Scud Approaches His High Noon
The Sunday Age
Sunday December 30, 2001
AT 25, Mark Philippoussis is entering the middle age of his tennis life. Blessed with extraordinary power and physical gifts, the Scud was also cursed with wonky knees. The next 12 months could tell the story of his career.
Like most great tennis talents, Philippoussis' career will be judged on the brutal measure of whether he lands a grand slam title. He is now older than Patrick Rafter was when Rafter unexpectedly broke through and won that 1997 United States Open.
Few players win their first slam in their late 20s. Hence, Scud is approaching his high noon.
The coming month looms as particularly crucial to Philippoussis. He effectively missed 2001 through injury and he begins his 2002 campaign in Adelaide this week. Then, on January 14, comes the Australian Open, his first grand slam appearance in more than 12 months.
Australian tennis needs Philippoussis to fire. The weary Rafter is on a sabbatical that could become permanent. Lleyton Hewitt cannot bear the entire Davis Cup burden. Without the Scud in his corner, captain John Fitzgerald is unlikely to hoist the Davis Cup. Philippoussis, remember, conquered the French on clay in the 1999 final at Nice. As Davis Cup selector Alan Stone observed, the Scud's power is such that he can win on any surface. Given reasonable fitness and form, he would be favoured to dispatch Nicholas Escude on grass, too.
The fates have been cruel to Philippoussis over the past few years. He was a US Open finalist in 1998 and was on the verge of defeating the great Pete Sampras at Wimbledon and perhaps winning that first slam when his knee gave way, late in the second set of that 1999 quarter-final.
For all the blues with Newk and blunders along the way, the Scud's career trajectory had been upward to that point.
Once, the query on Philippoussis was whether he had the head to be a champion. Now, as he matures and puts the partying to bed, the question is whether his body will fail him. The mind might now be willing, but are the knees? Already they have an unlucky footballer's resume, thrice carved by the surgeon's scalpel.
In his physical fragility, Philippoussis echoes his former coach, Pat Cash, who won Wimbledon as a 22-year-old, but fell well short of his teenage potential.
When Scud first arrived on the circuit as a serious player, John McEnroe said the Williamstown kid was capable of dominating tennis in the '90s. Then again, McEnroe also deemed Rafter a one-slam wonder back in 1997.
If the clock is ticking for Philippoussis, the next couple of years also offer a wonderful window of opportunity. Sampras and Andre Agassi are almost spent. Rafter might not return.
There is no dominant player and the dearth of competent serve-volleyers on the circuit means a cheap Wimbledon or two - relatively speaking - is for the taking, at least until another great front-court player arrives.
Most of the top-ranked players of today go to the net only to shake hands. Philippoussis is one of only seven or eight players who possess the tools of the grasscourt trade. If you discount Rafter, Sampras and Goran Ivanisevic, the serve-volley field is thinner than Hewitt's skin.
The likes of Tim Henman, Escude, Jonas Bjorkman and Andy Roddick (who is unproven at the net) are on the next tier of grass players. Philippoussis, if he stands up, should be a monte to reach the second week of Wimbledon.
Measured against Hewitt, No.1 at the age of 20, Philippoussis might seem a wasted talent. Yet, as a serve-volleyer, he is apt to be a late bloomer. In this, Rafter can be Scud's inspiration. The former ended 1996 as a 24-year-old ranked in the 60s. Within months, he was No.4 in the world, reaching his peak in his middle and late 20s.
Far from being the traditional tall poppy whom Australians chop down, Philippoussis is really the prodigal son of Australian tennis. He has been in exile and stuffed up on occasion, but everyone would love to have him back in the fold.
© 2001 The Sunday Age