Philippoussis out to emulate Agassi revival Published: Friday, 29 December, 2006, 01:03 PM Doha Time
By Scott Coghlan
Mark Philippoussis PERTH: Forgotten Australian Mark Philippoussis hopes to revive his career at the Hopman Cup mixed teams tournament — with a little help from retired American star Andre Agassi.
Agassi, who called it quits after the US Open, slumped to 141st in the world rankings in 1997, before claiming the top spot in 1999.
Philippoussis, twice a Grand Slam finalist but now ranked 114th, says he is inspired by the Agassi story, and has received some pointers on and off the court from the American in Las Vegas, where the Australian is training.
"He’s helping me when he can... I’ve had dinner with him a couple of times," said Philippoussis, known as the "Scud" at the height of his career for his powerful serve.
"He’s also jumped on the court with us and that’s the guy I look up to.
"Being ranked 141st and being about 29, he was in a very similar scenario to me.
"The way he rebounded so strongly and still had the hunger, not to prove anyone wrong, but to do it for himself — it’s pretty much the mental route I am taking." In his attempt to emulate Agassi, Philippoussis has even turned to the American’s coach, Australian Darren Cahill, and his fitness adviser, Gil Reyes.
Philippoussis, ranked as high as eighth during his career, is still waiting for confirmation he will be given a wildcard into the Australian Open, having elected to skip the qualifying play-off for the first Grand Slam of 2007.
He hopes to use the three singles matches guaranteed by the round-robin format of the Hopman Cup to prove he deserves a spot in the tournament.
He will sharpen his volleying skills by playing doubles with Alicia Molik, herself a former top 10 player who is on the comeback trail.
Philippoussis, who helped Australia win the Hopman Cup in 1999, said he was confident of improved singles results in 2007.
"I’ve been working extremely hard in Vegas with Gil and Darren," he said.
"If I keep working as hard as this, no doubt it (results) will come." Philipppoussis and Molik will open the tournament on Saturday, with a Group A clash against the Russian duo of Dmitry Tursunov and Nadia Petrova.
Á, egyéniben nem fog többet játszani, az biztos. Párosban nincs annyi futás, az annyira nem megerőltető, úgyhogy tényleg játszhatnának páros meccseket. Mondjuk a Roland Garroson, mennék is rá azonnal. :-)
Andre Agassi jól érzi magát a bőrében. Az idei US Open után visszavonult amerikai teniszező örül, hogy sok olyan értékes dolgot tud csinálni, amelyekre korábban nem jutott ideje. hirdetés „Amíg teniszeztem, egy zárt világban éltem, most viszont mással is foglalkozhatom. Mindenekelőtt a családommal, a hátrányos helyzetű gyermekekért létrehozott alapítvánnyal és az üzleti ügyeimmel” - mondta a 36 éves sztár. Agassi nem zárta ki a lehetőségét annak, hogy esetleg egy-két nagyobb verseny erejéig vegyes párosban összeálljon majd feleségével, Steffi Graffal, de erre szerinte egyre kisebb az esély.
Former world number one Andre Agassi has said he is relishing the opportunity of devoting more of his time to activities with charities and underprivileged children.
The 36-year-old retired from tennis at the U.S. Open in New York this year, and said he is now keen to concentrate on new projects.
"I understand myself a little better every day," he told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. "While you're playing tennis, it's easy only to see yourself in this light. But now I have the chance to undertake a lot of new things. Starting with my family, but also with the foundation for underprivileged children and my business activities.
"I strongly believe that in 20 years' time, people will struggle to remember that I used to play tennis. I am hoping to have a positive influence on humanity in different ways in the future."
Agassi also paid tribute to his wife Steffi Graf, and said the two had planned to compete in a mixed doubles event together, while still refusing to rule out the idea completely in the future.
"It's certainly not a silly idea, and it would be a lot of fun for me to compete alongside Steffi.
"We had planned to play mixed doubles at a big tournament, but then she became pregnant. Now we have both ended our careers. It's still not too late, but the chances of it happening now are pretty slim."
While tennis overcomes the departure of one of the sport's most charismatic and best-loved figures, Agassi seems to be coping well with his retirement, and insisted that he has dealt with the emotional scenes of his final match at Flushing Meadows.
"First of all you have to soak up the unique experience and try to take it all in. Since my farewell, I have moved on and digested it.
"There will come a time when I will miss the standard preparation for the new season. But at the moment I can say that I have found my inner peace."
Csak az a vicces benne, hogy Andre a US Open ota nem nagyon edzhetett, Roddick-ek meg nemreg meg VB-t jatszottak, szoval jobban jatekban kene lenniuk:)
Jo latni ujra utovel a kezeben:) Hat errol van szo, siman ver egy Top 10-es jatekost, ha jobban lenne a hata, mar kezdhetne a visszateresen gondolkodni:)
Andre és Steffi Disney Landben. :-)
Andre megverte Blake-et döntő szett tiebreakben.
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