Mark Philippoussis hopes his appearance at London's Masters Tennis next month will spark a comeback that ultimately allows him to exit the sport on his own terms.

The Australian's appearance at the Royal Albert Hall comes after his career on the men's tour ended three years ago because of knee injuries.

"My last operation was five months ago, and I'm getting better and stronger each day," Philippoussis told Britain's The Daily Telegraph.

"The Albert Hall is such a beautiful place to play tennis, and I know that it will be a fun tournament, without any stress or pressure. I'm going to be playing tennis again because I want to play, just like how it was when I was a kid.

"I would love to play in a Challenger tournament again, maybe a tour event, and maybe another grand slam, one more Australian Open, or one more Wimbledon. I feel as though I have unfinished business. I would like to go out from this sport on my terms."

The Masters Tennis, from December 1-6, is the final event of the ATP Champions Tour and will feature fellow Australians Pat Rafter and Pat Cash, Goran Ivanisevic, Stefan Edberg, Henri Leconte and Greg Rusedski.

The appearance fee could come in handy for one-time luxury car enthusiast Philippoussis, whose life in the fast lane crashed dramatically when he ran out of money and was forced to sell his Melbourne home.

"The situation I've been through, it's been tough and it's been nasty. I had to sell the house a couple of months ago," the former Wimbledon and US Open runner-up said.

"As a young guy, you spend a lot of money, you think that you're always going to make money ... playing tennis is my job, and I basically haven't had a job for over three years, so it's not surprising that I've had problems.

"With the bad economy, life has been tough for a lot of people over the last year, but that's what I've had for the last three years. I trusted some people, when I took out a mortgage, and they took advantage of me."

Philippoussis, 33, recently became engaged to actress Jennifer Esposito and lives on the US west coast.

"I'm in a good stage of my life right now. I get up in the morning, and I have a goal, I know what I want to do," he said.