 | Born: 07/11/76 Nationality: Australian Seeded: 20 World ranking: 20 US Open best:
Runner-up (1998) Recent record:
2002: 1st round
2001: N/A
2000: 2nd round |
Philippoussis heads to Flushing Meadows feeling fitter and more confident than at any time since he reached the final in 1998. Wimbledon saw the Australian complete a remarkable comeback after more than two years of injury problems that almost ended his career.
With his huge serve working again, Philippoussis made it to the final at Wimbledon before running into a man inspired in Roger Federer.
In his next tournament the 26-year-old made the semi-finals on the hard courts of Los Angeles, and he certainly has the game to prosper on the surface.
The main question mark over Philippoussis remains his health, and there are few more demanding tournaments than the US Open.
There were fears that his injury nightmare had returned at Flushing Meadows last year when he was forced to retire in his first-round clash against Sjeng Schalken.
Philippoussis showed at Wimbledon that his form is good and his attitude is better than ever - it is just a question of whether the body can hold up.
MMIX
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