If circumstances ensured Mark Philippoussis received a disproportionate share of the glory for his one-point contribution to Australia's 3-1 victory in last year's Davis Cup final, yesterday's loss was all his own.
It took Lleyton Hewitt to level the first-round tie against Sweden, and Adrian Quist's long-standing record of singles wins for Australia (24), after Philippoussis failed to win a set against Thomas Enqvist.
Philippoussis, who arrived at Memorial Drive late on Tuesday, did not blame the recent spate of negative publicity for his dismal performance against a reborn Enqvist but nevertheless said the comments by Pat Cash and others had been unhelpful and inappropriately timed.
"Whatever anyone wants to say about my personal life, if they think that's
the right thing, so be it," said Philippoussis, denying his preparation had been
compromised. "[But] I've been through a lot in my life and I've seen that
before, it didn't affect anything. It's just unfortunate that something like
that has to be brought up before a Davis Cup. I don't think it's the right thing
to do."
Philippoussis admitted both to fatigue after such a short end-of-season break and the desire for a short rest from the game. He will take one but not until Monday, for his 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 defeat ensured that, regardless of today's doubles outcome between Todd Woodbridge and Wayne Arthurs and the scratch Swedish pair of Jonas Bjorkman and Joachim Johansson, tomorrow's fourth rubber against Robin Soderling or potential substitute Bjorkman will be live.
Hewitt is in reserve for the fifth match against Enqvist if required, having yesterday overwhelmed a heat-affected Soderling 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 to stretch his phenomenal cup singles record to 24-5 and save Australia's day yet again.
"I won't lie. At the moment I'm just a little tired," said Philippoussis, citing the minimal post-final respite before returning to prepare for the local circuit. "From now 'til Sunday I've got to regroup and do whatever I can to come out fresh, and just think about just playing one match, and maybe after that just have a little bit of a break.
"It's a challenge. I must say I'm a pretty positive person [but] at the moment I'm being tough on myself. I just want to try and find myself and try and go out on the court with the proper balance of relaxation but also intensity because sometimes I want to be relaxed and I go out there a little too flat. I have to try and find that groove that works for me and hopefully on Sunday I can."
For all the praise that was rightly shovelled Philippoussis's way after his memorable effort on the final day in last November's decider, he has now lost his opening match in the past three ties. In the previous two, against Switzerland and Spain, Hewitt had already won the first point, but this time was forced to make his run from behind. As were Australia, which had not trailed since their 5-0 first-round whitewash in Argentina two years ago.
Since then, the only rubbers Australia have lost have been dead, or by Philippoussis, against Roger Federer and Carlos Moya respectively. Both are top-10 players and Enqvist played yesterday like the No.4 he used to be. He has reached two ATP Tour finals on this court and was an Australian Open runner-up in 1999. Against the world No.9, for 86 immaculate minutes, the clock was rewound.
Philippoussis, for his part, will wish that he could have yesterday's time again. Enqvist had to qualify for the US Open just six months ago and has a singles ranking of 78 but broke serve early in each set, and twice in the third, while losing just 11 points on his own serve - and none at all in the second set. Bjorkman rated his teammate's performance a perfect 10.
In a different way, Hewitt's was also hugely impressive and an early flurry of break points translated into a match-changing break in the ninth game. Relentless in his retrieval, the Australian believed that, in extreme heat, he had weathered the best the debutant Soderling could muster, and so he had.
"I was just running every ball down and making him play that extra shot. I felt like he knew I wasn't going to go away and I felt like, physically, I had a huge edge on him as well, so the longer the match went, the better off I was," Hewitt said.
Soderling, indeed, could scarcely have faced a more challenging debut - on Hewitt's home court, playing on Hewitt's terms. "Hewitt makes you beat yourself, basically," Swedish captain Mats Wilander said.
Soderling said: "He made me tired, not so much physically but more mentally. I thought I hit good shots, I thought 'this must be a winner', but he was there all the time."
As Hewitt has been for Australia since his debut against the United States in Boston in 1999, missing only the trip to Argentina due to chickenpox. Now, the Quist record beckons. "Everyone knows my thinking on Davis Cup and how much I put into it, and this is a great reward, I guess, for all the sacrifices that I've made for Davis Cup over the years," Hewitt said.
Tired Scud flops, Hewitt
to the rescue
By Linda Pearce
Adelaide
February 7, 2004
theage.com.au
If circumstances ensured Mark Philippoussis received a disproportionate share of
the glory for his one-point contribution to Australia's 3-1 victory in last
year's Davis Cup final, yesterday's loss was all his own.
It took Lleyton Hewitt to level the first-round tie against Sweden, and Adrian
Quist's long-standing record of 24 singles wins for Australia, after
Philippoussis failed to win a set against Thomas Enqvist.
Philippoussis, a late-Tuesday arrival at Memorial Drive, did not blame the
recent negative publicity for his dismal performance against a reborn Enqvist,
but said comments from Pat Cash and others had been unhelpful, and
inappropriately timed.
"Whatever anyone wants to say about my personal life, if they think that's the
right thing, so be it," said Philippoussis, denying his preparation had been
compromised. "(But) I've been through a lot in my life, and I've seen that
before; it didn't affect anything. It's just unfortunate that something like
that has to be brought up before a Davis Cup. I don't think it's the right thing
to do."
Philippoussis admitted both to fatigue after such a short end-of-season break,
and the desire for a short rest from the game.
He will take one, but not until Monday, for his 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 defeat ensured
that, regardless of today's doubles outcome between Todd Woodbridge and Wayne
Arthurs and the scratch Swedish pair of Jonas Bjorkman and Joachim Johansson,
tomorrow's fourth rubber against Robin Soderling or potential substitute
Bjorkman will be live.
Hewitt is in reserve for the fifth match against Enqvist if required, having
yesterday overwhelmed a heat-affected, Hewitt-tormented Soderling 6-4, 6-3, 6-1
to stretch his phenomenal cup singles record to 24-5, save Australia's day yet
again, and make good the recovery from his teammate's unexpectedly slow start.
"I won't lie. At the moment I'm just a little tired," said Philippoussis, citing
the minimal post-final respite before returning to prepare for the local
circuit. "From now 'til Sunday I've got to regroup and do whatever I can to come
out fresh, and just think about just playing one match, and maybe after that
just have a little bit of a break.
"It's a challenge. I must say I'm a pretty positive person (but) at the moment
I'm being tough on myself. I just want to try and find myself and try and go out
on the court with the proper balance of relaxation but also intensity, because
sometimes I want to be relaxed and I go out there a little too flat. I have to
try and find that groove that works for me, and hopefully on Sunday I can."
For all the praise that was rightly shovelled Philippoussis's way after his
memorable effort on the final day in last November's decider, he has now lost
his opening match in the past three ties. In the previous two, against
Switzerland and Spain, Hewitt had already won the first point, but this time was
forced to make his run from behind. As was Australia, which had not trailed
since its 5-0 first-round whitewash in Argentina two years ago.
Since then, the only rubbers Australia has lost have been dead, or by
Philippoussis, against Roger Federer and Carlos Moya respectively. Both are
top-10ers, and Enqvist played yesterday like the No. 4 he used to be. He has
reached two ATP Tour finals on this court, and was an Australian Open runner-up
in 1999. Against the world No. 9, for 86 immaculate minutes the clock was
rewound.
Philippoussis, for his part, will wish he could have yesterday's time again.
Enqvist had to qualify for the US Open just six months ago, and has a singles
ranking of 78th, but broke serve early in each set, and twice in the third,
while losing just 11 points on his own serve - and none at all in the second
set.
Bjorkman rated his teammate's performance a perfect 10.
In a different way, Hewitt's, too, was hugely impressive, and an early flurry of
break points translated into a match-changing break in the ninth game.
Relentless in his retrieval, the Australian believed that, in extreme mid-30s
temperatures, he had weathered the best the debutant Soderling could muster.
"I was just running every ball down and making him play that extra shot. I felt
like he knew I wasn't going to go away and I felt like physically I had a huge
edge on him as well, so the longer the match went, the better off I was," Hewitt
said.
Soderling could scarcely have faced a more challenging debut, on Hewitt's home
court, playing on his terms. "Hewitt makes you beat yourself, basically," said
Swedish captain Mats Wilander. Remarked Soderling: "He made me tired, not so
much physically, but more mentally. I thought I hit good shots, I thought 'this
must be a winner', but he was there all the time."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scud: Critics not to blame
The Daily Telegraph
February 7, 2004
FLAGGING Mark Philippoussis last night admitted he was tired and disappointed at
his criticism by Australian tennis figures before his Davis Cup collapse at the
hands of Swede Thomas Enqvist.
Philippoussis insisted criticism by Australian teammate Todd Woodbridge and past
Davis Cup winners Pat Cash and John Alexander that he was distracted by his
friendship with singer Delta Goodrem had not been a reason for a leaden-footed
6-3 6-4 6-2 loss to the veteran Enqvist at Memorial Drive yesterday.
Teammate Lleyton Hewitt's steely straight-sets defeat of heat-stressed rookie
Robin Soderling to level the first- round tie at 1-1, and equal Adrian Quist's
record of 24 singles wins for Australia, means that when Philippoussos goes
surfing to revive his spirits in California next week the Cup holders might
still be in the competition.
Goodrem was not at Memorial Drive and was spared the sight of Philippoussis,
branded a waster of talent by former coach Cash in an angry follow-up blast in a
London newspaper column last Sunday, winning only 11 points in 13 Enqvist
service games in a reckless display.
"I've been through a lot in my life and seen that before. It [the criticism]
didn't affect anything," a subdued Philippoussis said. "It's just unfortunate
that something like that has to be brought up before a Davis Cup. I don't think
it's the right thing to do.
"When I get on the court, I go there to play. Whatever anyone has to say about
my personal life, if they think that's the right thing, so be it."
Enqvist, ranked No. 78, laid a depth-charge under Australia's Cup defence by
practising at Memorial Drive for eight days, but Philippoussis said his three
days of pre-tie hitting in Adelaide had been enough because he was tired from
the exertions of winning the Davis Cup final in late November and then playing
three January tournaments.
Allied to his 6-2 6-2 6-4 towelling by Hicham Arazi in an Australian Open
fourth-round disaster, Philippoussis has now lost his past six sets and he has
decided to take two weeks off at the end of the tie instead of the one he had
planned.
"I'm a little tired. I didn't have the break I wanted after the Davis Cup," said
Philippoussis.
"Myself and Rusty [Hewitt] are different – I have to find the groove that works
for me. Hopefully on Sunday, I can."
Hewitt, branded the best Davis Cup player in the world by his captain John
Fitzgerald, appointed himself one of Philippoussis's motivators after his
remorseless 6-4 6-3 6-1 win over Soderling in 36C heat.
"I'll hit with him tomorrow and try to get him going. It's not easy being
favourites and going one-love down, but I felt I handled the situation really
well," said Hewitt, who hit an encouraging 14 aces.
A substitution of Soderling tomorrow would not surprise Hewitt.
"They'll probably see how he comes up mentally, more than physically," he said.
Swedish captain Mats Wilander said Soderling, 19, had played better than Hewitt
in the first set but the Australian No. 2 "makes you beat yourself".
Enqvist said he had detected signs that Philippoussis was trying to mix his
game, but from the outside it appears there is little different in the
Australian's "Plan B" tactics than the normal barrage.
"I'm looking at how Mark didn't play great of the first day of the final [losing
to Carlos Moya] and and dug deep to win the second [against Juan Carlos Ferrero],"
Fitzgerald said.
Enqvist stuns Philippoussis
Australia v Sweden First Rubber
ADELAIDE, Feb 6 - Sweden grabbed an early lead over Australia in the Davis Cup
by BNP Paribas World Group First Round today after a sublime performance by
world No.78 Thomas Enqvist.
The experienced Swedish Davis Cup player was in dazzling form as he blitzed
Australia's Mark Philippoussis 6-3 6-4 6-2 in hot conditions at Memorial Drive.
The Swedish veteran's victory gave his country a one-nil lead in the world group
tie, with Australian Lleyton Hewitt to meet Swede Robin Soderling in today's
other singles match.
As temperatures hit 35 degrees in the shade, Enqvist was red-hot and unleashed
an array of ground strokes which had Philippoussis struggling.
The Swede dominated on serve - astonishingly, Enqvist did not lose a point on
his serve for the entire second set, and he lost just six service points in the
third set.
Philippoussis' fate was sealed when Enqvist broke the Australian's opening
service games in both the second and third sets, establishing match-winning
momentum which Philippoussis was unable to counter.
Philippoussis would not blame the whirlpool of media talk surrounding his loss
in the fourth round of Australian Open 2004 on his defeat.
"When I get on a court I go there to play," he said.
"Whatever anyone wants to say about my personal life, if they think that's the
right thing, so be it.
"I've been through a lot in my life and seen that before, it didn't affect
anything.
"It's just unfortunate that something like that has to be brought up before
Davis Cup, I don't think it's the right thing to do."
He conceded he had been mentally flat going into the match, but said it was due
to a tight schedule since Australia's win in last year's Davis Cup final over
Spain in Melbourne in late November.
"I won't lie, at the moment I'm a little tired," Philippoussis said.
"I didn't have that break I wanted after Davis Cup, I had a slight tear (in the
right shoulder).
"I felt like I had two days off and all of a sudden we had to come straight back
and get ready for the Australian circuit."
He said he was looking forward to a scheduled week off following the tie, but
would first have to find a way to lift his intensity ahead of what will be a
crucial rubber against Swedish youngster Soderling on Sunday.
"I'm going to try to regroup and find myself and try to go out on the court with
the proper balance of relaxation, but also intensity," he said.
"Sometimes I want to be relaxed, but I go out there a little too flat.
"I have to try to find that groove that's going to work for me and hopefully on
Sunday I can."
A reserved Enqvist said he was happy with the way he played, but unwilling to
comment on Philippoussis' mental state.
"It's always tough to answer for the other player, I was focusing on my own
game," he said.
Quist family praises Hewitt
By Doug Robertson
February 7, 2004
LLEYTON Hewitt has equalled the highest number of Davis Cup singles wins, taking
the mantle from fellow South Australian Adrian Quist - and the Quist family
could not be happier.
Neville Quist Jr - nephew of the legendary Adrian Quist who holds the record of
23 singles wins from 28 Davis Cup matches - could hardly hold back his
admiration for Hewitt, who overpowered Robin Soderling yesterday 6-4 6-3 6-1.
Hewitt said equalling Quist's record was in the back of his mind as he levelled
the first-round tie 1-1 after the first day, setting up the chance for Hewitt to
claim another piece of tennis history in a live rubber in the reverse singles
tomorrow.
Adrian's brother, Neville, 85, is the only surviving member from three Quist
brothers and two sisters.
Quist Jr said: "We will be delighted if Lleyton gets it because Adrian was a
pretty proud Australian but a very passionate South Australian.
"It is just a great achievement [for Hewitt] and for another South Australian to
do it, it's just fantastic.
"My father, Neville senior, has followed Lleyton's career from the start and to
see him do it, well, we couldn't be happier."
The legendary Quist and John (Jack) Bromwich won the critical deciding doubles
match after being 0-2 down against the US in 1939 to give Australia the Davis
Cup for the first time as a separate nation after previously being part of
Australasia.
It was the same week World War II was declared encompassing Australia in the
turmoil and, in turn, prolonging Quist's Cup career from 1933 to 1949.
In 1939 Quist, who won a staggering nine Davis Cup singles from 10 attempts, and
Bromwich, eight from 10, then teamed as one of the world's great doubles
combinations.
The pair won the Australian Open doubles title every year from 1938-1950, with
their only outs coming between 1941 and 1945 when competition was suspended
because of the war. In short, they were champions.