Mark Philippoussis (born November 7, 1976) [Height 6'5"] is an Australian tennis player. He has won 10 singles and 3 double career titles with a total of $6,163,825 in prize money and a win-loss ratio of 274-161. He was born in Melbourne, Australia.
On 30 November 2003 Philippoussis defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain to win the fourth match of the Davis Cup final in Melbourne, thus securing the title for Australia. This victory in front of his home crowd won him a place in the affections of the Australian sporting public which some of his behaviour in earlier years - including refusal to play Davis Cup - had put in jeopardy.
Coached by his father, Nick, Philippoussis, a right-hander, has played tennis since he was six years of age. In 1994 he finished third in single ranking for juniors. Philippoussis also finished as junior doubles champion with Ben Ellwood in Australia, Wimbledon, and Italy. He turned pro in 1994. His highest singles rank is eighth as of April 19, 1999, after making the US Open final to lose to countryman Patrick Rafter. Philippoussis is also a regular member of the Australian Davis Cup squad. In 1999 Philippoussis, along with doubles partner Jelena Dokic, won Australia's first ever Hopman Cup title by beating Sweden 2 rubbers to 1 in the final.
A hallmark of Philippoussis' game is his powerful serve, which gave him his nickname "The Scud", and his sturdy groundstrokes. During a 2003 Wimbledon tennis match against Andre Agassi (6-3, 2-6, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-4), he set a new Australian tennis record of 46 aces served in a match, and just three short of the competition record held by Richard Krajicek.
Philippoussis had an initially rocky relationship with the Australian tennis hierarchy and tennis public. Early in his career, he regularly sacrificed David Cup events in the interest of playing more individual tournaments, and had a famous falling out when the Davis Cup captain Neale Fraser appeared with Rafter's family at the US Open final. He was also regarded as somewhat of an underachiever, with his reported penchant for fast cars (he reportedly owned several Ferraris and Lamborghinis) and women (amongst them Anna Kournikova) supposedly the reason for a record poorer than his immense natural gifts would suggest.
After three knee operations and a protracted comeback, Philippoussis avowed a new seriousness to his sport. He made himself available regularly for Davis Cup, hired a new physical trainer who instituted a gruelling fitness regime, and took up surfing as his new recreation. It seemed to work, as he made the 2003 Wimbledon final, finally losing to an on-fire Roger Federer 7-6, 6-2, 7-6.
Philippoussis broke a two year singles title drought by winning the Shanghai Open in 2003.
Singles Titles
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