Quick news update: Mark joins an entertaining list of players this year participating in the AFAS Tennis Classic, Eindhoven, in the Netherlands October 1-4.

The players list is:

Paul Haarhuis, Richard Krajicek, Cedric Pioline, Henri Leconte, Mats Wilander, and Thomas Enqvist

The company that threatened court action over Mark’s home has come out and said they are willing to work with Mark to ensure he doesn’t lose the property. Pepper Home loans are seeking documents from Mark’s financial advisors to reduce his loan repayments under a ‘hardships’ arrangement. Mark will have to submit a complete report about his current and future incoming/outgoing income to devise a plan that will be more suitable for the repayments.

Mark will not make any more public comments on the matter, after recently stating he has “said all I am going to say”. 

This is a somewhat positive news update… as it is very comforting to know Mark isn’t facing legal action and can possibly work out a way to keep the family home.

It’s almost been a week since Mark has revealed he is in financial trouble and still the media and public are trying to make sense of how Mark ended up in this mess. The more I’ve thought about it the more some things seem a lot clearer, but others just don’t add up. Mark has always claimed he didn’t have any regrets for his choices and actions… but I find it hard to believe that’s true if he’s really stopped to reflect and think about what has happened over the past 6 years.

In the end it’s Mark’s fault (which he admits)… he chose to do as he pleases and live the “good life” and maybe was too naive or immature to think about the consequences of his choices. But I think it’s sad he has probably lacked the guidance or support from someone to keep things in check and keep him on the right path. Although - Mark is quite an independent and stubborn character… so he could’ve been getting the right advice, but choosing to ignore it and do things his way.

Dwelling on the past doesn’t always help… but in this circumstance I think Mark needs to sort out what went wrong, confront why and how it went wrong and work a plan to make sure it doesn’t happen again. No new comments from Mark have surfaced, so I hope we hear a positive update next about how things are progressing.

I’m sorry if I don’t seem very supportive of Mark right now… I’m finding it difficult because I haven’t supported most of his choices he’s made over the last few years and I do strongly believe a lot of those choices have contributed to Mark ending up in this predicament. But I do truly wish good things come from this horrible experience and Mark comes out the better person for it.

So I’ve woken up and had time to think some more about what is going on with Mark. Whilst I don’t regret anything I’ve said in my post below, reflecting on the interview some more has given me a slightly more positive opinion of Mark.

Whether Mark completely admits it or not, it clearly appears he is struggling with depression and has been for a couple of years. This is one aspect of Mark’s predicament that I did not address below or really gave much thought to, which was a huge mistake. Depression breeds the feeling of hopelessness and blunts the ability to be productive in everyday life. Mark has come out and admitted he’s spent countless days in his bed and shutting out those closest to him as he tried to cope with the pressures and worries of his career. 

For Mark to come out to the public on a national… and very soon international level is a big step in the right direction. He can no longer run or hide from the problems because now everyone knows the truth. I can not fathom how Mark felt waking up this morning knowing millions of Australians will be reading about his struggles. I don’t think he’ll get much sympathy from the public… I even struggle with my feelings between sadness, compassion and frustration… but now he has a chance to start over and mark a new chapter in his life. 

If Mark is battling depression he should be talking to a professional to help overcome any negative thoughts or emotions. Family and friends can be supportive, but sometimes you need to hear things you may/may not want to hear from an outsider to REALLY sink in and make a difference.

I will keep updating this site with any news and progress on Mark - good or bad. As I am still a bit confused how to feel about this, part of me wants to be supportive and another part is just over all the negatives. It’s time for Mark to generate some more positives in his life and at this point I am still intrigued to see if and when that eventuates. 

I wish Mark the best, and congratulate him on having the courage to front up and be open about his problems!

It is 1am Sunday morning and today’s headlines have come through and unfortunately Mark is making the news for all the wrong reasons. Mark has come out to the media and admitted he is struggling financially and will be selling his home in the midst of being sued for unpaid loans. Read the interview here.

I am not too sure what I am about to write, but I need to express what I am feeling right at this moment before I go to bed.

Firstly I am just very sad for Mark. The past couple of years have been horrible… with the injuries, the drama with his relationships, and now this. I truly thought things could not get any worse for Mark  - but they have. Mark has never been one to open up and express his feelings, so it has been a baffling mystery to the public and his fans what has gone on in his life for the past 4 years. He hasn’t been playing tennis due to injuries, and now it seems that has take a huge toll financially.

But as sad as I am for Mark… as a fan reading this news  -  it’s just so disappointing. When you support someone its usually because you can identify/relate with that person and believe in them. For many years I have admired Mark… dare I say idolised him. I loved the way he played his tennis… his big serves, aggressive ground-strokes and I loved that he was never afraid to take risks and go for big shots. Being a female fan, Mark was also the most attractive male tennis player on tour with his tall stature and dark Mediterranean looks. I think what also made him appealing was he has always been a man of mystery. People love to talk about him, but I don’t think any of us (even his most supportive fans) really know much about Mark at all. We know he has a funny sense of humour, and a big heart when it comes to his family and children… but other then that the rest is unknown. And for the first time, I am starting to think maybe I don’t want to know any more.

Since the end of 2004 it has been a struggle to keep finding reasons to be supportive of Mark. The tennis was lost and replaced with a continual series of love dramas, broken promises, and  a pathetic sense of hope that sooner or later Mark would get his act together and fulfil the the empty statements of commitment and change that he would make year, after year, after year.

It seemed quite obvious to everyone (except Mark) that things were not going to change or improve with his career unless he worked at it. Injuries have been a cruel and devastating factor in his career… but Mark’s unprofessionalism and often wavering focus, I believe, was the biggest reason Mark’s tennis career has ended the way it has.

Maybe this is not the best thing to do… because I know Mark is hurting right now. To have to confront the media and admit he has literally lost everything is heartbreaking. No doubt Mark is depressed, and being a fansite maybe this isn’t the type of reaction expected or warranted. But I am sorry… this is not the same man that captured my heart in 1996. If Mark hasn’t been earning much money since 2006 due to injury, why and how he has gone on and let things get to the point they are now just does not make sense. It has been frustrating to see Mark go through so many tough times with his personal life and tennis - but the one thing over the years that has worried me the most is  - he never seemed to learn from past mistakes or experiences. Maybe now the penny has finally dropped and Mark will make some life changes that will see him become a much better man because of it.

I am not going to say I hope so, because I have now ran out of all hope for Mark. But I want him to prove me wrong and fight through this and live a happy, healthy and successful life. But that’s up to him… for the first time in a very long time if Mark wants that lifestyle back he will have to physically do something about it - because he can no longer talk his way out of problems.

Unfortunately it’s been brought to my attention my new layout was not working for PC users, sorry for the confusion. I have reverted back to an old layout or the time being, whilst I try to work out where the error comes from.

As you can see I’ve made some changes to the layout, hope you like them! Please take note I have changed my e-mail address to flipfan@mail.com. If you have any Mark-related questions, news, images ect feel free to drop me a message. I have also changed the gallery. Over time I will add some old favourites from Mark’s tour days, but for now most of the recent photo’s from this year are uploaded.

I have also come across some new photo’s of Mark, but unfortunately they are only small, and not high quality. I don’t know exactly when they were taken (most likely very recently) or for what purpose. If anyone knows more details about them please let us know.

 

Mark has committed to playing to more Outback Champions events later this year.

In August he will compete in the Hall of Fame Champions Cup in Newport. In October he will join Andre Agassi in Arizona to participate in the Surprise Championships.

Flipfans.net layout is currently being updated and modified.

Two bits of news about Mark surfaced today.

1. Mark will be involved in a charity golf day organised by Greg Norman on June 28 to raise worldwide awareness and money for the Victorian Bush Fire victims. Mark may also be involved in a charity tennis exhibition held by Chris Evert.

2. There’s talk that Mark has been training with his father Nick in an attempt to return to the tour. At this stage it’s very much speculation, as Mark has being training in private and is yet to publicly announce his future plans  - whether it be to compete on the challenger circuit or “officially” retire.