Hewitt cup sacrifice
By Leo Schlink
09oct03
LLEYTON HEWITT will make a multi-million dollar sacrifice in his quest to
deliver Davis Cup triumph for Australia.
The former world No.1 will withdraw from a string of highly-lucrative European
indoor events - and surrender all hope of defending the Masters Cup he has won
for the past two years - to ensure he is at his peak for the Davis Cup final
against Spain in Melbourne next month.
Hewitt, 22, last week underwent a procedure to remove a wart from his right foot
and is now recovering in Adelaide, where he will begin preparations on Memorial
Drive grass with his coach Roger Rasheed for the Davis Cup final.
Hewitt's management Octagon would not place a figure on Hewitt's commitment to
the Australian cause but victories in Madrid, Paris and Stockholm and Basel
would potentially earn him more than $2.5 million.
By opting out of the European swing, Hewitt has effectively lost hope of snaring
a third Masters Cup trophy in Houston where, depending on round-robin results,
the winner's cheque could be as high as $2.17 million.
Hewitt is also believed to have withdrawn from an exhibition in Portland the
week after the Masters Cup, costing him another large appearance money cheque.
Industry estimates put Hewitt's average guarantee at $362,000 for International
Series (gold) events and more for exhibitions.
Octagon vice-president Tom Ross last night praised Hewitt's decision,
acknowledging Hewitt had willingly taken a financial hit to ensure he was in
prime condition for the November 28-30 clash with Spain at Rod Laver Arena.
"He's making a number of sacrifices personally in terms of prizemoney,
guarantees, ranking points and title defence at the Masters to give himself the
best chance at the Davis Cup," Ross said
Hewitt said last night he was still unable to run after being treated with a
course of injections, which would eventually cause the wart to wither and die.
"At the moment, I can't put too much weight on it and I can't run on it," he
said. "But I'm on the bike and swimming."
Hewitt said he might have been able to persist with tournament plans despite the
inconvenience of a sore right foot, but he wanted to be in top shape for the
Spaniards, who won a sour final in Barcelona in 2000.
"The foot was not a huge dilemma," he said.
"It was bothering me some of the time, but I thought if I had it done now, I'd
be right for the Davis Cup final.
"I could have kept playing and if I was playing for the dollars - and I could
have got a lot of dollars by going to Europe -- you could end up jeopardising
your Davis Cup preparations, which is not what you want to do.
"Davis Cup is a huge consideration for me.
"I could go over there (Europe) and chase (rankings) points to play the Masters
Cup but, even if I did, that wouldn't give me enough time to get back to
Australia and prepare properly for the Davis Cup final.
"It's not every day you get to play in a home Davis Cup final and I want to be
ready for it."
2003: the year Hewitt took a break
Oct 7 2003
It may be a consequence of his public feud with the men's governing body, the ATP. It may be recognition that the relentless demands of his energy-sapping style could shorten his career. Or perhaps Lleyton Hewitt wants nothing more than a Davis Cup triumph to salvage a troubled season.
Whatever the reasons, Hewitt could this year end up playing up to eight fewer tournaments than in 2001 or 2002, and is certain to contest at least three fewer than in any of his previous full years on the tour. His last competitive outing was the Davis Cup semi-final, and next month's decider against Spain is believed to be his only definite commitment for the rest of the year.
Hewitt is expected to withdraw from the Masters Series event that starts in Madrid on Monday, having recently taken a break from practice after a wart was removed from a weight-bearing area on his heel.
The 22-year-old is still entered
for the Paris Masters in a fortnight, and could seek a wildcard into Stockholm
in between, as he requires strong results to have any chance of defending his
Masters Cup title.
Now 10th in the champions race, Hewitt remains a mathematical chance of qualifying among the top eight for this year's megabuck finale in Houston, but that is not a priority.
Indeed, Hewitt said after beating Roger Federer in an extraordinary five-set Davis Cup comeback 17 days ago that he would "train pretty hard for the next couple of months; don't know whether I'll play any tournaments or not, yet".
There is some thought that he will not, although no official announcements have been made, and no comment was available yesterday from the local branch of his management company, Octagon.
Hewitt has said all along that his goals for the year were a second Davis Cup success - he was part of the winning 1999 team in Nice - and a grand slam title. His quarter-final showing at Flushing Meadows was his best result at a major, which leaves Australian duty as his focus. Certainly, his patriotism has never been questioned.
But it has been widely speculated that Hewitt's disaffection with the ATP, and his repeated threat to keep his tour appearances to a minimum as a result of the long-running stoush that is now before the South Australian Supreme Court, has been the main reason for his reduced 2003 schedule. The maximum number of tour events he will contest this year is 15 - and that assumes two lead-up events and qualification for Houston.
Now ranked eighth, Hewitt's run of 75 consecutive weeks at No. 1 ended when Andre Agassi regained the top spot in April. He took an extended break after that month's Davis Cup quarter-final in Sweden, trimming his claycourt itinerary and skipping two planned tournaments, including the Rome Masters, citing doctors' advice to cut his schedule to help prevent further respiratory problems after two demanding years.
It was also confirmed yesterday that Hewitt will follow a new route into January's Australian Open by playing both the Hopman Cup and the Sydney International. Hewitt, who will again partner Alicia Molik in the Perth teams event, has not passed the fourth round at Melbourne Park despite experimenting with a variety of preparations including, for the past two years, the Hopman Cup only.
Australia will be seeded second in 2004 behind the US defending champions Serena Williams and James Blake.
Hewitt's Belgian girlfriend Kim Clijsters will also play.
Hopman Cup tournament director Paul McNamee predicted a busier 2004 program for Hewitt. "He made a conscious decision in '03 to back off his schedule, and it appears that in '04 he is making a conscious decision to ramp up his schedule," McNamee said.
Hewitt
battling to win Masters spot
New York
September 11, 2003
Positions at the elite year-ending Masters Cup in Houston, Texas, are vanishing
before Lleyton Hewitt's eyes.
Wimbledon champion Roger Federer and Australian Open winner Andre Agassi have
secured places at the event, the governing body of men's tennis reported.
The duo join US Open champion Andy Roddick and Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero, who
triumphed at the French Open in June, in the eight-man field.
The remaining four spots will be decided in the last seven weeks of the 2003 ATP
season.
The top eight players in the ATP Champions Race on November 3 qualify for the
Masters Cup, held from November 8-16.
Rising Argentinians Guillermo Coria and David Nalbandian, German Rainer
Schuettler and Spaniard Carlos Moya are favourites to claim the last four
Houston spots.
Hewitt, who has won the Masters Cup for the past two years, is at present ninth,
one spot ahead of compatriot Mark Philippoussis.
While Roddick and Ferrero qualified for the event last week, Federer and Agassi
assured themselves of a place in the field after it became clear on Monday they
had accrued enough points in the ATP Champions Race.
"It's great, (the Masters Cup in) Shanghai was a wonderful experience last
year," said Swiss 22-year-old Federer.
"I'm looking forward to Houston where we'll all fight for the year-end No.
1 position."
Winner of five titles in 2003, Federer is third in this week's ATP Champions
Race, and Agassi is fourth.
Roddick, who won successive Masters Series events in Montreal and Cincinnati
before his win in New York on Sunday, said: "I'm very happy to qualify for
the Masters Cup.
"It was one of my goals at the beginning of this year, because it means
you've had consistent results for the whole year.
"I've also had success in Houston and I'm looking forward to playing there
again."
US Open runner-up Ferrero was equally satisfied. "I'm very happy that I am
officially qualified for Houston," said the 23-year-old, who will be making
his third consecutive appearance in the year-ending event.
"I've won a grand slam and have had good results this year.
"I've done well at the Masters Cup in Sydney (in 2001) and Shanghai, so I
hope to continue that in Houston."
- Reuters
Wednesday September 10, 09:21 PM
Singles life not
easy for Hewitt and Clijsters
By Robert Woodward
LONDON, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Where singles is concerned, it has been a harrowing
few months for Lleyton Hewitt and Kim Clijsters.
But the most famous couple in tennis could find redemption in the sport's top
team competitions, the Davis and Fed Cups.
World number one at the turn of the year, Hewitt has dropped to seventh in the
rankings and he desperately hopes to salvage something from the wreckage of 2003
in the Davis Cup.
Hewitt leads Australia in the semi-final against Switzerland, led by Wimbledon
champion Roger Federer, next week in Melbourne.
November's Fed Cup semi-final between the U.S. and Belgium in Moscow could be
one of the great sporting showdowns of the year if both teams turn up at full
strength.
Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne have taken Belgium to the top of the tennis
rankings, usurping the Williams sisters, and won the cup in 2001.
Venus and Serena helped the U.S. thrash the Czech Republic 5-0 in the Fed Cup
first round but left the quarter-final against Italy in July to their
understudies, who also won 5-0.
Both sisters missed this month's U.S. Open due to injury, leaving the way open
for Henin-Hardenne to win her second grand slam title of the year.
As at the French Open, Henin-Hardenne beat Clijsters in the final, leaving
Clijsters as the world number one in name only -- she has yet to win a grand
slam and Serena, who beat her in the Australian Open semi-final from 5-1 down in
the final set, is still the primary force in women's tennis.
Belgium thrashed the reigning Fed Cup champions, Slovakia, in their Fed Cup
quarter-final so the Belgians v the Williams over four singles matches and a
doubles in Moscow would be a tennis clash of seismic proportions.
QUESTION MARKS
But there are a number of question marks over the tie -- will the players be
willing to travel to Moscow in mid-November, will the Williams sisters be fit
and will the Belgian duo be prepared to bury their personal differences to play
as a team?
The two come from either side of the linguistic and cultural divide in Belgium
and Clijsters and her camp have been sniping at Henin-Hardenne for months,
accusing her of a lack of sportsmanship among other things.
Clijsters, regarded as one of the nicest women on tour, appears to lack
Henin-Hardenne's grit and determination when the going gets really tough.
Her father's insinuation this week that something untoward lies behind
Henin-Hardenne's rise is likely to poison the atmosphere even more between the
world number one and two.
Unlike Clijsters, Hewitt's form has been in steady decline since he won Indian
Wells in March. A third round defeat in the French Open was followed by his
shattering first round loss to Croatian Ivo Karlovic at Wimbledon.
He reached the quarter-finals at the U.S. Open where he lost to French Open
champion Juan Carlos Ferrero, who leads Spain in the other Davis Cup semi-final
against Argentina in Malaga, and the Australian also injured his left hip.
Hewitt is determined to make amends for the shattering defeat by France in the
2001 Cup final in Melbourne when he lost the opening singles to Nicolas Escude
and the doubles with Pat Rafter.
"The Davis Cup is probably sitting at number one (in my priorities) at the
moment," Hewitt said before his Open defeat. "We haven't won it for a
few years so I'd love to win it this year."
Lleyton's $3.2m palace
By Kim Wheatley
September 10, 2003
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TENNIS champion Lleyton Hewitt has bought Adelaide's most expensive house at
$3.2 million.
The ostentatious five-bedroom home boasts all the features expected in a
multi-million-dollar property - including cinema, bars, indoor pool, rock
waterfall and a sauna.
But it doesn't have a tennis court.
Hewitt's new two-level property overlooks West Lakes in the city's western
suburbs. It might be Adelaide's biggest recorded residential sale, but the
purchase will hardly dent the former world No. 1's career prizemoney of $22
million.
He also has sponsorship deals totalling more than $18 million.
But the State Government will be pleased with the deal. Stamp duty is estimated
at $170,000.
Over the past few years, Hewitt has amassed quite a residential property
portfolio in Adelaide - including three adjoining blocks of land at Tennyson,
which he bought for $1.8 million.
While he favours beachside properties, it is believed one of the main
attractions of his new mansion is its security features with the lake providing
limited access from the rear.
Selling agent Dan McDonald would not confirm the most talked about rumour in
real estate circles in the past few weeks.
"We can't discuss the sale until the settlement is reached," he said
yesterday.
"I think its significant for Adelaide but I think it's a sign of things to
come as people recognise the quality of lifestyle, climate and so on that we
have to offer."
The vendor, an Adelaide accountant, spent eight years building the 99sq m home
but lived there for little more than a year.
Neighbour Vicki Sylaidis said she thought the property values would rise because
a celebrity was moving into the area.
"He's more than welcome here. It's wonderful to have him," she said.
June quarterly figures revealed a record 30 per cent increase in Adelaide's
median house price to $221,700.
The Advertiser
Hewitt will be back:
coach
By Darren Walton
September 9, 2003
LLEYTON Hewitt's coach has urged supporters of the former world No.1 tennis
player to be patient as they plot his return to the top.
Roger Rasheed believes Hewitt was approaching his best form again before
tightness of his left hip flexor muscle effectively ended his US Open chances
against runner-up Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Some more perspective was added to Hewitt's injury-affected 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-5)
6-1 quarter-final defeat the following day when Ferrero displaced Andre Agassi
as the world No.1.
Rasheed, who, in a surprise decision, assumed the coaching reins from Jason
Stoltenberg after the French Open in June, said Hewitt was "on his way
back".
"We put things in place and have been working developing his game and to be
No.1 again and he will be that," Rasheed told AAP.
"It takes time. It's a shame (he was injured against Ferrero) because he
was playing some good tennis."
Former Davis Cup captain John Newcombe felt Hewitt was "underdone"
leading into the US Open and needed to "toughen up match-wise".
But Newcombe was convinced the 22-year-old dual grand slam champion would return
as a major force after experiencing what was an inevitable lull after an
astonishing start to his career.
"Between 18 and 22 have been very tough years for him," Newcombe said.
"He's had two years at No.1, three Davis Cup finals. His body was just
requiring a break.
"I fully expect him to come back and show something very special."
Newcombe, who first introduced Hewitt into the Davis Cup fold as an "orange
boy" in 1997, would like to see Rasheed work on the Australian No.1's depth
of shot, backhand down the line and first-serve consistency.
"(He needs to) develop more of an offensive style of game where he can
finish off the point and attack," he said.
Like Rasheed, Hewitt's former fitness trainer, Newcombe was heartened by
Hewitt's effort against Ferrero, saying the Spaniard was forced to produce
"his best match on a hard court" to win.
"That was one heck of a tennis match, especially when Lleyton was fighting
for his life. He played fantastic," Newcombe said.
"For two and a half hours, those guys were just nailing each other. It was
like two prized middleweights going at each other.
"It was great stuff.
"Lleyton will be back among the top three or four next year and challenging
for the big ones."
Hewitt dropped from sixth to seventh in the rankings, while countryman Mark
Philippoussis rose four spots to world No.16 after progressing to the third
round at Flushing Meadows.
AAP
Hewitt not 'match fit'
By Robert Lusetich
September 8, 2003
AS much as Juan Carlos Ferrero's sublime play, it was the rain-wrecked schedule
and Lleyton Hewitt's lack of exposure to long, tough matches that ended the
Australian's least successful Grand Slam season in four years.
Like every men's quarter-finalist except Americans Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick,
Hewitt faced the possibility of four matches in four days because of the rain
delays. In the event he only played two back to back but even that took its toll
on a player whose "match fitness was only maybe 80 per cent",
according to John Newcombe.
The former world No.1, who failed to make a Grand Slam semi-final this season,
was playing easily his best tennis since early in the year in his quarter-final
against Ferrero when he began experiencing pain while pushing off during the
serving motion. The match was on a knife's edge, late in a cliffhanger third set
after they had split the first two.
With his serve rendered at best ineffective, Hewitt realised his campaign for a
second US Open crown was over.
"You see this kind of problem with the muscles that flex the hip from time
to time when players are fatigued," said ATP trainer Doug Spreen, who
attended to Hewitt during an injury time-out.
"These guys are being asked to play back-to-back (best of) five-setters and
it takes its toll on their bodies.
"In my mind, I think that if Lleyton had had a day to rest in between (the
fourth round and quarter-finals) this wouldn't have flared up."
Hardly a comforting thought for a player whose ranking has slipped from No.1 at
the end of May to No.6, yet the 22-year-old admirably refused to make excuses,
noting the scheduling was "tough but it was tough for everyone".
Spreen doubted, as did Hewitt, that the muscular problem -- which the South
Australian first noticed in the final of the Mercedes Benz Cup in Los Angeles,
his first tournament back after a long lay-off in the wake of his early exit at
Wimbledon - would stop him playing a role in Australia's Davis Cup semi-final
against Switzerland in Melbourne later this month.
"Not at all," the trainer said. "It's a tiredness issue and after
a few days' rest, he'll be fine. It's not any kind of chronic condition."
Newcombe, who watched from the commentary box, thought Hewitt lacked "tough
matches under his belt".
"He just hasn't had enough tough tennis this year," Newcombe said.
"His body hasn't had the sort of pounding that it's been used to and I
think it showed.
"Ferrero is a top-three player and he can't play any better than he did (on
Saturday) yet for 2 1/2 hours they were dead level and I reckon Lleyton's match
fitness was only maybe 80 per cent."
Indeed, despite the pain, Hewitt almost stole the third set, holding two break
points on Ferrero's serve at 4-5, before the French Open champion unleashed two
aces and ultimately held on to win the tiebreak, 7-5.
In the fourth set, which Hewitt lost 6-1 in only 23 minutes, he appeared
resigned to his fate.
"I knew it was going to be an uphill battle, especially the way that I was
feeling," Hewitt said.
"I couldn't serve, basically. It was hurting every time I went up to push
off serving. It was grabbing.
"I was trying to battle, but also trying to play a different style of game
to what I'm used to as well. Trying to go for a lot of winners.
"I take nothing away from him, though, he was too good."
Many have wondered if Hewitt, who is embroiled in a lawsuit filed in South
Australia against the governing body of men's tennis, the ATP, did not play
enough tennis this year. Hewitt disagreed, saying he did not "think that
was a problem here at the US Open" and that the overloaded schedules of the
past two years had left him exhausted. "Obviously, I took a fair while off
after the Davis Cup in Sweden (but) that was more just I felt like I needed a
break more than anything," he said.
Hewitt said he would not alter his approach next year, which will make it
difficult for him to regain the No.1 ranking.
He said he had no interest in packing his schedule over the next month in order
to qualify for the Masters Cup, which he has won in each of the past two years.
He will remain sixth in the world after the US Open and said his focus next
season would again be on peaking for the Grand Slams and the Davis Cup.
"I feel like if you're going to be No.1 you've got to play a hell of a lot
of events unless you can go out there and win two or three majors. I'll schedule
my other ATP events just around trying to prepare as well as I can for the
majors," Hewitt said.
The Australian
Hewitt Aces
Academy
Visits youngsters in Port Washington on eve of U.S. Open
By Kristopher Banks
STAFF WRITER
Newsday
August 23, 2003
Paddy McClary, an instructor at the Port Washington Tennis Academy, told the
kids in his class Friday morning to imagine who the day's special guest might
be.
All they were told beforehand was that he was a top-5-seeded player in the U.S.
Open.
"He's got blond, curly hair and blue eyes ... " McClary said.
"Hewitt?" came some whispers from the crowd of about 50 kids as they
lay on the floor, stretching their legs in the air.
"He's one of the fastest players ... "
"It's definitely Hewitt," blurted out Michael Mattleson, 15, of Great
Neck. Mattleson was right.
The kids were excited when Australian Lleyton Hewitt walked in. But they were
awestruck when the 22-year-old played a quick match with one of the instructors,
Bong Imperial.
"He wasn't hitting hard, but you could still see how good he was,"
said Nick Merkelson, 16, of Port Washington.
As of Wednesday, Hewitt was the sixth seed (he had been fifth in an earlier
seeding) for the tournament, which starts Monday at Arthur Ashe Stadium in
Flushing Meadows. Dick Zausner, the academy's owner, said instructors did not
want to give away the player's identity for fear of crowds.
Hewitt is currently ranked 13th in the Association of Tennis Professionals
Champions Race. He was ranked first last year, after winning Wimbledon. But the
fact that Hewitt had dropped a few ranking spots didn't seem to faze the kids,
most of whom were attending a summer day camp.
"It's amazing to see shots with such power," said Alex Steinberg, 16,
of Sands Point.
McClary's hint about speed tipped Mattleson off. "He's known for his
speed," Mattleson said.
Another big thrill was when Hewitt watched the kids practice and gave them
comments about their performance. Although Hewitt's critique of Josh Cowen, 12,
of Port Washington, was limited to "Nice shot," it meant something
coming from a pro. "Even though he's getting paid for it, it's still
cool," he said.
Hewitt was not paid for the individual event, but his sponsor, Nike, arranged
for him to be there as part of his partnership with them, said Rob Aldinger, a
spokesman for Nike.
Imperial compared playing Hewitt with playing Gene Mayer, the 1978 and 1979
French Open doubles champion from Flushing who, according to Imperial, comes to
the academy fairly often.
"His shot is more heavy, almost the same with Gene Mayer," Imperial
said.
Copyright © 2003, Newsday, Inc.
Hewitt talks of abandoning his sport.
Aug 22 2003
JUST days before the start of the US Open,
Lleyton Hewitt says he is toying with the idea of quitting tennis to play AFL.
The deposed Aussie Wimbledon champion told US Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe
during a television interview that he did not care if abandoning his tennis
career cost him millions of dollars a year.
The 22-year-old Australian, a fervent AFL follower and No.1 ticket-holder of the
Adelaide Crows, has slipped to No.6 in the rankings and has not won a tournament
in five months.
Hewitt, the son of former Richmond and SANFL star Glynn Hewitt, impressed many
with his football skills when he turned out for a charity football match in
Adelaide last September, but the last time Hewitt played Aussie rules was when
he attended Adelaide private school Immanuel College.
Hewitt played football at primary school but dropped out before secondary school
to focus on tennis.
Rob Keil, Immanuel College sportsmaster during Hewitt's school years in the
1990s, said the young Hewitt had some football talent.
"He was by far the best player in the side," Keil said.
"His actual skills were very, very good and his mental approach and
attitude were important. He would never ever be beaten."
Hewitt's beloved Crows certainly don't see any merit in their No.1 ticket-holder
swapping his sneakers and racquet and a career that has earned him $22million in
prize money.
"At the moment we consider Lleyton excellent at tennis," said Crows
spokesman Phil Harper. "He played for us last year in a game between
[former] Crows and Port players and did all right. "I'm sure with his
competitive nature he'd be good at any sport. But it's a long way off from
playing under-11s to playing AFL football."
Hewitt's ramblings about walking away from tennis caught McEnroe off guard.
"He really surprised me by saying he would love to play Australian rules
football and not necessarily love to be a tennis player for the next eight
years," said McEnroe. "He said it like: 'No one has ever won two slams
and played Australian rules football' ... I sensed it was something that
intrigued him.
"I asked him if he wanted to be the Bo Jackson of Australia, Bo played
baseball and American football [at the highest level], and he said: 'I wouldn't
go that far'."
Hewitt yesterday ended his self-imposed silence since his early eliminations
from the Tennis Masters Series events in Montreal and Cincinnati.
"I feel like I'm practising well and I'm used to playing on these sort of
courts," said Hewitt, who will meet Romanian Victor Hanescu in the first
round.
"If I can get through to the second week, I have as good a chance as
anyone. It's a shame I couldn't have lasted longer [in the lead-up tournaments],
but I believe I can beat anyone."
Mark Philippoussis has drawn a qualifier to start a tournament from which he
left 12 months ago with a knee injury that forced his first round default,
ringing false alarm bells about his career prospects.
The Wimbledon runner-up is scheduled to have his first practice session at
Flushing Meadows today after moving from his training base in Florida.
Scott Draper and Wayne Arthurs are the only other Australians in the men's draw
after Peter Luczak and Paul Baccanello failed to qualify yesterday.
Soreness slows
Hewitt's revival
By PAUL MALONE
16aug03
HAMSTRING soreness is the latest hurdle for Lleyton Hewitt to overcome in his
bid to revive his year at the US Open.
Hewitt and Mark Philippoussis gave a walkover in their second-round doubles
match in Cincinnati on Wednesday, citing a hamstring problem with Hewitt, who
had complained of a lack of drive in his legs in a first-round singles loss to
Belgian Xavier Malisse the previous day.
Hewitt and Philippoussis plan to practise together in Florida to prepare for the
US Open, which starts in New York on Monday week.
Reports on the progress of the sixth-ranked Hewitt will be monitored closely.
Rob Aivatoglou, of Hewitt's management company Octagon, said last night he had
received no report on the fitness of the Australian No. 1.
Australian Davis Cup coach Wally Masur, who will leave Sydney today to assist
the training of Hewitt and Philippoussis, said he was also in the dark.
Australian Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald said Hewitt had sounded upbeat
about his recent uneven performances in a phone call on Wednesday which arranged
Masur's visit to their pre-Open camp.
Philippoussis was also a first-round singles casualty in the Tennis Masters
Series event in Cincinnati, which was the last tournament for both he and Hewitt
before the US Open.
Philippoussis's manager Brian Cooney confirmed the Wimbledon runner-up had
invited Hewitt to practise with him at his Florida residence, providing another
example of their growing friendship over the past year or so.
"They both had good tournaments in Los Angeles, Lleyton making the finals
and Mark making the semi-finals, and while they would have preferred to have
played more matches leading into the US Open, they will both lift for a Grand
Slam," Fitzgerald said.
"Wally's going down to Florida just to help out if there is something which
they think there are areas he can assist them."
Meanwhile, Sydney's 2002 Wimbledon junior champion Todd Reid is having an
indefinite break because of pain in his upper right arm.