Mamiit Retains Sense of Humor

Cecil Mamiit, dazed and bruised after his highlight-creating crash into the chair umpire’s stand, sounded remarkably upbeat on Wednesday as he fielded phone calls about his mishap.

Who wouldn’t be? After all, his body parts remained attached and intact. “Just dusting myself off,” he said.

The odd ending of his first-round match against 15th-seeded Lleyton Hewitt of Australia was created when Mamiit, of Los Angeles, chased down a shot and kept going on the last point of the second set, colliding hard into the stand.

He was taken to a nearby hospital for X-rays and it turned out the ankle bone of his right foot was badly bruised. Ironically, he won the final game with a clever half-volley.

“It’s kind of weird,” he said. “Winning the last point of the last game and still losing.”

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Tenth-seeded Mark Philippoussis, of Australia and resident of Cardiff-by-the-Sea, knew something was amiss when he looked up during his match against former champion Thomas Johansson of Sweden on Tuesday night. His sister and cousin, David, were missing from the Friends Box.

David was said to have had a heart attack in the restroom, but fortunately the right person happened to be on hand, according to Philippoussis, who defeated Johansson, 7-6 (6), 6-2, 7-6 (4), in the first round.

“There was a doctor who happened to be in the toilet at the same time,” Philippoussis said Tuesday.

Philippoussis’s agency, IMG, released a statement today, saying David is recovering in the hospital and is in no immediate danger.

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As expected, there seems to be a vast range of opinion regarding the case of Greg Rusedski, who recently announced he tested positive for the banned substance nandrolone. Rusedski, ailing from a fever, lost in straight sets to Albert Costa of Spain in the first round. Costa said that the players were “afraid” of taking any sort of supplement.

Some have offered vague words of support, but there has been backlash behind the scenes.

“When I saw Rusedski and [Juan Ignacio] Chela play each other on TV in Sydney I wanted to pull the plug out,” Christophe Rochus of Belgium told the French sports daily L’Equipe. “They have both been caught and they still play like kings. It is shocking.”