December 31, 2005: The draw for Adeliade has been released and Mark will play Spadea in the opening round. Mark has a 4-2 lifetime record against him, winning the last time they met in 2004 on clay. However it's anyone's guess which Mark Philippoussis will show up for the match - so far he's kept the press in the dark on his training.
December 22, 2005: Mark will have the chance for a little more match play prior to the Australian Open. It was announced today that he will be partnering up with Belgian Xavier Malisse for doubles as the Adeliade International. The two have not played together before. It also appears that the confusion over Mark being scheduled for two tournaments in one week has been resolved - Mark will be playing at the Heineken Open in Auckland from January 9-15, and not the Adidas International in Sydney.
December 9, 2005: Mark will have the opportunity to call on Fitzgerald for coaching assitance this season. Fitzgerald was re-appointed Davis Cup captain and the role is now a full-time job that requires him to keep an eye on the team players year round and help where needed. No word on whether Mark will actually use Fitzgerald regularly or not.
November 2, 2005 It looks like January will see Mark trying to pull off the impossible - being in two tournaments at once. Today he was just granted a wild card into the Auckland Open in New Zealand that starts January 9th. However earlier this month he was also granted a wildcard into the Sydney International that also starts Jan 9th. Both tournaments have spoken about how thrilled they are to have a top Australian play their event. Yet even in today's articles about the Aucland wildcard, they mention the Syndey wilcard as well, with no explanation as to how he's going to pull off two tournaments at once or which one will get scrapped.
October 26, 2005: Mark suffered another first round loss today to Verdasco 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 2-6 at the St. Petersburg Open. While Mark struggled to come back in the second set he wasn't able to sustain it into the third.
October 23, 2005: Mark will be playing in the St. Petersburg Open starting tomorrow in Russia. He'll face off against the number eight seed Verdasco. (thanks to JP for the info)
October 20, 2005: Looks like Mark did attempt to play the Challenger event this week in Calabasas, however prior to his first round match he withdrew with back spasms. (thanks to JP for the info). There are still a few more Challengers left in 2005, so it's possible Mark will try to enter one of those. Also this morning Adelaide officially offered Mark a wildcard slot, so Mark's summer will be completely full thanks to the three wildcard slots.
October 15, 2005: It looks like Mark is done competing for 2005 as there has been no word of upcoming tournaments. However, some of his plans are shaping up for the 2006 season. Along with the Australian Open, Mark has now received wilcards to the Sydney and Adelaide International Series events. That provides him with a nice chance for some match play before trying his luck at his home country major. The Age is also reporting that Mark will marry fiance Alexis Barbara in December.
October 11, 2005: It appears that Mark is taking this week off as he's not entered in any of these weeks main tour or Challenger tour events. Thanks to Mark's two match win last week in France, Mark made a nice move UP the rankings for once. He's up 6 in the Champions Race to 104 and up 23 in the Entry Rankings to 180.
October 8, 2005: Unfortunately Mark's run at the Open de Moselle
came to an end lat night with a 4-6, 6-4, 1-6 loss to Hrbaty. But the
tournament has been a plus for Mark with two match wins and some signs
that his tennis skills haven't entirely defeated him.
October 5, 2005: It's another win! For only the second time this year Mark has won back-to-back matches, defeating Calleri 7-6 (8-6), 6-4. Reports from France say he was playing well and showing some of the old fire. Next up is Hrbaty.
October 4, 2005: A win! Yes that's right, a win! Mark got a little revenge on Behrend for his Scottsdale loss easlier thisyear winning 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. His match was reportedly a rather impressive display of play including 20 aces. Next up for Mark is Calleri of Argentina.
October 1, 2005: Mark has received a wildcard to the Open de Moselle in Metz, France starting on October 3rd. (thanks to Vittorio for the info). And an update, all the Philippoussis tapes I had available are now gone.
September 28, 2005: Mark came close but it just didn't happen and Mark lost 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 5-7 to Muller in the first round of the Thailand Open. What's heartbreaking about this loss is that Mark actually servied for the match at 5-4 in the third set. Unfortunately he was unable to close it out. Tennis Australia has spoken about giving Mark a wildcard for the Australian Open. Nothing's official yet, but they spoke of all the good Mark has done for the tournment and that he has a pretty strong case to get one.
September 25, 2005: The draw for the Thailand Open has been released. Mark will play Gilles Muller of Luxemburg in the first round.
Philippoussis tapes - free to good home! I'm in the process of digitizing my Philippoussis collection so I've got a bunch of tapes I no longer need. If there's any Mark fan who would like them, they can have them for just the cost of packing and shipping. All tapes are NTSC format in slow play. 1. Davis Cup Semis 09/19/03 vs Federer, 2. Scottsdale Final 03/09/03 vs Hewitt, 3. CIncinnati Rd 1 8/12/03 vs. Fish, 4. Wimbledon 03 Rd 3 vs Stephanik, 5. Wimbledon 03 Rd 4 vs Agassi, 6. Wimbledon 03 Semis vs Grosjean, 7. Wimbledon 03 Final vs. Federer, Contact me hoO@hooloovoo.com. First come first served!
September 15, 2005: Where in the world is Mark Philippoussis? Yesterday's Herald Sun ran an article asking the same question we Mark fans have - if Mark is not too proud to play Challengers than why hasn't he played any? Mark has entered ATP main events in Stockholm and Moscow, be he's currently more than 75 places out of direct entry, so he'll have to reply on a wild card or try to qualify. But some tournaments have had some sympathy - he's been granted a wildcard to the Thailand Open that begins on September 24th.
September 1, 2005: It was a cut and paste - Mark's post match interview sounded just like every other one he's given this season: "it was all mental.." "been working very hard off-court..." "will do whatever it takes..." The only new info is that Mark has been spending 4-5 hours training each day, and granted it looks as though he has gotten fitter and taken off some of the excess weight he was carrying earlier this summer. There's no word on what might or might not be happening with the MP clothing line - in New York Mark was once again decked out in all FILA gear - some nice Getty photos of him in the blue outfit.
August 31, 2005: Today was yet another bad day for Mark, as he lost 4-6, 2-6, 5-7 to Kucera. No major reports out yet, but the numbers tell it all: 24 winners and 48 errors. You can't win a tennis match if you're losing more points than you're winning - replying on your opponent to make more mistakes than you is not the way to go. Unfortunately this loss means that it's unlikely that Mark will be handed wildcards to any major upcoming tournament (with one possible exception of the Shanghai Open since he's a past champion). What this loss means for the rest of Mark's season is yet to be determined.
August 19, 2005: Good news for Mark! The USTA awarded Mark a wilcard into the US Open. He was the only foreign player to receive one, so three cheers for the US Open. Here's hoping he can lift his came and show us some of the brilliant tennis he's played in the past. The draw for the US Open will take place on August 24th.
August 15, 2005: The question of the week is where is Mark Philippoussis and just what is he planning. The Cinncinatti Masters event starts today and Mark did not receive a wildcard (or possible didn't even apply) nor did he attempt to qualify. With a game that's somewhere in the gutter at the moment, just what is Mark doing to try and get back to the top? Sadly it's a question without an answer at the moment.
August 7, 2005: Mark is not listed on the draw for the Montreal Masters event this weekend so it appears he did not attempt to qualify. The next major tournament is the Cincinnati Masters event next week to which he doesn't have a wildcard, so hopefully he will try to qualify. At the USTA Juniors event in Kalamazoo Mark had fun in his exhibition with Taylor Dent. They each played a doubles match with a top wheelchair tennis player, with both he and Taylor takeing turns trying to play from wheelchairs themselves. They then both played a singles set that Taylor won 6-3.
August 4, 2005: It seems that the cause of Mark's loss in Washington was the same problem he's always had - fitness. This time around the interviews went to McEnroe who called Mark one of the best potential players in the sport, but lacking the willpower to bring that talent up. It seems that even in this dismal season Mark cannot summon the desire to practice for more than 45 minutes a day. Unfortunately this type of work ethic (or lack thereof) is not going to help Mark move upward in the rankings. As of today Mark has not received a wildcard for the Masters event in Montreal, so let's cross our fingers he'll try to qualify and suceed!
August 2, 2005: Mark didn't help his bid for a US Open wildcard today, losting 5-7, 4-6 to Horna at the Legg Mason Classic. So far there have been no reports as to exactly what went wrong (or continues to go wrong) with Mark's play.
July 28, 2005: A couple of articles on Mark's loss in Los Angeles. There's some signifcant doubt as to whether Mark will be granted a US Open wildcard. With so many US men trying to recover their rankings from injuries and other problems there's doubt as to whether the USTA will give a slot to Mark when his results this season don't offer mch hope that he'll go past the 1st round.
July 25, 2005: The wheels seem to have finally fallen off on the Scud's tennis year. Yesterday he lost 6-7 (0-7), 7-6 (7-4), 4-6 to Hadad, a player ranked in the low 400s who hasn't made it into an ATP main draw since 2002. Now while Mark hasn't had the best luck this year, a match like that should not have even been close. In searching for some positive news, if Mark can just make it into the main draw of some upcoming events and win one round his ranking will improve, as last year he lost in the first round of every match he played post-Wimbledon.
July 23, 2005: Mark was denied a wild card to the Los Angeles Masters event and so today began the qualifying round. First up was Bo Hodge of the US, and though he struggled a bit in the second set he managed to win 6-4, 2-6, 6-2. Next up is Amir Hadad of Israel.
July 17, 2005: Philippoussis played as planned with the FoxForce team this weekend. Details are sketchy (TeamTennis gets very little coverage). In his first matches he lost to McEnroe, but later won his singles match against Ryan Newport and then teamed with Don Johnson to win doubles. Mark will stay with the FoxForce for two road matches against the Capitals and the Wranglers this week. On serious tennis news, the draw for the RCA Championships is tonight and there is still one wildcard unassigned, so corss your fingers that it goes to Mark!
July 14, 2005: It seems that Mark's ankle injury is healing. He's been called up to replace Boris Becker in this weekend's Team Tennis match in New York. He will join the Hartford FoxForce team and play today and tomorrow.
July 12, 2005: Mark will play an exhibition match against Taylor Dent at the USTA Boys 18 and 16 Tournament in Kalamazoo, Michigan on August 5th. There's been no word yet on whether Mark will get a wilcard to the RCA tournament next week.
July 5, 2005: Philippoussis is out the Davis Cup against Argentina. The ankle tendon injury he suffered at Wimbledon is still being troublesome and he won't be able to play on the 15th. And while Mark did move up in the 2005 Champions Race, by going out in the second round he lost the points he had from kaing the fourth round last year. It was a punishing drop of 66 points taking him to an all-time low of 208.
June 28, 2005: So far there's been no word as to the results of Mark's MRI, which hopefully means it wasn't something severe. Fitzgerald is also holding off on naming the Cup squad to see whether Mark or Arthurs has the better fitness level.
June 23, 2005: It's possible that there's more injury bad news coming Mark's way. After a night of sleep Mark was having trouble stretching out his right ankle. He was scheduled for an MRI late today to see if there was any ligament damange, but so far there's been no update. Latest reports say that Mark is hoping to get a wild card for the Masters event in Los Angeles, though he might also apply for one in Indianapolis in mid-July as well. One article estimates that the early round loss is going to send Mark pluning to around 210 in the rankings.
June 22, 2005: Unfortunately that ol' Wimbledon magic just didn't last for Mark. Today he lost 6-7 (4-7), 6-7 (4-7), 4-6 to Safin. Mark had chances, but was unable to convert any of his break point opportunities. In addition he received treatment on his ankle after the first set and seemed a bit tentative on it after. Media update to come later.
June 20, 2005: There's some magic in that Wimbledon grass, at least for Mark Philippoussis. Showing some of that natural grass talent, Mark defeated Beck 7-5, 6-4, 6-2. The match started off a little slow for Mark but he soon found his rhythm and got that big serve and those booming groundstrokes firing. He even showed some of that great skill at net. Mark has Tuesday off and will face off against Safin on Wednesday. And it's amazing what winning a few matches can do for your rankings. After last week's wins Mark jumped 41 places to 101 in the Champions Race and up 4 6 places to 142 in the Entry Rankings. Still a long way to go, but it's nice to see those numbers moving upwards again!
June 19, 2005: Mark's Wimbledon run begins Monday with his match against Beck being the fourth match of the day on Court 2. Here's wishing Mark a good run! Mark is also the latest celebrity to be featured in the Ardmona Rich and Thick chopped tomatos ad campaign. The ad features an old photo, but still a good one.
Follow the action live at Wimbledon.org
June 18, 2005: On Friday Mark continued his winnign ways by defeating Sanguinetti 7-6 (7-0), 7-6 (7-2) to advance to the semifinals. Unfortunately today he lost 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (7-5), 3-6 to Lorda, the defending champion at the Ordina Open. It was a tight match until Mark lost serve in the third set and couldn't convert it back. But fans should take heart that it's probably a good thing that Mark didn't advance again as now he has a short breather before starting Wimbledon. On-site reports indicate that Mark's game improved with each match and that he's showing some very agressive net serve and volley tennis.
June 16, 2005: It's a streak breaker! Mark won today 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-2) over Garcia-Lopez breaking a streak that goes all the way back to last year's Wimbledon! It's the first time since then that he's won two singles matches at the same tournament! Mark wasn't at his best today, but he held it together to advance. Next up is David Sanguinetti. The Wimbledon draw also came out today and Mark will play Beck in the first round with a potential match-up against Safin in the second round. You can see the full draw on the Wimbledon website.
June 14, 2005: Mark managed to hold it together today to win over Rochus 6-3, 7-6 (10-8). He's taking some anti-infammatories for his back and they're making him slightly nauseaus, which is affecting his game. His serve is firing though, and he's hoping that the match play will help the back and get him in form for Wimbledon. And for the first time in weeks there's positive upward movement in Mark's rankings!
June 11, 2005: In an attempt to get some more match play prior to Wimbledon, Mark accepted a last minute place in the Ordina Open in the Netherlands next week. He'll start off against Christophe Rochus. Interestingly, Mark's only played him twice, both times earlier this year on hardcourt, they've each won once. (Thanks to Mars for the tournament news)
June 9, 2005: Mark's winning streak didn't carry on yesterday, with a 2-6, 4-6 loss to Roddick in round two and then a 6-4, 3-6, 4-6 loss to Grosjean and Mirny in the doubles. Post match Roddick was very complimentary of Mark saying that no one should count him out at Wimbledon as he was a formidible foe on grass. Lots of photos from Queens added.
June 7, 2005 pm: Media update from Queen's. Reueters reported that Mark left California for grass courts in Miami a month before coming to Europe. He also made a deal with himself to pack up the surfboards for a few years to focus on the tennis, saying that he's found peace of mind and doesn't need the escape of surfing to cope anymore.
June 7, 2005: Mark's doubles match turned out to be just what he needed to warmup as today he flattened Sluiter 6-4, 6-0 in a mere 62 minutes. Next up for Mark is a challenging match against Andy Roddick, against whom he's never played. Should be a match between two big servers. Media update to follow.
June 6, 2005: Double good news! Philippoussis and HEwitt won their first round doubles match against Leach and Palmer 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Both players looked a bit rusty from their lack of match play (Hewitt has been recovering from broken ribs), but started showing some good form in the second and third sets. Mark is happy to have gotten some match play before his singles roudn tomorrow. But the really good news of the day is the All England Club granted Mark a wildcard into Wimbledon!
June 5, 2005: The draw has been announced for Queen's Club and Mark will face Raemn Sluiter in the first round, though he isn't expected to play his match til Tuesday. In addition he and Hewitt received a wildcard to play doubles together and they'll play on Monday against Leach & Parrott. Keep your fingers crossed as tomorrow the All England Club awards it's wildcards.
May 31, 2005: Poor Mark just cannot seem to get a piece of luck to go his way. About an hour prior to his match today he withdrew with a lower back injury. According to the doctor at Surbiton it's a "lower intercostal neuralgic occurrence." No word yet on exactly how serious this might be, so hopefully a week of rest willl put him back in form to start at Stella Artois next week. It might however impact the All England club's decision on whether to grant Mark a wildcard to Wimbledon. Their decision's are announced the day play starts at Stella Artois next week, so there's not even a chance that they can look to see how Mark performs there before making a decision. We'll have to keep our fingers crossed that they look more to Mark's past performances at Wimbledon than his current play (or lack there-of).
May 29, 2005: Good news for Mark's grass court preparations as he got an open spot in the Surbiton Challenger that starts tomorrow. First up is Alex Bogdanovic from Britain. (thanks to Francesca for the news). Best of luck to Mark!
May 20, 2005: It helps to be a past Champion - Queen's Club granted the first of their five wildcards for the tournament to Mark. The tournament starts on June 6th, which is also the day the Wimbledon committee will meet to determine what players will receive their wildcards this year. Mark still waits to see if players drop from the Surbiton Challenger starting on May 30th so that he can get their spot.
May 16, 2005: The Australian press is running an article entitles "Scud's Wild Ride" and that's exactly what it looks like the next few weeks will be for Mark as he anxiously awaits for news on the grass court season. In a bit of a recklass bid with his decision to apply for direct entry into Wimbledon, assuming he gets wildcards into enough early grass tournaments, plays well and can significantly improve his ranking. Due to his plummeting ranking, Mark has been forced to ask for a wilcard to the prestigious Stella Artois (Queen's Club), a tournment he's won before. He also applied for a wildcard to the Surbiton Challenger, but has to hope that other players drop out in order to get in. If neither wildcards nor match wins come through Mark still has the chance for a Wimbledon wildcard or at worst a chance to get into the qualifing trials.
May 6, 2005: For reasons unknown, Mark never played in this weeks Tunica Challenger. Unfortunately Challenger events just don't get much press coverage so there has been no reports on why Mark wasn't there as original expected. Today Mark was offered a wildcard into the French Open from Tennis Australia, but turned it down, saying he wouldn't be ready for the clay season and instead plans to focus on the grasscourt season. He hopes for a wildcard into Wimbledon and Queens based on past results.
April 17, 2005: Mark has entered the Tunica Indoor, a Challenger event in Nashville starting on May 2nd. Although initial reports had Mark playing in the Mens Claycourt tomorrow so far there's been no word on whether Mark is there or not.
April 3, 2005: A couple of articles added about Mark's new coach Andrew Florent. It seems that Mark made the call 3 weeks ago and two days later Florent had joined Mark in Miami to start work. While there is no confirmed tournament for Mark to return to play (he's still off courst for at least 2 more weeks), he might start with the US Mens Claycourt Championships in Houston on April 18th.
March 26, 2005: Poor Mark just can't seem to get any kind of good luck this season. In his match on Thursday against Rochus, Mark took a nasty fall after rolling his ankle - but he was able to get help from the trainer and finish the match. Unfortunately when the ankle didn't seem to be getting better Mark had an MRI done and the diagnosis - torn ligament in his left ankle. He's currently on crutches but he expects to be back on the court in three weeks. What that means for his next tournament is anyone's guess as he's forced to get by on wild cards for entry or step back and try his luck on the Challenger circuit. Here's wishing Mark a speedy recovery!
March 25, 2005: Mark got some revenge on C. Rochus today, beating him in the first round at the Nasdaq 100 in Miami and avenging his loss to him last week at the Challenger event last week. Round two brings him 15th seed Gonzalez. Mark has also taken on a new coach. Andrew Florent, a Melbourne tennis club coach, has been given a two month trial period as an "assistant". Florent has worked with Tennis Australia's junior players and is a prior doubles specialist on the ATP tour, only retiring two years ago.
March 20, 2005: Mark showed some excellent fitness in the doubles on Saturday, starting the day with a win over Gimelstob & MacPhie 6-3, 7-6 (7-3). He and Gambill then came back later in the day to play Beck & Levinsky and win 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (7-2). Today they were supposed to play Leach & Parrott, but the results are listed as a walkover. With little press at Challenger events, there's been no word on why Philippoussis and Gambill didn't play.
March 19, 2005: Sadly one win wasn't enough to spark a streak as Mark lost to Christophe Rochus 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 2-6. But I suppose fans can take heart that he at least won a set before going out. Later today he and Gambill will play Gimelstob and MacPhie in the second round.
March 18, 2005: It may not be the great achievement in sport, but Mark has finally won a singles match again. He defeated Morrison 6-3, 7-6 (9-7). Later today he'll play Christophe Rochus.
March 17, 2005: Mark has taken the big step and gone back to play the Pro Tennis World Open, a Challenger event in Florida. In a positive step to get some more match play, he's teamed up with Gambill in doubles and they won their first match against Martin and Ventura, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4. His first round singles match against Morrison will be finished later today. Mark currently leads 4-3. The NASDAQ-100 in Miami has granted Mark a wildcard for next week's tournament. The 3/21/05 issue of Australian Woman's Day has a four page spread on Mark and Alexis and their wedding plans. (Thanks Gail for the AWD info) The results with corrected tie-breaker points for Mark's match against Carraz are 6-7 (7-9), 1-6. (Thanks Aaron for the correction).
March 12, 2005: A few photos and articles from Mark's loss at Indian Wells. It also seems that while Mark has presented Alexis with a very large ring and is telling his friends that they've become engaged, he has told Alexis not to speak to the press about it and is ignoring questions directed to him about it.
March 11, 2005: Marks latest tour match sadly wasn't the kind of results he needs to have. He lost 6-7 (5-7), 1-6 to qualifier Carraz. While his serve percentage was pretty similar to past positive results, Mark managed to win only 35% of the receiving points. With this latest loss Mark's rankings are going to take another significant hit and he will still be at the mercy of wild cards to get into the big tournaments without having to qualify or return to the Challenger circuit. The match just ended so media updates will come tomorrow.
March 3, 2005: The Pacific Life Open announced their wild card selections today and Mark has been granted one of them. So his next tournament will begin on Monday, March 7th at Indian Wells.
March 2, 2005: Philippoussis engaged! Last week while in the US Mark proposed to Alexis Barbara, his girlfriend of five months, an 18 year old model / actor from Florida. Friends of Philippouss were told last week and someone passed the news to the media which has been running with the story. So far there has been no official word from Mark or his agent. (Given this site's policy of trying to stay away from Mark's personal life, I'm hesitant to list this, but it's covered extensively in the Australian media so it's no secret anymore). On the tennis front there's been no announcement yet of a wild card for the Pacific Life Open.
February 24, 2005: The wins just didn't last in Scottsdale with Mark falling to Ancic 1-6, 6-7 (3-7) last night. While it wasn't a win Mark did some some excellent game in the second set and made Ancic work for the win. Next Mark hopes to play in the Pacific Life Open starting March 7th, but is waiting on word of a wildcard slot.
February 23, 2005: It's only taken 240 days, but Mark has finally won another match! He defeated Behrend 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 at the first round in Scottsdale last night. Despite a 90 minute rain delay in the third set Mark kept his composure. It wasn't the prettiest of matches but Mark is reported to look fitter (he's lost 8.5 pounds) and moving sharper on the court. Here's hoping he can build on that win! Next up is Ancic, against whom Mark has a 2-0 record, both matches being on hardcourt. The match is scheduled to start at 6:0pm PST.
February 22, 2005: It's official - Mark will not be playing the opening round of Davis Cup later this month. Team captain Fitzgerald spoke with Mark several times over the past week and it was a mutual decision that Mark needed to stay in the US and get some tennis matches under his belt and continue working on his fitness. The Davis UCp team will consist of Hewitt, Woodbridge, Arthurs and Draper. The Franklin-Templeton Classic is underway in Scottsdale and Mark's first opponent will be Tomas Behrend of Germany, currently ranked at 102.
February 13, 2005: Davis Cup coach Masur has done on record to say if Mark is fit they're going to want him on the team. Of course that brings up the whole issue of whether Mark will be willing to make the trip back to Australia only days before Indian Wells.
February 7, 2005: It's been a lonely start to the tennis season without Mark to cheer on. But fans can take some heart, Philippoussis now has a set date to return. He's accepted a wildcard into Scottsdale starting February 21st and barring any injury flare-ups, he'll be back on court. The Davis Cup team is also supposed to be announced on that day and currently there's no decision whether to play Mark or choose youngster Todd Reid. Given that Mark is planning to play in Indian Wells, California the day after the Davis Cup event in Sydney, Australia,my guess is that they'll name Reid.
January 13, 2005: It's official, Mark formally withdrew from the Australian Open today at his doctor's recommendation. Currently Mark is looking at resuming his tournament play in San Jose at the beginning of February. Because he's pulling out based on a documented injury Mark invoked the rankings protection for six months, or eight tournaments that allows him entry at his ranking at time of injury - 109.
January 9, 2005: Mark has officially withdrawn from the Sydney International starting this week. He is receiving treatment for his injury and still hopes to be able to compete at the Australian Open. However, it is more than injury recovery time that Mark must be considering with regard to this event. By not competing this week Mark loses the 40 points he earned there last year. At the Open last year he advanced to the 4th round and earned 150 points. If he competes at the Open and does not match his 4th round appearance he could slide well outside 200th in the rankings. While the ranking is a horrid number to consider, it has further ramifications in that he would be outside the main draw for all ATP and grand slam tournaments and would require either a wildcard entry or having to go back to the Callenger circuit to earn the points back to make main draws again. But if he decides his injury is too severe to allow him to play the Open he'll activate the ATP's protected ranking option and when he recovers, he will be able to play eight tournaments over a six month period at his protected ranking of 109.
January 6, 2005: The tennis gods must have it in for Mark in a bad way. At the start of the third set in his match against Wessels Mark felt a pain in his groin and called for the trainer. While he managed to finish the game, losing 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 2-6, a post-match scan confirmed the bad news. He has two small 2cm tears in the adductor muscle. While it's not a career-ending injury, it does put his Open start in jeopardy. At a news conference Philippoussis was hopeful of making the Open, but with only 10 days to go it's not very likely (or if he does make it that he'd be able to last a five set match). Ironically the same day it was announced that there had been enough withdrawls from the Open that Mark would make it in on the direct entry and wouldn't need the wildcard. Mark is now headed back to Melbourne for further treatment and rehab.
January 3, 2005: It wasn't quite the start Mark wanted to his 2005 season with a 5-7, 2-6 loss to Hrabty in the opening round of the Hopman Cup. Post-match Mark said he was in need of match play to get his form back, but his failure to do much damage with his serve or not even attempting to run down several Hrbaty balls is a bit concerning. Thankfully Molik helped carry Philippoussis throught he mixed and combined with her earlier win Australia advances to the next round.
January 2, 2005: Mark takes the court tomorrow for his first match of the 2005 season against Hrbaty of Slovakia. They've played twice before with Mark leading 2-0 but their last match was in 2000. Mark also finally spoke to the press saying that he feels he's in good shape and playing well but needs match practice to get that full mental match toughness. He doesn't expect to be back to top form for several months and knows that the Australian Open will be a struggle. Of his time spent with McEnroe, Mark said it was Mac who approached him about working together and Mark jumped at the opportunity. Of their time together Mark said: "We did a bit of hitting, we did a lot of fitness as well with his (McEnroe's) physical trainer, and just a lot of talking, about what happened, what did go wrong and what I should be doing."
Click on the Below Year for What's New from that year
