20th February, 1999
SCUD, WOODIES FIRED UP FOR CUP
Last week marked a great milestone for Australian tennis. With victories by Mark
Philippoussis and the Woodies the Australian game is picking up from where it left off
last year. With regard to Mark Philippoussis there are some very good pointers for the
rest of the year. His win in San Jose demonstrates he is definitely a contender for a
top-five ranking.
There are time when you never really know with Flip because there are so many variables
involved, but he looks to be on the brink of achieving something really special. He's got
his mind and body together - as he has on occasions in the last three years - but now he
seems to have everything firing at the same time. I believe we will see something really
special from Flip before the year is out. He's been close in a Grand Slam before, having
reached the US Open final last September, but don't be surprised if he goes one step
further this season.
If Philippoussis continues to play this way, Australia's chances of winning the Davis Cup
are significantly improved and all of us, including Mark, would like nothing more than to
help John and Tony bring
the cup back to Australia for the first times since 1986.
If you listened to the rumour-mongers earlier this season you would have probably heard
that the Woodies were supposedly a spent force. I can assure you, from personal
experience, that it is anything but accurate.
Having had a huge five-set match against Todd and Mark at the Aussie Open last month, I
reckon they are still the best doubles team in the world - as their record indicates. (The
rankings however indicate that I
am, in fact, the best doubles player in the world and that's fine with me.)
They might have missed out on winning a Slam last year, but their victory in San Jose last
week shows it won't be long until they win another big one. For their sake, I hope they
can pick up the French
Open, the only title to elude them so far.
I've spent the past week in Bermuda, training hard after a phenomenal holiday in Whistler,
which is the best place I've ever been. Far from just lazing about and enjoying the
skiing, I worked pretty hard up on
the snow and my game is starting to come together well. I've been hitting the ball pretty
average since getting back to Bermuda but there's no point wasting good form before I get
to Scottsdale in Arizona this week. I've arranged to go over earlier than normal to catch
up with Roche, Lleyton and Jason for practice. We're all looking for big results during
the early part of the year and I want to be in the peak of condition and form before we go
to Zimbabwe for the first-round DC tie in early April.
If the past is anything to go by, I know Rochey will take great delight in whipping us all
into shape. I can hardly complain, given the results he's helped me - and others - achieve
in the last few years.