PERTH, Australia -- Former U.S. Open and Wimbledon finalist
Mark Philippoussis said Wednesday he requires right knee surgery
after tearing cartilage during a Hopman Cup match.
Philippoussis had to retire Tuesday while trailing 4-1 in the
first set against Jerome Haehnel of France. An MRI on Wednesday
showed Philippoussis has torn the lateral meniscus cartilage in his
right knee.
"One thing I know is I am going to take care of it and go again, it is the only thing I can do and it is the only thing I want to do."
-- Mark Philippoussis, on his knee injury and returning to tennis
The injury rules out the 30-year-old Australian as a potential
wild-card entry into the Australian Open beginning Jan. 15 in
Melbourne.
Philippoussis, who lost the U.S. Open final in 1998 to fellow
Australian Patrick Rafter and lost the 2003 Wimbledon final to
Roger Federer, has had surgery on his left knee on three previous
occasions.
Philippoussis had a resurgence in the rankings in the latter
half of 2006, jumping 100 spots to No. 114 after falling to his
lowest mark since he joined the tour in 1995.
He spent the offseason in Las Vegas training with Gil Reyes,
Andre Agassi's former fitness adviser.
"I went out for a wide one and it just buckled, I knew I did
something bad straight away
it was a freak thing that
happened," Philippoussis said Wednesday. "It was painful but not
too bad, but I woke up this morning and I couldn't move my knee at
all. The pain, out of 10 is probably a 15, I have never felt
anything like this before."
Hopman Cup tournament doctor Hamish Osborne issued a prognosis
of "four weeks or never" for a possible comeback.
"It is a really important shock absorber and he is a big man.
That shock absorber, and the stress he is going to put it under, it
may not last," Osborne said.
Philippoussis said he is determined to continue playing.
"One thing I know is I am going to take care of it and go
again, it is the only thing I can do and it is the only thing I
want to do," Philippoussis said.
"In the past at 30 years old you used to think about retiring,
but now someone special like Andre has shown if you stay physically
strong you can keep going.
"Having said that, it is tough for me to think about anything
too much at the moment
apart from having that surgery and
getting rid of the pain."