Hewitt finds 'C'mon' cause in quest for home crown


The former world tennis No 1 talks to John Roberts about the pressure to become the first Australian to win his country's Open for almost 30 years

13 January 2005


We in Britain, who cling to a statue of Fred Perry to remind us that we had a Wimbledon men's singles champion in 1936, should be the last to point out deficiencies to others on the tennis court. None the less, it is astonishing to think that the land of Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall and Roy Emerson, to name but a few, has not produced a home champion for almost 30 years.

As the Australian Grand Slam tournament prepares to mark its centenary next Monday, Lleyton Hewitt is the latest to be burdened with carrying his nation's hopes. Hewitt has yet to advance beyond the fourth round at the Australian Open, but goes into this year's tournament optimistic that he can do a lot better. "To win this year would be fantastic," Hewitt says, "but I'll take the Australian Open any year I can get it. With it being the centenary, there's going to be a lot of celebration about it. For me, it's just another Australian Open and a matter of going out there and trying to get beyond the round of 16."

Tim Henman, 30, four times a Wimbledon semi-finalist, says he is inspired rather than intimidated when playing at the All England Club. Hewitt, 24 next month, coped manfully with Wimbledon's aura of history, but, then, the All England Club is not on his doorstep.

Although Melbourne Park has only played host to the Australian Open for the past 17 years, it is worth remembering that Hewitt was barely seven when the majestic stadium with its retractable roof was inaugurated in 1988. For him, Valhalla is on the banks of the Yarra. "There's obviously extra pressure and extra expectation," Hewitt says, "but I don't think that's why I haven't done better in the tournament. I've done too much in Davis Cup ties in the past, when there's probably more pressure, for that to be the case.

"At the stage when I was No 1 [in 2002], I got the chicken pox, and that pretty much put an end to my hopes. I lost to [Roger] Federer last year in the round of 16, and he was obviously the best player. Apart from that, I felt like I maybe could have have been in the semis and final.

"The year before that, I lost to [Younes] El Aynaoui. I didn't break serve for a whole match, five sets. That doesn't happen too often for me. There's been a few weird matches over the years, but I feel like this year I'm going to have a good crack at it."

When it comes to playing on home ground, Hewitt, like Henman with the grass at Wimbledon, has complained that the rubberised concrete courts at Melbourne Park, on which the ball bounces to shoulder height, have been made too slow.

Hewitt's compatriot Pat Rafter, who won the US Open in 1997 and 1998, contended that the rubberised concrete courts in New York play differently to the Rebound Ace in Melbourne. Hewitt, who won the US Open in 2001, is convinced that is the case. "I think there's a massive difference," he says. "The US Open is a lot quicker. The ball stays a lot lower. There was one year, 2000, where the Australian Open courts played a lot quicker than it has in the past. But the last few years it's played closer to the clay [at the French Open] than to the [concrete at the] US Open."

Pat Cash, Australia's 1987 Wimbledon champion, sympathises. "The Aussies all used to grow up on grass courts, but we have lost that advantage," Cash says. "One year when [Pete] Sampras won in Melbourne, he said the court was slower than clay. Lleyton didn't grow up on grass. The only grass now is at Wimbledon, but the courts have been slowed down there and don't benefit [Tim] Henman and the other British players."

Hewitt, underlining his determination to improve his record, added: "I'd play on cow dung if necessary." He knows that Federer, the defending champion, who has developed a habit of thrashing him, is likely to be the greatest obstacle to every challenger, and that Andy Roddick and Marat Safin share his own desire for success.

"I think it's great for tennis," Hewitt says. "Four guys from different countries, four young guys who have won Grand Slams and have all been No 1 in the world and are totally different characters. I think we all get along pretty well. We respect each other, both on and off the court.

"Federer's a great bloke. I get along really well with Roger. He's very down to earth. I think that's probably the best quality he has. He's very easy to get along with. I always say 'G'day' to him, have a chat.

"Last year was probably as consistent a year as I've had. I lost to the winners of the four Grand Slams, Federer and [Gaston] Gaudio. I was hitting the ball well on all surfaces. Making the US Open final again was a huge bonus."

Noted for shouting "C'mon!" to psyche himself up and to let opponents know they can expect trouble, Hewitt has adopted another method of showing his confidence, a Swedish gesture known as "Visst!" ("For Sure!"), which is formed by bending his right hand into the shape of a snake's head and aiming the hand towards the bridge of his nose. Mats Wilander introduced "Visst!" to tennis en route to winning the 1988 Australian Open, having seen his compatriot Niclas Kroon make the gesture during a game of cards.

"I saw Mats Wilander do it at the Aussie Open," Hewitt says. "I went every year. I used to sit up near the Swedish group of fans out there. They had an amazing following. I loved it. A fair number of Swedes still go to the tournament. Not as many as when Mats and Stefan [Edberg] and everyone were at their best. But if Jonas [Bjorkman] or [Joachim] Johansson now gets a go, then they'll come out of the woodwork."

Although Hewitt is rebuilding his personal life after his broken engagement to Kim Clijsters, of Belgium, a former women's world No 1, and is involved in an ongoing lawsuit against the ATP, who fined him for refusing to do a television interview, and his relationship with the majority of the Australian tennis writers continues to be testy, his competitive spirit keeps him buoyant.

An abiding memory is of an impromptu game of cricket in the media restaurant at the Masters Cup in Houston, with a stick for a bat and a chair for a wicket. Hewitt belted the ball with glee and also took a hat-trick of wickets.

AUSSIE WOE: THE STRUGGLE TO EMULATE EDMONDSON

It is 29 years since an Aussie won the men's singles title at the Australian Open, and only one home player has advanced to the final since the championships moved from the grass courts at Kooyong to the rubberised concrete Rebound Ace at Melbourne Park in 1988.

Mark Edmondson, in 1976, was the last home champion. The 22-year-old former maintenance man from Gosford, New South Wales, is also the only unseeded men's champion. He defeated two ageing compatriots, Ken Rosewall, in the semi-finals, and John Newcombe, in the final.

It was Edmondson's only Grand Slam final, although his grass-court skills took him to the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 1982, and he led Bjorn Borg by two sets to love in the second round there in 1977. "Edo", noted for his resilience, won five Tour titles.

Lleyton Hewitt, the 2001 US Open champion and 2002 Wimbledon champion, is one of seven Grand Slam men's singles winners from Australia who have failed to nail their home title. Hewitt has yet to reach the quarter-finals in Melbourne.

Pat Cash, the 1987 Wimbledon champion, was twice a runner-up to Swedish players on home ground, to Stefan Edberg, on grass at Kooyong in 1987, and to Mats Wilander the following year in the inaugural tournament on rubberised concrete at Flinders Park (now Melbourne Park). That was the last time an Australian appeared in the final.

Pat Rafter mastered the concrete courts at Flushing Meadows in New York to win the US Open in 1997 and 1998, but a semi-final appearance in 2001 was his best result in Melbourne.

Even in the days when three of the four Grand Slam championships were played on grass, the exception being the clay courts at the French, Neale Fraser won at Wimbledon and the US Open but was the runner-up three times in Australia. Fred Stolle won the French and US titles but was disappointed in two Australian finals, as was Mal Anderson, the 1957 US champion. Tony Roche, winner at the French in 1966, did not progress beyond the semi-finals in Australia.

Hewitt says Federer can be beaten, and he knows how
Sat Jan 15, 2005 06:44 AM GMT

By Julian Linden


SYDNEY, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Sydney International winner Lleyton Hewitt has rejected the notion that Roger Federer is a sure bet to win the Australian Open.

Hewitt knows better than most how good Federer is after losing their last six matches but the Australian said he knew the secret to beating Federer, although it was easier said than done.

"He's definitely the favourite, there's no doubt about that ...and someone's going to have to play extremely well to beat him," Hewitt said.

"But he's human and there are guys like (Andy) Roddick and (Marat) Safin and (Andre) Agassi in his half of the draw so if he's slightly off it's not going to be that easy for him."

Hewitt, whose losses to Federer last season included the finals of the U.S. Open and the Masters Cup, said the key to beating the Swiss was not to let him open up a big lead.

"If you look at the past where he's played his best tennis over probably the last 18 months he's been able to get off to flying starts against pretty much everyone," Hewitt said.

"So I think you need to stay with him early in matches.

Hewitt, 23, has won the U.S. Open and Wimbledon titles but has never made it beyond the fourth round at Melbourne in eight attempts.

As Australia's highest-ranked player in the tournament, which starts on Monday, the pressure is on Hewitt but he said the weight of expectation was not a burden.

"I think I've played in enough big matches -- Davis Cup semis and finals -- in Australia to be able to handle the situation," he said.

"I try to thrive on it more and use it more as a positive than a negative.

Hewitt has been in great form leading into the first grand slam of the year. He reached the quarter-finals of the Australian hardcourt championships in Adelaide last week then won the Sydney International for the fourth time in six years beating Czech qualifier Ivo Minar 7-5 6-0 in the final.

"I feel physically strong at the moment. I've come through some tough matches this week and I'm feeling confident where my game's at," he said.

"But grand slams are different as well, playing over five sets. You really just have to focus on one match at a time so that will be my mindset next week.

"Very rarely do you go through two weeks of a grand slam and every match is comfortable so it's a matter of getting through the tough matches and then trying to get on a bit of a roll."

Hewitt camp in feud with officials
By Andrew Webster
January 16, 2005
The Sun-Herald



Lleyton Hewitt begins his Australian Open assault tomorrow but another battle is raging - between Team Hewitt and tournament director Paul McNamee.

Hewitt rounded off his open preparation with a 7-5, 6-0 victory over Czech Ivo Minar in the final of the Sydney International at Homebush yesterday, but behind the scenes, the Hewitt camp has been drawn into a bitter factional war that has divided Australian tennis on the eve of its showpiece event.

Tennis circles were abuzz during the week with news of a heated mobile phone conversation between Hewitt's coach Roger Rasheed and McNamee about the Melbourne Park playing surface.

During the call, Rasheed is believed to have told McNamee his job was on the line.

"Who told you that? The IRA?" Rasheed asked when The Sun-Herald contacted him.

While Rasheed would not confirm or deny he had spoken to McNamee, he said the Hewitt camp had little to do with the Australian Open chief executive. "We don't have a relationship [with McNamee]," Rasheed said. "I don't care if we do. Paul will do what's best for him and we'll do what's best for us."


McNamee has been reluctant to comment on the feud enveloping Tennis Australia and could not be contacted yesterday.

The drama flared when Hewitt labelled the Melbourne Park surface "cowshit" and when his sister Jaslyn missed out on a wildcard to another Australian, Monique Adamczak, despite having a higher ranking.

But the acrimony runs far deeper than spats about sticky surfaces and wildcards. It extends from a bitter rift that has engulfed Tennis Australia in the past six weeks.

Newly appointed TA board member Peter Ritchie and former and current Davis Cup captains John Newcombe and John Fitzgerald are leading a push for a drastic overhaul of tennis administration in Australia after a damning government-backed report released in early December.

Ritchie helped pressure Tennis Australia chairman Geoff Pollard into relinquishing his role as chief executive and said publicly that McNamee should not be his replacement. Ritchie has also publicly backed Fitzgerald as the director of player development.

Fitzgerald has said he would like to combine the job with his role as Davis Cup captain but many at Tennis Australia believe the two positions would be incompatible.

Hewitt has gravitated towards the Ritchie faction because of his allegiance to Newcombe and Fitzgerald through the Davis Cup.

"Lleyton's a valuable pawn in all this," a Tennis Australia insider said. "Lleyton would prefer to have someone in place who is more favourable towards him when he comes to play the Australian Open. But those behind this push aren't stupid - there's a lot to gain in having the country's best player on their side."

Some at Tennis Australia believe Hewitt wants to align himself with officials more sympathetic to his cause than McNamee as he was angry that he had not been consulted on the playing surface.

"It's a very good surface," Pollard said. "Rebound Ace has been able to tweak its surface a little this year and we're quite comfortable with it. It would appear we haven't done enough for what Lleyton wants."

Hewitt has directed several barbs at the tournament boss, who is widely credited with transforming the Australian Open during his 10-year tenure. Apart from declaring that he's "had a gutful" of trying to convince McNamee to quicken the surface, Hewitt is believed to have incensed McNamee when he bypassed this year's Hopman Cup, which McNamee also runs, and dismissed it as an "exhibition".

Federer helps Lleyton take his game to new heights

By PAT RAFTER
dailytelegraph.news.com.au
January 15, 2005

ROGER Federer is the best thing to have happened to Lleyton Hewitt's tennis.

Although Federer has beaten Lleyton six times in a row and looks almost unstoppable for the Australian Open, Lleyton is one of only five chances to win the title, in my opinion.

Lleyton is in the mix because he has been forced to take his tennis to a new level since Roger went past him.

Federer has given Lleyton a new lease on life. There were times when Lleyton had become bored; he was not getting challenged and he got complacent.

Over the past 18 months, Roger has stepped up to another level and he's made Lleyton move with him in an attempt to keep up.

Roger is stronger at the moment and he'll be keen to keep it that way, and that's why I am not envisaging an upset at Melbourne Park over the next fortnight.

Lleyton understands that once you get a grip on your rivals you don't want to let it go, and if Roger doesn't let go he's going to be hard to beat for a very long time.

Technically, he's already the best player I've seen. If he stays fit, and he maintains his grip, he will go down as one of the greatest of all time.

The Australian Open form is always hard to line up because there's not many results to judge it by.

But if you went on what happened last season, how can you go past Federer? He looks nearly unbeatable going into the tournament.

But there is a small group of guys who can stop him.

It's going to be really important for Lleyton to get through the first three or four matches in the first week as quickly as possible.

The same goes for Federer and the other top guys like Andy Roddick, Carlos Moya and Joachim Johansson. Nobody can afford to suffer and then expect to step it up, especially if it gets hot.

Jim Courier believes that if Federer is to be beaten, it's going to happen early and I think that's a really good call. Fabrice Santoro in the first round won't be easy.

The last thing you want is for Federer to get settled, cruise through the first week and then get into the last couple of rounds feeling fresh and strong.

If he cops a couple of tough matches in the heat early on, he's going to find it difficult.

If Lleyton can get over Arnaud Clement in the first round and avoid going into the second week with heavy legs and he's feeling positive about his game, he's a good chance.

I like Roddick and the way he's playing, Moya's going to be dangerous and Joachim Johansson – if he's fit – is going to be one of the top chances.

Marat Safin is dangerous, but it will depend totally on how he wakes up and how he is mentally.

It's really hard to look too far outside the top five.

The heat again threatens to be a major factor and will penalise the people who haven't acclimatised.

If they have done the work and have the fitness, they can definitely do well because this tournament really sorts people out quickly.

The heat can be severe and the reflective nature of the Rebound Ace surface can make it 10 times worse.

On the subject of the surface, I think Lleyton has made a good point. He is definitely justified on the point of trying to get it right for the Aussies.

At the same time, I can understand Paul McNamee saying he wants to be as impartial as possible, but the other tournament directors don't always think that way.

I would think it's in McNamee's best interests to look after the Australians.

Alicia Molik is playing well enough to win the Australian Open.

It is a big call, but she's probably got the best all-round game out there.

If Alicia can keep her form going, I think she can win the whole thing.

It is amazing what she has achieved over the past year.

She's confident out there and, although she doesn't serve-volley a lot, her volleys are as good as you will find in the game.

As with the men, I don't expect the women's champion to come from outside the obvious contenders.

Lindsay Davenport returns as the world No. 1 and that's a tremendous tribute to her.

Much interest will focus on the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena. They didn't win a major last year and there are questions about how committed they are to the game.

The Australian Open will go a long way to providing some of the answers.

Former world No. 1 Pat Rafter will write for The Daily Telegraph during the Australian Open

Hewitt and Agassi power up

By LEO SCHLINK

January 13, 2005

EVERGREEN Andre Agassi has followed a familiar path in his quest for a ninth major at next week's Australian Open.

He spent December and early January traipsing up "Heartbreak Hill" on the outskirts of his hometown Las Vegas under the direction of his close friend and trainer Gil Reyes.

Agassi uses the cruelty of the hill runs as a spur to finding early-season excellence, while building upper body power in his personal gym.

Reyes has been in Agassi's corner since 1990, transforming him from a Grand Slam nearly man to the winner of every major in the game.

Agassi has taken to the court this year weighing in at 74kg -- 5-6kg lighter than his playing weight of previous years.

The weight loss is a product of an even tougher training regimen than his usual rigorous preparation, and has Agassi feeling ready for an assault at Melbourne Park next week.

"Being down here feeling good physically is a great opportunity to have some magical things happen out there and that would be wonderful," he said.

While his weight may have fallen, the power behind his trademark ground strokes certainly has not, and he declared that his power-to-weight ratio was at a career peak.

"I don't want to compromise strength for the sake of being lighter or else it's just less of you and that's not what you need out there. You need to be strong, you need to be fit and you need to be able to get yourself around the court," Agassi said.

"Ten pounds [5-6kg] is even more substantial when you have to carry it around for five sets. It does make a difference.

"It's not about hitting the ball harder, it's about hitting your normal shot easier and that's what I believe being stronger offers you.

"You can do everything you've always done, you just do it with less margin for error. It means you can do it for longer."

The oldest man in history to hold the world No.1 ranking, Agassi is being followed along the strength plan by Australia's Lleyton Hewitt.

"In tennis, core stability is very important," Hewitt said of his 6kg gain over the past 18 months, under a plan devised by coach Roger Rasheed.

"If you're strong through your mid-section -- especially on a claycourt surface where you have to slide and hit the ball -- that's only going to help in the future.

"I think it's only a positive and I think that's one area that we've really tried to work on.

"I don't know if it has just happened all of a sudden within two weeks.

"It's been something Roger and I have really built up over the last 18 months or so.

"But it's probably showed more, I'd say, the last six months or so."

Hewitt believes his improved strength allowed him to thrive on the US summer circuit last season, when he won events in Washington and Long Island and reached the final of the US Open and Cincinnati.

"Greater power definitely helped me in the US summer, the way I played the Masters Cup at the end of the year."

Hewitt and Rasheed spent a week training in Sydney last month, when Hewitt practised for 2 1/2 hours in the mornings and then spent the afternoons in the gym, swimming, kicking footballs or running on the beach, where he also paddled a surf ski.

Rasheed believes Hewitt's tennis and fitness will improve with a mixture of activities.

Still one of the quickest players on tour, Rasheed hopes Hewitt's improved power will allow him to finish points more easily and, in time, make him more effective on all surfaces, including European clay.

Hewitt heaps praise on coach
By Darren Walton
January 9, 2005

LLEYTON Hewitt has declared rock-like coach Roger Rasheed the foundation on which to build his Australian Open campaign.

As Hewitt casts his steely eyes on a breakthrough national title at Melbourne Park this month, the 23-year-old credited Rasheed as a major player in his return from world No.19 to the game's top echelon.

Hewitt's decision to split with fellow South Australian Jason Stoltenberg after the 2003 French Open and appoint Rasheed, his former conditioner, as head coach raised eyebrows worldwide.

When their player-coach relationship opened with an inglorious first-round exit from Wimbledon when Hewitt was the world No.1, top seed and defending champion it was the little-known and unproven Rasheed who copped most of the flak.

But Hewitt insists the stinging criticism of his new right-hand man was unfair and undeserved.

"It was obviously tough at the start when people wanted to hop on and stick a few knives into his back and it's been fantastic to see us bounce back well over the last year and a half and just keep the knockers down for a while," Hewitt said as he prepared for his title defence at the Medibank International in Sydney this week.

Hewitt was lavish in his praise of Rasheed, saying the meticulous 35-year-old's work ethic surpassed even that of Stoltenberg and former coach Darren Cahill, who guided the South Australian counter-puncher to his maiden grand slam title and the world No.1 ranking in 2001.

"I've really enjoyed every minute I've spent with Roger. I love his company. He's a great guy, a great guy to have around and he's really been a pleasure to work with," Hewitt said.

"He's worked harder than any other coach that I've ever trained with and I can just see it in his eyes - every time I go out there to play how much he wants me to do well out there and just succeed."

The former Wimbledon and US Open titleholder said he shared a telepathic understanding with Rasheed, a former touring professional himself.

"I think quite often we both have the same ideas going through our minds when we're out there. You don't have to talk about," Hewitt said.

"When it comes to shot selection that we've spoken about off the court so many times, he knows what I'm thinking quite often when I'm out there on the court.

"We have a great relationship. We speak a lot off the court about what I'm feeling on the court and it's really paid off well."

Hewitt will once again rely on Rasheed and his close-knit family to help galvanise him during his high-pressured bid to end the 29-year foreign domination of the Australian Open.

Rasheed believes, contrary to some opinion, Hewitt's omnipresent parents play an important role in their son's career and do so without overstepping the mark.

"Glynn and Cherilyn, they come along, they watch and they support as a family unit and we do what we're there to do," he said last month.

"I'm there to coach him, he's there as a player to produce a product on the court and we do our business and they're there as a support system.

"A lot of people have talked about that and whether it's good or bad and (that) they do follow the tour around a bit. I think it's a positive.

"It's a lonely existence out there and when Lleyton's playing in countries where the home crowd is against you and going for the other player, if you've got a little entourage that is behind you, you can look up there and know you've got the support when it's getting a little ugly on the court.

"That's what he enjoys and we think it works well."

Hewitt will open his quest for a fourth title in Sydney tomorrow against Slovak Karol Beck and will head to Melbourne next weekend hoping to become the first local to win the Australian Open men's championship since Mark Edmondson in 1976.

AAP

Tangling with 'Team Hewitt'
January 8, 2005
http://www.theage.com.au/news/TennisFeatures/Tangling-with-Team-Hewitt/2005/01/07/1104832304620.html?oneclick=true

Lleyton Hewitt's tilt at the Australian Open began this week with a serve at tournament organisers. As Eleanor Preston reports, siege mentality is a common state for tennis' "Griswalds".

You had to feel for Tennis Australia president Geoff Pollard this week as he tried to find a polite way of reacting to Lleyton Hewitt's singeing attack on the court surface at Melbourne Park, where the Australian Open will begin on Monday week.

The last thing Pollard needs is to have the nation's No. 1 player (and his entourage) as an enemy ahead of the first grand slam event of the season, or to have an unwinnable argument with Hewitt on how fast the Rebound Ace courts may or may not be playing this year.

Whatever Pollard does, though, it seems there is little he can do to placate the feisty South Australian.

Hewitt feels he should have been consulted when the court surface was being laid to make it more sympathetic to his playing strengths, and has decided he has had a gutful of his needs being ignored.

It's a lot like the time he had a gutful of the ATP, the governing body of men's tennis, who tried to fine him $135,000 after accusing him of failing to fulfil a mandatory interview request; or the time he had a gutful of the black line judge at the 2001 US Open, who called in favour of Hewitt's black opponent James Blake.

Hewitt has also had a gutful of the media, which, save for one or two carefully chosen journalists, he insists has treated him unjustly throughout his career.

Are you beginning to detect a theme?

Watching Hewitt in the player lounges, hotels and practice courts where he spends much of his time week-in, week-out on the travelling tennis circuit, it is hard to reconcile the snarling, cantankerous hard nut of popular perception with the smiling young man often seen joking around with his fellow players.

Staff on the WTA Tour, who got used to Hewitt travelling on the women's circuit to watch his then-fiancee Kim Clijsters, describe him as far more polite and unassuming than many less-famous hangers-on.

In the days when they were still an item, he could frequently be seen waiting dutifully for Clijsters, arranging transport or chatting to women players and coaches and doing his best to quietly blend in.

Hewitt's colleagues in the men's locker room do not just respect his talent and tenacity, they actually rather like him. Even foreign journalists lucky enough to snatch five minutes in a rare one-on-one interview report that he is eloquent and knowledgeable about the game he loves and respectful to fellow sportsmen and their achievements.

"I've listened to him in interviews and I think he speaks very, very well," says Tim Henman, one of Hewitt's many mates on the tour. "He's, you know, articulate and he knows what he's all about. He's really got a lot of respect for other players and the players of the past, if you like. He's definitely got a sense of the history of the game.

"A lot of players ask why he's got such a bad image and a bad rapport with the media. It's unfortunate, because he really isn't a bad guy. I'm sure he's partially to blame but I just wonder whether he's had bad advice or what, because I just don't think that's necessarily him. I've got nothing but good things to say about him."

Most of the fans who jostle for Hewitt's attention at tournaments would concur. He has happily signed autographs this week for the fans who flocked to Memorial Drive in Adelaide to see their home-town hero, even to the point where his new girlfriend, actress Rebecca Cartwright, has been forced to wait in the car for him.

Cartwright has been accompanied courtside this week by Adelaide AFL star Andrew McLeod, representatives from his agents Octagon and the everpresent Hewitt parents, Glynn and Cherilyn, who maintain what might politely be called an active interest in their son's career.

Other members of the usual Hewitt cheersquad are his best friend Hayden Eckerman, sister Jaslyn and her boyfriend, rising Swedish player Joachim Johansson.

Not many 23-year-olds take their mum and dad to work with them, but the Hewitts - known to many on the circuit as the Griswalds after Chevy Chase's travelling family in the National Lampoon movies - do not just watch his matches, they watch his practice sessions and are often present when he does coaching sessions with kids.

It is worth noting that both Pollard and Australian Open tournament director Paul McNamee both used the word "they", rather than "he", when responding to Hewitt's criticism of the Melbourne Park courts. It is as if Hewitt's career is regarded as a group effort.

Hewitt's parents even watch him watching other people play. A tennis journalist covering a relatively minor Fed Cup tie in Clijsters' home town of Bree (this, of course, was in the days when the pair were tennis' golden couple) was surprised to see Hewitt's parents waiting for a lift back to their hotel after one of Clijsters' practices.

The same journalist was even more surprised to see Mrs Hewitt and Mrs Clijsters, Kim's mother, heading off to London afterwards for a cosy shopping trip.

As the whole world knows, those days are gone and tittle-tattle on the circuit suggests that one of the reasons for the demise of the relationship was Hewitt's parents' disapproval of their decision to get married so young.

There was similar gossip around the time that Hewitt split from Darren Cahill, the coach who had taken him from the practice courts in Adelaide to being US Open champion and world No. 1. Locker-room chatter suggested at the time that Cahill had fallen out with Hewitt's father.

Cahill was replaced by Roger Rasheed, a long-time friend of the Hewitt family, in a move that was widely criticised because of Rasheed's perceived lack of experience of coaching world-class players.

The closeness of "Team Hewitt", their distrust and disdain for the media and, it seems, the organisations under whose auspices Hewitt earns his living, has led many in tennis to suggest that there is a siege mentality in the camp, an us-against-the-world chippiness that Hewitt needs to inspire his ferocious competitiveness.

It would not be the first time such tactics had been used to gee-up a sportsman. Gloria Connors used it to great effect on her son Jimmy, one of the few players in the history of tennis to be even more competitive than Hewitt.

When coaching him as a boy, Gloria would frequently remind young Jimmy that the rest of the world was out to get him and would fire winners past him in practice to remind him that no one in life - not even his own mother - would do him any favours.

Alex Ferguson, long-time manager of rampantly successful Manchester United, pioneered the same technique when persuading his players of the need to prove themselves to a hostile world.

Like Hewitt, Ferguson will not speak to journalists or media outlets who dare to criticise him or his team and is renowned in the English Premier League for whingeing about refereeing decisions that do not go his team's way.

"There are a lot of people who would not have a clue about me or my family," said Hewitt. "At the end of the day, I know the people who care about me, not only on the court but off the court.

"There have been times when I've struggled with a lot of media and the most disappointing thing is when people are always trying to find a negative, always trying to bag me and write negative articles."

There will be nothing negative about the coverage Hewitt will receive if he can channel all of that venom successfully into winning the Australian Open title in three weeks.

Until he does, you can bet that those poor folks at Tennis Australia will be trying to stay on the right side of a man who seems to be forever spoiling for a fight.

Eleanor Preston is a freelance journalist who covers the ATP and WTA tours.

Rafter tips Roger
By PAUL MALONE
09jan05
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,11886384%255E11088,00.html

PAT Rafter believes Roger Federer can become the greatest tennis player of all time.

"I never played Roger at his best, thank God," Rafter said.
"Federer has the opportunity now to go down as the greatest player of all time. To me, he's the smoothest player.

"Tony Roche will make Roger an even better player. But he already has the most complete game I've ever seen."

Federer's three grand slam titles in his $7.9 million 2004 took his total to four by the age of 23 -- 10 short of Pete Sampras's men's record of 14.

Rafter, 32, won all three matches he played against Federer in 1999 and 2001.

By that stage, Federer had played three full years on the tour and entered the top 20, but was yet to reach a grand slam semi-final.

Most of Rafter's career-defining battles were against Sampras and Andre Agassi, winner of eight major titles.

Yet even they did not make Australia's former world No. 1 marvel in the same the way Federer has in performances such as his two "love" sets against Lleyton Hewitt in last year's US Open final.

"There's a lot that makes up a winning formula in players," the dual US Open winner said.

"In terms of Pete and Andre, they all have different attributes that makes them champions in their own right.

"Confidence was the difference with Roger as a player, then and now. He's different to Lleyton. Lleyton believed in himself from the start and would rip your head off to win a match.

"Federer wasn't like that. He had to get the belief and his game has fallen into place, too."

Federer's winning streak against opponents ranked in the top 10 has risen to 23 matches.

The only man to win the Grand Slam twice, Rod Laver, said Federer was equipped to become the third man to achieve it, although the French Open, the one major title he was yet to claim, would be difficult.

Laver said Federer was "head and shoulders" above his rivals last year, but was at his most vulnerable in the first week of a grand slam event.

"He's got great talent and desire -- he's such an instinctive player," said Laver, who will come to the Australian Open for the event's centenary year celebrations.

"If he really gets into a tournament, he's so hard to beat these days. But there are a lot of good players and he might need to be playing well in the second or third round."

Laver declined to say how his game from the 1960s would have gone in a time-tunnel match against a 2005 model Federer.

"I'd say give Roger an old racquet, then we're looking at equal things," he said.

"You shouldn't compare players from different eras in my book. The amount of spin and power they get with the composite racquets now makes it even harder to compare people from this era with Don Budge (1938 Grand Slam winner)."

Rafter said there was good reason to believe world No. 3 Hewitt would go further into this month's Australian Open than he had done previously in a tournament in which his best result so far has been the fourth round.

"He's prepared better than any other year and I think he's really excited about the Australian Open," he said.

"Lleyton's really given himself a good chance. We'll wait and see how the (speed of the) courts pan out."

Laver said Australian Open officials were right to no longer tinker with the speed of courts to maximise Hewitt's winning chances, as European players criticised them of doing when Rafter and Mark Philippoussis were given faster conditions to win at Melbourne Park.

"You shouldn't do it to prove a point and get your player a win, which some tournaments have done in the past," he said.

"It has to be level for everyone, and I thought Rebound Ace was a fairly good court anyway."

Agassi, 34, a four-time Australian Open winner with a determination for off-season training some of his contemporaries have lacked, has accepted he needs to lift his performance level to challenge Federer.

Agassi lost both his clashes with Federer in last year and has an unusual complaint about the Swiss star's effect on men's tennis.

"Most of the time he's making it look too easy to enjoy," said Agassi with a smile.

"His biggest weapon is his forehand and his movement. He's a really explosive mover and his forehand's just a nasty shot.

"He does a lot of things really well and he does a few things really great."

Woody backs Hewitt at Open
By Dan Oakes
Adelaide
January 9, 2005
http://www.theage.com.au/news/Tennis/Woody-backs-Hewitt-at-Open/2005/01/08/1104832356229.html


Twelve-Time grand slam doubles winner Mark Woodforde has strongly backed Lleyton Hewitt to put his Australian hardcourt championships disappointment behind him and take the Australian Open by storm next week.

Hewitt's preparation for the Open was knocked off course when he crashed out in straight sets to American serve-volleyer Taylor Dent in the quarter-finals. Dent will now play Sweden's Joachim Johansson in today's final.

But Woodforde, the Adelaide tournament's director, said Australia's world No. 3 was mentally stronger than he had seen him and that the shock loss to Dent did not point to more fundamental problems with Hewitt's game.

"I don't think I've seen him as relaxed before in other years," Woodforde said. "He seemed very confident of how he's played this week, even though it was a loss last night. I think he's maturing now."

Woodforde also stuck his neck out and predicted that the one-time US Open and Wimbledon champion would put in his best performance at Melbourne Park, where he has not progressed beyond the fourth round.

"I would be very surprised if he doesn't better his best result. I would be shocked if he didn't pass the fourth round," Woodforde said.

Hewitt said after his loss that he had had three rounds of valuable match practice at Memorial Drive and that he had been hitting the ball well in training, so he was not pressing the "panic button" yet.

"When you've been No. 1 in the world for a couple of years and you've won a couple of slams or whatever, you look at the big picture and what motivates you and that's the grand slams, and Melbourne's the one for me of any of the four," he said.

Hewitt heads next to the Sydney International, which he has won three times.

Mark Philippoussis was included in the draw, but if he declares himself fit to play despite injuring his groin muscles in Perth last week, he faces a tough task against fourth-seeded Romanian Andrei Pavel in the opening round.

Philippoussis has requested a late start to the tournament after injuring his groin last Wednesday.

Of the other Australian men, Wayne Arthurs drew Italian Filippo Volandri first up, while fellow wildcard Todd Reid will take on fifth-seeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez.

Alicia Molik's Australian Open preparations received a boost when she was handed a relatively trouble-free draw. The sixth-seeded South Australian will meet Italian Francesca Schiavone in the first round and has landed on the opposite side of the draw to world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport, the only player in the world's top six that Molik hasn't beaten.

Hewitt speaks about new love
By Jaime Morgan
January 7, 2005
http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,11875372-23216,00.html


IT was hard to decide who was the star at last night's Next Generation Hardcourts championships.

While top-seed Lleyton Hewitt was earning enthusiastic hometown applause on the court, his new girlfriend, Home and Away star Bec Cartwright, seemed to be the crowd favourite off it.

Flanked by Hewitt's entourage, including Adelaide Crows champion Andrew McLeod and coach Roger Rasheed, Cartwright cheered on her new beau from Memorial Drive's southern stand.

Despite a few looks between the pair, the world No.3 didn't disappoint his fans with a resounding 6-1 6-4 straight sets win over Argentinian Agustin Calleri.

Arriving in Adelaide just in time for Hewitt's match yesterday, Cartwright cut a striking figure in a white singlet-top and black pants.

After the match, Hewitt said he was happy to have played well for Cartwright.

"She hasn't seen too many tennis matches so it was nice to get out there and not get off to a slow start," Hewitt said.

"I don't know how much she knows about tennis but it was good to come through with flying colours."

Hewitt also spoke of his break-up with Belgian tennis star Kim Clijsters last October.

"I think I was as mentally tough as I've ever been," he said.

"I felt like I handled the situation both on and off the court extremely well. I felt like I needed to."

Cartwright and Hewitt left together about an hour after the game, chauffeured by McLeod in his black Jeep Cherokee.

While Hewitt was happy to sign autographs for the large crowd of fans, Cartwright settled for a quick "hello" before jumping in the car.

Herald Sun