I played in the Wimbledon final and then went on a TV dating show and married a top model
MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS lost the 2003 Wimbledon final by three sets to love.
but he then found love on a TV darting show – before eventually marrying a top model.
The Australian, now 46, peaked at world No8 in the tennis rankings – seven months after losing the 1998 US Open final to Pat Rafter.
However, he is best remembered for reaching the Wimbledon final five years later but was dismantled 7-6 6-2 7-6 as Roger Federer landed the first of his 20 Grand Slam titles.
Philippoussis – who looks very different these days with a grey stubbly beard – initially retired in 2008 after 14 years as a professional.
But the year before hanging up his racquet, he was already looking ahead to courting away from the court.
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The Aussie appeared on Age of Love, an eight-part TV show in America that saw the tennis ace go on a series of dates, eliminating the ladies down to a final three who flew to Melbourne to meet his family.
The contestants for the one-off NBC reality TV programme were split into ‘kittens’ – women in their 20s – and those in their late 30s and 40s, dubbed the ‘cougars’.
Amanda Salinas, a hockey team dancer for the Nashville Predators, won the show.
But her and Philippoussis separated less than two months later in an acrimonious split.
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Salinas publicly slammed her short-term boyfriend and said: “I just called and left a message saying I was disappointed and please don’t contact me anymore.
“He was supposed to be training but he didn’t train a day that I knew him. He seemed aloof!”
But Philippoussis – who revealed his ‘shame’ at being poor and having to ask friends to buy him food – was not left soul-mate-searching forever, marrying Romanian-born stunner Silvana Lovin in 2012.
The couple met through mutual friends and got married in a private wedding ceremony in California – initially settling down in San Diego before moving to Philippoussis’ hometown Melbourne.
They now have a son, born in 2014, and a daughter who arrived four years later.
The popular 6ft 5ins ace, back playing in the invitational doubles at Wimbledon 2023 following his split as Stefanos Tsitsipas’ coach, said: “My wife and my kids, that is my number one, my number one passion, my number one motivation, my number one drive, that is everything.
“I want to see my kids grow up next to their family, next to their cousins, their aunties and uncles.”