October 18, 1998

FLIP BACK ON OUR TERMS

I'll be talking to Mark Philippoussis in Stuttgart next week to find out exactly what his Davis Cup intentions are.

I'm excited about the prospect of having Flip back in the team because we've really got a chance of winning the whole thing.
It's our time now to do something and we all realize 1998 was a lost opportunity.   Mark's attitude is important to everything that happens in the future. We want him to be available for all of the matches next year.

I think Scott Draper hit the nail on the head when he raised the issue of Mark being available so far for only the first round
tie against Zimbabwe.  I want to know where Mark's at with that and whether he's going to commit to the whole year like the rest of us. If he is, fine.

But if he wants to come in for one tie and then not play anymore, I won't be too happy. Australians are all about team things and that's what Davis Cup demands.  If Mark wants to dictate things-and the rest of us are prepared to play every tie, regardless of where it is-none of us will be happy.  It's still six months until the tie, so a lot of things can happen in that period. Let's hope all of them are positive.

I've decided to play only one more doubles tournament this year, partly because of my hip and partly on the advice of Boris Becker.  I've told Jonas Bjorkman one more doubles event will be enough for me and we've pulled out of Paris and Stuttgart.

The hip is not too bad at the moment. I've had a good trainer working on it in Vienna and it's improving all the time.

What really convinced me to cut back my doubles was a chat I had with Boris. He told me I shouldn't play doubles at all
these indoor events and he's right.

Boris is really intrigued by the race for the year end No. 1 ranking between Pete Sampras and myself and the other guys.
I've still got a chance, but at the moment I'm concentrating on staying ahead in the race for the world championships in
Hannover.  I'm about 400 points ahead, but Pete's got a couple of tournaments coming up on his best surface, so it's going to be tight.

I'll be teaming up with Matt MacMahon, my mate from Adelaide, for the next three weeks for tournaments in Lyon, Stuttgart and Paris.

Matty helps me relax and prepare well. Usually, I lose my mind a bit during the indoor swing at the end of the season, but
I've been pretty focused this year. (a reference to a certain boat trip in Lyon last year???)

It's been great this week to watch the progress of Lleyton Hewitt who reached the quarter-finals in Singapore.

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