Talk, talk, talk...
Ok, this is an interview that was on Sunday Sportsworld in Australia after the 97 season ended.
It was ever so nicely taped and transcribed for me by Marc, my Aussie, and I'd like you to keep in mind that he doesn't really like Phili. So he tried his best to make Phili look all dumb with all his "y'know"s and whatnot...and imitating his laugh. I decided not to change any of it cuz I think it's kind of funny. Enjoy.
Mark's Game
Mark: I have a big game. I hit the ball hard. I'm starting to learn how to use
my power. I've become a bit, y'know. A bit more mentally tougher and smarter on
my game. Like I said, it's just gotta come with experience.
Bruce: People often say, 'Well, if I could win one Grand Slam tournament, this is
the one I want to win most of all.' At the moment, you're looking at all four.
Is it obvious that it's the Australian Open you want most, or is there another one
that appeals to you even more?
Mark: Well, to tell you the truth, that dream, when I was a kid, was winning Wimbledon.
But, um, y'know. It's gonna be, y'know. I wouldn't knock down the chance of winning
an Australian Open at home infront of y'know, my family and friends.
1st Round loss at Wimbledon, 1997
Bruce: Is it hard to win a tournament like that (Queens), and then to get up and
then to immediately start to feel for the next one?
Mark: Y'know, for me I think when you win a tournament, unless you're not mentally
drained from it, or physically drained, I think, y'know, that you're playing your
best tennis. And that's when you're, you've got the best feeling inside of you,
and you've got a lot of confidence, so you can sort of continue that on to the next
tournament. But, uh, I mean, y'know, going to a player like Greg Rusedski in the
first round where he serves huge, y'know and [you don't] get much hit on the ball,
and um, it's just one or two points that could cost you the match, that was sort
of one of the worst matches I could have played, y'know, for Wimbledon for the first
round.
Bruce: Obviously, that was disappointing. Rusedski has a lot of pressure on him
at Wimbledon, and Henman probably even more pressure. Uh, you've experienced that
from their point of view. Um...you and Pat are going to have a similar situation,
in Melbourne in January, aren't you?
Mark: Well, we will. But we definitely won't be thinking about that. We pretty
much know how to handle it. We're just gonna go out there and have fun and give
it our 100%, and that's all you could ask for.
Philippoussis & Rafter
Bruce: Even though he's a few years older than you, it's like the two of you are
almost now, going to have very similar careers, in terms of one's ontop of the other
at some stage and the other one's ontop at the other stage. Do you see that as a
good rivalry or are you just good mates?
Mark: It's not a rivalry at all. We help each other so much. We're very good friends.
And um, like you said, it's gonna be up and down, like two horses bobbing at the
end. But hopefully, we can just stay up there together. I mean, I'm not jealous at
all of him, y'know. I'm very happy of what he did, 'cause he's deserved it. He's
worked extremely hard and what he's done is great, not only for tennis Australia,
but for himself as a person too.
Bruce: And, Mark, did he stimulate you even further, or didn't you need any more
stimulation, with his win at the US Open?
Mark: Of course that's gotta inspire me a little bit. But I don't need things like
that to imspire me. If you don't have the hunger already, then you shouldn't be
playing.
Davis Cup -- Australia vs France
Mark: I mean, I enjoyed it, like maybe the Aussies having a win there, but I definitely
enjoyed it. It was a great atmosphere and good to be among all that.
Bruce: And Tony Roche and John Newcombe, the captain and the coach. Have you enjoyed
what they've been able to bring to this team?
Mark: Yeah, I mean it's fun being with them. Y'know, those two together. They
work well as a team. They've known each other for years now, and it's been good
just being amongst the boys at dinner time, telling some stories, couple of jokes
here and there. It's fun.
Getting Pissed at the Davis Cup [Julie here...I'd like to take the opportunity to again remind you that this is Marc's doing. :o)]
Patrick Rafter: Yeah, I guess that Coopers catches up with you after a while.
Mark: I don't regret what we did, because we didn't do nothin' wrong. We had a
good time.
Mark: Yeah, I mean, um. We went out there and we celebrated like I think we should
have. We went hard, but we also came back the next day and played hard too.
Bruce: Have you found that most Australians have identified with that and said,
'Well, that's the Aussie way.' Y'know, the boys will be boys and yet they were able
to produce on the court, and generally people have been positive about all of that?
Mark: Yeah, at the start they were a bit out of line, but they've gotta understand
that we wouldn't do 1/8 of what Newk and Roche probably did back then. Y'know, they
were crazy back then.
End of Season Break
Bruce: You've got a longer break this year. The Australian Open's a week later,
and they've rearranged it with the Grand Slam Cup, so the players at the end of the
season seem to be getting a little bit more of what they want. Is that something
that you're going to appreciate?
Mark: Definitely. I think, um, as a player you've gotta set your time schedule
a bit better so you can have rests during the year so you don't sorta, run out of
steam at the end of the year, like pretty much what I did. But I think that's a
great thing. People get to go to their homes with their family, and I think that
does a lot for them.
Mark's Popularity
Bruce: The adulation off the court. Both you and Pat are extremely popular off
the court as well as on the court. Is that something that you like, you've learned
to live with, or you're still struggling to come to terms with?
Mark: That's something I've liked when I was a kid. When that started to happen,
I enjoyed it. But now, it's uh, I don't really like that sort of thing. I'm used
to it. You gotta understand, that comes with the sport, but uh, obviously sometimes
I wish that I could just go somewhere and people wouldn't recognise me.
Bruce: It's a bit hard when you're 6ft 5, dark and handsome, isn't it Mark? Heh,
heh, heh...
Mark: Awww, hee. Huh. [Julie again...do you think Phili really laughed like that? I think I need to hear this interview for myself. :o)]
