yesterday so his next possible return is at the BMW Open on the 26th (though their website does not indicate players expected to be there). While Mark and Delta were spotted on the beach trying to attend the Rip Curl Pro that was cancelled due to lack of surf, former coach Peter McNamara was being quoted in the press about the state of Mark's tennis. Most interesting quote with regard to Cash's embarrassing remarks: "Emotionally, it's affected him and obviously now his tennis has been affected because he just doesn't seem to have his heart and soul into it at the moment. He's taking (the comments) a little bit harder than what people have thought. So the people who were out to get him, I think they've got him. They've done a good job on him." Also to keep you thinking about Mark's tennis, links to 310 more photos were added to the 2003 Photo Archives!
April 4, 2004: Mark and Delta are scheduled to make their first public appearance as a couple at the Logie Awards in Sydney on April 18th. Australia's latest "It" couple are expected to be in such demand that organizers have extended the red carpet proceedings by 15 minutes to accommodate the expected media frenzy. Mark flew into Australia last night and isn't expected to return to the tour til Monte Carlo that starts on the 19th (a tight schedule with the Logies on the 18th!).
March 31, 2004: Unfortunately the past two weeks did not see the turn-around in Mark's game that we'd all hoped for. He suffered his sixth consecutive loss at the Nasdaq 100 to unknown Hernych 4-6, 2-6. Even his attempt at some doubles to with Safin ended in a first round loss to Cibulec and Friedl 4-6, 6-3, 2-6. On the positive side however, Mark hired Brett Stephens to try and get him back into top physical condition. Brett is most well known as Pete Sampras former conditioner. In a somewhat ironic twist, the ATP named Mark their 2003 comeback player of the year last week.
March 16, 2004: Unfortunately due to the untimely demise of my laptop, I will be unable to update this site while I am travelling for the next two weeks. My apologies to all the Mark fans. The next update will be when I return on March 30th.
March 15, 2004: Another tournament, another early loss; 2004 is just not shaping up to be Mark's year. Last night he lost 6-7 (5-7), 5-7 to Youzhny. It was a tight first set with no break of serve and each player winning almost the same number of points. In the second Mark went up an early break but Youzhny powered back to win the match
March 13, 2004: Mark is on the cover of the March issue of Tennis Australia with the main article "Can the Scud Re-Launch" focussing on Mark's fitness. The article suggests that Mark's lack of fitness is what has been causing the recent match losses and that he needs to return to the shape he was in (especially his legs) prior to Wimbledon in order to seriously contest for titles. See the Covers page for a larger version as well as one of the December 2003 issue as well. Later tonight Mark will take the court for his second round match against Youzhny at the Pacific Life Open.
March 10, 2004: Mark's latest advertising campaign is for Pepsi and he can be found on billboards and print ads throughout Australia. Pepsi-Australia was kind enough to send over two of the ads for fans outside of Australia to enjoy. See the Ads section on the Photo page - Drink Up!.
March 9, 2004: The Pacific Life Open draw was today and because Mark is the 12th seed he has a first round bye and will play either Lee or Youzny in the second round. Lurking as a potential quarter-final match is Agassi, but thankfully Federer is on the opposite half of the draw. Mark and Lleyton might be playing doubles, but the website doesn't list doubles entries and their draw isn't til the 12th.
March 8, 2004: The draw for the Pacific Life Open takes place tomorrow. The rankings out today and Mark's first round loss in Dubai cost him 11 places in the Champions Race and 3 places in Entry Rankings. But there is some good news - the 2003 photo archive has been updated with 137 photos from the Davis Cup Final.
March 5, 2004: Today is a bonus day for all you lovers of Philippoussis photography as I've added links to over 100 photos from the Getty organization to the 2004 photo section.
March 1, 2004: Today was an unfortunate day for Mark as he lost to ROchus 2-6, 6-7 (8-10) in the first round of the Dubai Open. Broken on his first service game, Mark looked a bit out of sorts for the first set especially on the serve. He got in sync in the second and even had a set point at one point but a mistimed backhand let it get away. Additionally while Mark still holds at 10 on the entry rankings, he dropped four more places on the Champions Race. Mark will next play March 8th at the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells.
February 29, 2004: The Dubai Open draw has been made and Mark will play Oliver Rochus tomorrow in the opening round.
February 26, 2004: It's been a slow week with Mark on break, but Dubai starts March 1st so there will be more news soon! In the meantime I've added the "Sexiest Import" article and photo from 1998 to the Articles section.
February 17, 2004: The rankings came out yesterday and Mark dropped two places to 19 in the Champions Race, but thanks to his good numbers from last year he held steady at 9 in the Entry Rankings. Also Mark has been confirmed for the Dubai Duty Free Men's Open, March 1-7th in Dubai, United Arab Emigrates.
February 13, 2004: Some bad news for Mark's European fans, he's pulled out of the upcoming Rotterdam tournament. His next tournament will be Scottsdale, Arizona on March 1st. Mark has been spending time in California trying to regain his mental composure by spending some serious time surfing as well as spending time with Delta. Reports indicate that Mark and Delta are now a public item - several articles say they've been staying together in California and were spotted together at a Sting concert this week.
February 11, 2004: There's a new section open on the site - this one devoted to Mark's appearances in print magazines (those that aren't online). It's in the Articles section. Right now there's just the FHM interview and photos but I hope to add more soon. If anyone wants to volunteer to transcribe some articles please contact me.
February 9, 2004: Mark is back in California, having left Australia before the last Davis Cup match was even over in an attempt to escape the unwanted press. And the press still goes on - most of today's articles are from what seems like every psychologist in Australia weighing in on Mark. ('it's his mind' 'it's his body' 'it was Cash' 'he never plays Davis Cup well' - you name it there's a theory from someone). His agent announced that Mark will be taking some time off but that he was still expected to play Rotterdam next week.
February 8, 2004: Post-match Mark said that he felt that he spent much of the past three days in the twilight-zone with nothing he tried going well. He said he's feeling very worn out and plans to take a one or two week break surfing back home in California. However, he's still scheduled for the Rotterdam event starting on the 16th so hopefully for fans there it will only be a one week break.
February 7, 2004 pm: Australia is out of the Cup hunt. Mark ended up facing Bjorkman instead of Soderling (Swedish captain Wilander gave the nod to Bjorkman based on his performance in the doubles) and he went down hard 5-7, 2-6, 2-6. The match just ended so the media update will come later.
February 7, 2004: The Davis Cup pressure falls squarely on Mark for tomorrow's singles match. In a grueling four and a half hour match Woodbridge and Arthurs feel to the Swedes which puts Australia down 1-2. Mark must win his match against Soderling or Australia will be out. Thankfully Mark seems to play some of his best tennis in high stakes Davis Cup matches, so here's hoping that continues!
February 5, 2004 pm: Unfortunately Mark's Davis Cup magic didn't carry over to today's match. Enqvist practically demolished Mark 3-6, 4-6, 2-6 including breaking him at the first game of both the second and third sets.
February 5, 2004: The Davis Cup draw took place today and Mark will play the first rubber against Enqvist. This is a potentially tricky match for Mark as he only holds a 4-3 record against him and of their five meetings on hardcourt Mark's only won two and all five matches have been very close.
February 4, 2004: The Australian team is busy practicing in Adelaide. The Davis Cup draw is tomorrow. The ITF has issued their "Davis Cup Year 2003" book which is a high-class glossy book with a recap of the year with photos and stats. It can be bought direct at: daviscupstore.com. Hope you all enjoy the new version of the site's main page - key information should be easier to spot right away with the new look.
February 3, 2004: Mark is on-site in Adelaide and practicing for the Davis Cup match against Sweden beginning on the 6th. Also it seems that Mark (along with several other athletes) is being used on the ad campaign for the Equinox Fitness Club. The advertisements will appear on billboards in cities in which Equinox has clubs, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, as well as in Vogue, Vanity Fair, New Times and Variety magazines. If someone spots one please let me know!
February 1, 2004: Even more embarrassing behavior from Cash - he's now threatening to go the police and get a restraining order against Mark because of the angry phone calls from Mark. And then he went on to call Mark a coward for only confronting him on the phone and said he was un-Australian. What that man won't do to see his name in press - how embarrassing. For a bit of fun check out the ATP Tennis Show that is currently showing a clip of Philippoussis. (works best in IE).
January 29, 2004: Cash just can't let it go - he appeared on A Current Affair last night to claim that he was verbally abused by Philippoussis over the phone, that he's now afraid of encountering Philippoussis and that as a member of the media he doesn't deserve that kind of treatment. Please, give us a break. Cash deserved just about anything that Mark might have said to him over the phone, and probably more. Best response comes from, of all places, Jools Long of the MegaStar UK tabloid with: "As Sam from EastEnders might say if facing up to Pat in the Albert Square market, get a grip, get a life and get out of The Scud’s face."
January 28, 2004: Mostly press commentary on the Cash comments with Mark being furious with Cash and Delta saying she's hurt by the comments. Kudos go to Patrick Smith of The Australian who summed it up correctly: "In reality Goodrem would be the reason for a Philippoussis loss only if she paired up with him in mixed doubles." Fitzy also confirmed that Mark is indeed playing Davis Cup.
January 27, 2004: Once again it seems that former Australian top-player Pat Cash feels the need to run off at the mouth on Mark's behavior. It's a similar rant to the one he gave during Wimbledon - that Mark's off-court activities cost him his chance at the title. What's pathetic is that Cash can't seem to find attention any other way. He fails to understand that it's Mark's life to live however he chooses and that maybe Delta isn't to blame for Mark's poor showing against Arazi.
January 26, 2004: Unfortunately Mark's Aussie Open jinx struck again and he failed to make it past the fourth round. Mark was sent home by Arazi 2-6, 2-6, 4-6. The match was a combination of Mark not finding his rhythm (38 unforced errors and winning only 27% on second serves) and Arazi playing one of his best-ever matches. It seemed that no matter where the ball was Arazi was finding the perfect shot for the point. Next Mark will take a few days off before gearing up for the Davis Cup against Sweden in Adelaide on Feb 6th.
January 24, 2004 pm: Media update from Round 3 with some nice articles and photos. Next up for Mark is Arazi whom he holds a 3-2 lifetime record against. They last met in 2002 on hardcourt where Mark won.
January 24, 2004: In a match where Mark's A-game wasn't with him (he averaged only 49% first serves for the match - and the best was only 55% in the 3rd set), Mark dug deep and defeated Ancic 6-4, 7-6 (7-2), 6-2. While every year the press seems to herald a new Philippoussis, it has been these past two matches that show the new version to truly have arrived. Previously when Mark's A-game was gone, so was the match as he vainly tried to force his power game (ie. serve) to appear. The matches against Santoro and Ancic have shown a more mature Mark who's willing to look for and find a B-game to win the match. Media update coming later.
January 22, 2004: Despite a typical slow start, Mark kept his cool against the wily Frenchman and advanced to the third round 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. Next up is the big Croatian Ancic.
January 21, 2004: More articles added from the Australian Open. Also the Philippoussis family released this statement today:
"We wish to advise that Mark's cousin David, who fell sick immediately prior to the match last night and was rushed to hospital, is in no immediate danger and is recovering well in hospital. On behalf of both of us, and the rest of the family, we wish to thank the members of the public and tournament organizers for their immediate attention to David, and to the doctors and staff at the hospital currently looking after him. We would also like to thank the many who have sent messages of support which have been greatly appreciated."
January 20, 2004: Mark has passed the first hurdle at the Australian Open, defeating Johansson 7-6 (8-6), 6-2, 7-6 (7-4). ALthough Mark is normally a slow starter, he came out firing last night and played good solid tennis to win in three. For those who couldn't see the match I recommend the BBC Match summary that offers some play-by-play (in the Articles section). Next up is Fabrice Santoro, whom Mark holds a 4-2 record against. Our good wishes for a speedy recovery go out to Mark's cousins David who suffered a heart attack at the Open last night.
January 19, 2004: Mark is set to take the court tomorrow night as the second match of the evening on Rod Laver. Look for him around 8:30pm Melbourne time. Mark also made one of the 'Quotes of the Week' from the BBC: "I can honestly say I'm not one of them. Unless ice cream is a steroid. If ice cream is a steroid, I'm definitely positive for that then." (Mark Philippoussis after being asked if he is one of the players, alongside Greg Rusedski, to have tested positive for nandrolone.)
January 17, 2004: Mark's hopes of getting his Australian Open bid off to an easier start were dashed when the draw netted him the opponent of 2002 champion Thomas Johansson. Johansson is unseeded after sitting out much of 2003 with a knee injury, and while he's still in the early stages of coming back, he will be a challenging match. Mark carries a 3-0 lifetime average over him, but the two haven't played each other since 2000 - a lifetime ago in tennis time. ALso lurking in Mark's quarter are Verkerk, Ferrero and Coria. Lots of good articles today - I recommend reading "Catch a rip..." and "Father knows best"
January 15, 2004: Sadly Mark's run at the Adidas ended with a 4-6, 6-7 (4-7) loss to Verkerk. Mark was broken on his opening serve and while he had a few chances, he couldn't dent his opponents powerful serves. Post-match Mark said he wasn't fully geared up for the night match and made some poor shot selections on critical points. The Australian Open seeds were announced today and Mark is seeded 10th, the highest Australian in the draw (Hewitt is 15th). The draw is set to take place on the 18th.
January 14, 2004: It took another full three sets but Mark prevailed over Rusedski 6-3, 1-6, 6-4. The longer matches have actually been good for Mark as it prepares him well for the longer potential five set matches at the Australian Open. Next up is a quarterfinal match with Verkerk at 7:30pm local time.
January 13, 2004: Mark showed that he's one of the best to dig out of a hole and he showed it again in Sydney. After a great opening set against Hidalgo, he then lost the second and was down 0-2 in the third before rolling off the next six games to win 6-2, 5-7, 6-2. Next up he'll face Rusedski. On the fashion note, Mark's new colors from Fila are a blue/yellow/white combo that's got sort of a ripple tie dyed look to it. He had this to say about it in today's Australian: "It's definitely different," Philippoussis said. "I'm actually relieved and glad I'm out of that red stuff. I felt like I was in that thing for 10 years, so it's nice to have a bit of a change. Kind of hippy, huh?" Lots of pictures of the new threads in the Photo section.
January 12, 2004: Mark starts his run in Sydney tomorrow against Ramirez Hidalgo from Spain and his is the third match of the day. Todd Woodbridge has clarified his position on Mark's team. He's not a coach but rather just a scheduled hitting partner who's offering some helpful advice. Several articles added.
January 10, 2004: The Adidas International gets underway tomorrow and Mark's first round match-up will on the second day against a qualifier (unknown as to whom at this point), with the chance to meet Rusedski or Chela in the second round. Mark's camp has also expanded with the addition of a 'secondary coach' in the form of doubles god Todd Woodbridge. The two got along so well during Davis Cup that Mark asked Todd to continue to train with him and offer advice and training tips alongside his father. Given Todd's excellent skills at net, hopefully some of them will be passed on to Mark - he'd be devastating if he played even more at net than he currently does!
January 6, 2004: Mark didn't get 2004 off to the start he hoped today, he lost 6-3, 1-6, 4-6 to defending champion Koubek. Post-match Mark seemed upbeat about the loss, saying that because of the time off for the injury he really hadn't had proper preparation for this tournament. Plans are now to return to Sydney and train for the Adidas International starting on the 11th.
January 5, 2004: The Qatar Open got under way today and Mark will play is first match tomorrow night on Centre court against defending champ Koubek.
January 3, 2004: Mark headed off to Doha last night to start his season at the Qatar Open. The main draw was earlier today and Mark's first match will be against Koubek.
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.
