Philippoussis says sorry for swearing

London - Mark Philippoussis apologised for a foul-mouthed outburst during his loss to Tim Henman that saw the Australian bow out of Wimbledon on Monday but he vowed to return stronger for it.

Philippoussis was warned for an audible obscenity when he launched a barrage of abuse at the umpire late in the third set as the match was broadcast live on the BBC.

"A lot of people swear," Philippoussis said defensively after his 6-2, 7-5, 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/5) defeat to the Briton over a sapping 3hr 7min.

"What can you do? I was clearly upset and I showed it, simple as that.

"I'm not the type of guy that shows a lot of emotion out there on the court and everyone knows that and if I do argue something there's going to be some clear case for me to argue."

But, when he was reminded that the match was televised in a prime time slot, he went on to express regret over his actions.

"Of course that's not a good situation to be in, where the kids can hear something like that, so for that I do apologise but ... spur of the moment," he added.

As Henman held a break point at 5-5 in the second set, he hit a backhand which was called in although TV replays showed it to be clearly wide of the baseline.

Philippoussis complained angrily and Henman made the most of his chance when he served the vital 12th game to love.

Henman then saved a set point in the tenth game of the third set with a thunderous first serve and moved to 5-5 with an ace down the middle.

Philippoussis' temper finally boiled over at 6-5, 30-30, when a Henman serve was called in even though he was convinced it was long.

He launched his F-word tirade at umpire Enric Molina and was handed a warning for an audible obscenity.

Philippoussis later conceded that the incident had not been the decisive factor in the match.

"At the end, my friend came and said, 'you got text messages from Australia, they showed a slow-motion and said it was out,' but what can you do?" he said.

"We hit the ball pretty hard and I understand it's tough.

"There's line calls in every match. Definitely it didn't cost me the match."

Philippoussis, the 2003 runner-up who had not won a regular tour match since January going into this year's tournament, was satisfied that he had put his career back on track.

"It's a step in the right direction," he said.

"I've got to hold my head up high and I am proud of the way fought. Tim definitely was too good on the day, he played a great match.

"I've got years ahead of me. I can walk away obviously disappointed but positive.

"I can go back and the memory of what happened today, it will definitely make me work harder on the court and off the court."

 -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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