Philippoussis Flames Out At Aussie Open
Everything Mark Philippoussis did right against Pete Sampras he did wrong Monday when his fling with fame ended in the Australian Open.
Rattled by eight double-faults, sliced and diced silly by fellow Aussie Mark Woodforde, the 19-year-old Philippoussis meekly succumbed 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 two days after knocking Sampras out of the No. 1 ranking.
On a day when chilly breezes swirled around Center Court, Philippoussis lacked the composure and control he showed under the closed roof against Sampras. He started out flat and subdued, then couldn’t harness his tremendous power when he fell behind.
“It was very hard for me, after beating Sampras, to come back,” Philippoussis said. “I was maybe too relaxed. I wasn’t pumped up enough for the match. When things didn’t go well at the start, I couldn’t get myself pumped up. I don’t know why… . It’s a big occasion for me, one of the biggest matches of my life. For a match like that, I wanted to play better.”
The pattern of his defeat became apparent as early as the third game of the match, when he double-faulted three times to offset a pair of aces and dropped serve on a fourth break point.
Far from the 29 aces he hit against Sampras, Philippoussis managed only 12 against Woodforde (a 30-year-old left-hander) who blocked the fastest serves and pushed Philippoussis into rallies. The frustrated Philippoussis then whacked errors all over, winding up with 45 to Woodforde’s 16.
Meanwhile, a cocky Russian who talks big and plays fast, Yevgeny Kafelnikov issued a warning to his rivals at the Australian Open: “Watch out!”
Kafelnikov, dubbed AK-47 by other players, blasted past MaliVai Washington 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals. The way Kafelnikov figures it, he can beat anyone left in the tournament in the next three rounds and capture his first Grand Slam title.
“I’ve got $10 that says you’ll win,” a television interviewer told him as he walked off court.
“Make it $100, I won’t disappoint you,” Kafelnikov responded.
No. 7 Thomas Enqvist of Sweden also moved into the quarters, beating Italy’s Renzo Furlan 7-5, 6-0, 6-3.
In women’s fourth-round matches, No. 2 Conchita Martinez beat Lindsay Davenport 6-3, 6-1, and No. 16 Amanda Coetzer defeated Elena Likhovsteva 6-3, 6-3.
Davenport had trouble keeping her groundstrokes in play and staying with the heavy top spin shots of Martinez. Davenport made more than three times as many unforced errors (34-10) and never really pressured the 1994 Wimbledon champion, who was a semifinalist in all four Grand Slam events last year.
Martinez next plays No. 8 Anke Huber of Germany, a 6-3, 6-2 winner over Austria’s Barbara Schett.