flipfanatic
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 Scud's 'date' with Buddha - includes a short interview of which our aussie media can't seem to do!
Scud's 'date' with Buddha
Emma Quayle
January 26, 2009
AFTER teaming with Henri Leconte to knock off the Woodies on the first day of the legends event, Mark Philippoussis was interviewed by a US TV crew.
"Are you dating?" asked the interviewer.
"No, no. I'm not dating," said Philippoussis. "I'm actually going to a Buddha camp for a couple of months, just to zone out and get away."
Seriously? "No, that was a joke…" the Scud clarified soon afterwards. The 32-year-old announced comeback plans a month back and while he's spending most of his time in the surf these days, still hopes to return to the sport he loves. "I miss the crowd, I miss the good shots, I miss that nervous feeling in the pit of your stomach when you walk out for a big match," he said.
Once this week is over, things will get more serious. Philippoussis, who played his last tour match in November 2006, is living back in Melbourne these days but spending time on the Gold Coast, where he plans to do some work with one of Mick Fanning's former trainers. He still has to get his problematic right knee strong — a big ask, but then who knows?
"It's tough to do too much at the moment because I just want to get through these matches," said Philippoussis. "If I push my training off the court I'll be buggered on the court, but as soon as it's over here I'm going to do some good training.
"The most important thing is the body. When the body feels good, I'll ring up the agent and say, 'I'm feeling pretty good, what's out there?' There's so many tournaments now. Every week there are tournaments on around the world, so that's the easy part. I want to give it one more go with all my heart because I love the game."
Philippoussis paired up with Leconte because he wanted to have fun this week — and to also score some brief breaks when the Frenchman took over with his on-court comedy show. There was plenty of that yesterday — Leconte ordered champagne to court, sat on the net during one point — headbutting the ball back and forth — and smashed a serve not only out of the court but possibly on to the train tracks outside Melbourne Park. He then challenged the call. "The ball was just out," said the umpire.
Philippoussis — whose team won 4-6, 7-6 and 10-6 in the super tie-break — enjoyed it all. "He's a legend, he's funny and when he's doing his whole thing I'm having more rest on the court," he said. "It's perfect. Sometimes it's tough because you have that bit of fun and then you want to get serious at the ball and it hits the back fence. So it's kind of tough, but it's good. It's good to smile on the court."
The Age
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“It’s in my heart to give it one more go” - Mark
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26/Jan/09, 7:55
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nicky76
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hey ...
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Hey... can I say something plz.. why did mark stay out till 130am when u he had a match on monday? I always be fan that he play tennis! he say he love it, but he can't give %100... I am fan but don't understand why he party befor tennis match ... nikki
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27/Jan/09, 17:43
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flipfanatic
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Re: Scud's 'date' with Buddha
Mark hosted the players party for a charity event so he had to be there. As Mark said in this article, it's all about having fun this week playing with Henri so it's no suprise.
I hope Mark is prepared to get serious again after this week if his goal is to get back to professional tennis.
It can't be healthy not having a goal (and no set routine) for 2 years. You can't party hard and be a professional athlete, especially over the age of 30.
Men do mature much later though
Val
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“It’s in my heart to give it one more go” - Mark
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28/Jan/09, 9:31
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