CHERISH THE CHILDREN

The return of Mark Philippoussis to the DC team gives Aus one of the strongest combinations in the world. There is no reason why we cannot win the cup this year. There has been plenty said about Flip and the controversies of the past. As far as I am concerned, the past is now irrelevant. It is up to Flip and the rest of us to make the whole situation work and I can see that happening.

Team spirit will be the single factor that will decide how far we go this year. I caught up with Flip in Melbourne during the Australian Open and we had a couple of good chats. He is very positive about DC. He has spoken to Newk and they have decided to look to the future, not the past.  Flip just has to hang out with the guys - as he has previously - and there will be no problems. All of the boys realise it is 13 years since we won the cup and it is time we did something about bringing it back to Australia. There would be nothing better than winning it again in its centenary year. As with all of the team, including Newk and Tony Roche, I see Flip as being a reallyimportant part if we are to do that. All of us are busting to have a crack at Zimbabwe, in Harare, in April and then hopefully a quarter-final against the US in Boston or Britain back in Australia. If we see it through those matches, we will be in really good shape.

We launched the Cherish the Children Foundation this week. I played basketball on Friday night as part of the YOTS (Youth Off The Streets) program - an experience that brings you right back to reality. One of the highlights of the Foundation this year will be in December when we have a tennis-golf day with a dinner and auction the night before to raise money. It is going to be a major corporate day and we are now looking to secure appropriate sponsorship.

After a quiet week in Queensland, I have now put my nose back to the grindstone. I will spend the next couple of days in LA working on promotional shoots for Ray-Ban and a US magazine. After that I will be in Bermuda preparing for Scottsdale, hoping to be in top form in the lead up to Key Biscayne and then Davis Cup.

BACK