Former Australian tennis star Mark Philippoussis recalled his way to the 2003 Wimbledon final, where he defeated Andre Agassi in the fourth round before losing to Roger Federer in an interview on the ATP Tour website. Speaking to the ATP Tour website, Philippoussis says that he considered himself the favorite to win the final as he had beaten Federer on clay a few weeks before the final, but ultimately fell short.
“Going into that match, I felt like I was the favourite. We were playing on grass. I don’t care who the person is or how he qualified. A couple of months earlier I had beaten him in Hamburg where he was defending his champion title on clay.
I felt confident. I was living my dream. I’m not going to lie, he hurt me. I made it to the final. No one remembers the runners-up. Of course, you don’t want to go down that road and lose. It was my second Grand Slam final loss and it hurt, especially this one.
This one really, really hurt. I came back from some surgeries, they said my tennis career was over. Work very hard. They were two beautiful weeks, but I fell short. Philippoussis also spoke about his victory over Andre Agassi earlier in the same tournament.
“With him, there’s no such thing as holding serve comfortably. No matter how well you were serving, if he had a chance to hit the ball, he was going to find it on the balls of my feet most of the time. He not only had to serve the best he could, but he knew that he had to serve aces.
He wasn’t good enough to serve big. It’s quite comfortable for me to say that when I walked the court, I never felt like it was my opponent. I knew it was about me with the tennis I played. I just knew I had to focus on myself, especially when you play someone like Andre, it’s even more important to focus on yourself, because you can’t focus on what your opponent is doing or what he’s going to do.”
Federer is a former No.1
Asked by ESPN about the famous debate of the GOAT (greatest player of all time), Diego Schwartzman felt that the Grand Slam tournaments could not be the main argument. A claimed fan of Roger Federer, the Argentinian therefore chose the Swiss in particular for his behavior off the court.
“For me, it’s not just about Grand Slam titles. I watch a lot of things, including off the court. Roger is the player who generates the most enthusiasm among the fans. He is nice to everyone, you can hear him speak in Spanish, Italian or French.
He has four children, but he trains every day. In the morning he hits with you on the tennis court and in the afternoon he dresses up for an event downtown. It is flawless everywhere! The others are great at almost everything too, but I find he has a bit more charisma.”
