Lleyton will be back soon! April 23

Lleyton Hewitt slid into the 2004 French Open on the red clay of Roland Garros with a ton of matches under his belt, nothing if not match tough. This year, he'll be nothing if not fresh. Hewitt has been home, not away.

Australia's world No. 2 faces an extraordinarily tough task to lift the Musketeers Cup at a venue where winning one point can be torturous enough, let alone slogging your way through seven matches against opponents who are fit enough to run a marathon.

The list of contenders is long, with Argentina fielding its battalion of specialist baseliners, including 2004 runner-up Guillermo Coria and the champion, Gaston Gaudio, and another large Spanish contingent led by the closest thing tennis has to a runaway train, Rafael Nadal.

The big guns have been working towards the French Open in the European claycourt season and the swashbuckling Nadal is the standout performer.

Hewitt, who lost in straight sets to Gaudio in the quarter-finals last year, has taken a different route, training at Homebush Bay in Sydney and ensuring he will arrive in Europe early next month with energy to burn. He'll need it.

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Advertisement"It's probably the toughest tournament there is, the French," Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald said.

"Physically, it has that cumulative effect. You play these tough matches against these tough claycourt players from South America and Spain and there are so many of them.

"You get past one of them and there's someone else waiting for you in the next round. You beat Guillermo Canas and Gaudio is up next, then Coria, then Carlos Moya. It never ends.

"It's a tough physical test, but Lleyton can win it. He loves being challenged. He's been amazing us for years. Even when he was a kid, he did some incredible stuff.

"When he was 15, he qualified for the Australian Open. That's practically unheard of. I'd never say anything is beyond him."

Last year, Hewitt contested seven tournaments and 22 matches between Australia's Davis Cup tie against Sweden in February and the French Open in May.

This year, he has played only one event since his almost superhuman effort to reach the Australian Open final, followed by another Davis Cup tie against Austria. His most recent match was on March 7, when he lost in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 to world No. 1 Roger Federer in the final at Indian Wells.

His return to the ATP Tour will be on May 9 at Hamburg.

Although Hewitt hasn't played much, he has played magnificently this year to remain the world No. 2.

He reached the quarter-finals in Adelaide in January before winning in Sydney, reaching the final at Melbourne Park, winning his only match against Austria and then reaching the decider at Indian Wells. His win-loss record on tour this year is 18-3.

Hewitt will follow his Hamburg appearance with the World Team Championship in Dusseldorf from May 15, before getting his shoes dirty at Roland Garros from May 23.

Life's a beach in lovebirds' $4.5m pad

By LEO SCHLINK

April 8, 2005

THIS is the swish new Sydney love nest for Lleyton Hewitt and Bec Cartwright.

The couple, engaged to be married, paid an estimated $4.5 million for the seaside property on exclusive Palm Beach.

The sale was negotiated last week through agents Raine & Horne.

Hewitt, who will commute between Adelaide and Sydney when not on the international tennis tour, is expected to soon move into the house with Cartwright.

The pair announced their engagement after a whirlwind romance the morning after the world No.2 lost the centenary Australian Open final to Russian Marat Safin in January.

A Raine & Horne spokesman said the property offered "great views of the beach and the Pacific Ocean".

It is understood Home and Away star Cartwright already owns an apartment in the area.

The purchase boosts Hewitt's property portfolio to about $20 million. The Wimbledon and US Open winner paid $3.2 million for a lakeside house in Adelaide, which he currently shares with Crows footballer Andrew McLeod.

He also owns three vacant seafront blocks, valued at more than $1 million each, at Tennyson in Adelaide.

And he has outlaid a reputed $8 million for the penthouse suite of the luxury Yve Apartments on Melbourne's St Kilda Rd.

Hewitt's property expansion also has Lleyton Hewitt Marketing Pty Ltd opening an office in Toorak Rd.

Hewitt has appointed former Cricket Australia official Rob Aivotaglou as his personal manager.

Hewitt will travel between Adelaide and Sydney to team with coach Roger Rasheed.

No date has yet been set for his wedding to Cartwright, who has a $220,000 engagement ring.

Hewitt was previously engaged to Belgian tennis star Kim Clijsters.

Hewitt set for Home and Away role
20:06 AEST Fri Apr 8 2005

Australian tennis champion Lleyton Hewitt will make his acting debut, joining his fiancee Bec Cartwright in the cast of the Seven network's Home and Away.

Lleyton will play himself, or as Seven's head of drama John Holmes puts it, a "mysterious" man who appears on the set of the Summer Bay diner in two episodes to be aired in June.

The role may even become permanent.

Mr Holmes said the tennis ace would bring considerable star power to Home and Away and Hewitt may even be offered a full-time role.

"I think you would have to say Lleyton Hewitt at the moment is one of the hottest tennis players in the world," Mr Holmes told Today Tonight.

"He's a charming guy to meet.

"When he's in front of the camera, there's a quality there that comes at you and you obviously see that when he is in his element on the court.

"He's full of confidence and that confidence comes straight through."

Pairing him with Bec Cartwright on set was a natural match and when they meet on the set, the moment would be "electric", Mr Holmes said.

"You would be stupid to pass an opportunity putting them together on the small screen and that's been granted."

"If Lleyton Hewitt wanted to be in Home and Away, we could probably squeeze (in) a role for him," Mr Holmes said.

"Maybe once the tennis is finished, maybe then he'll come along."

Lleyton and Bec plan dash to orphanage
Luke Dennehy
06apr05

LLEYTON Hewitt and Bec Cartwright will visit the site of the planned orphanage they will help build in Cambodia after Wimbledon this year.

Cartwright has been granted special leave by the producers of Home and Away to attend Wimbledon and the orphanage site, which is in a remote part of northern Cambodia.

The engaged couple will raise money for the project as ambassadors for the AIDS Trust of Australia.

Cartwright has already donated $41,000 from her appearance on Dancing With The Stars.

The couple also donated what was believed to be a six-figure sum from interviews they sold to New Idea and Channel 7.

The CEO of AIDS Trust Australia, Terry Trethowan, said the current orphanage housed 62 children affected by HIV-AIDS. Conditions are clean but very poor.

He said most days, the children were fed a minimal serving of fish and rice.

"The money raised will help build accommodation, play areas, vegetable gardens, and a school to skill the kids up," Mr Trethowan said.

The AIDS Trust will host a cocktail function in the couple's honour in Sydney next Monday.

Hewitt is preparing to film a cameo role on Home and Away this week.

Cartwright is favourite to take out the Gold Logie at Crown casino on May 2.

Nominations for the Logies are to be announced on Monday.

She faces stiff competition from John Wood, Bridie Carter, and multiple winners Georgie Parker and Rove McManus.

Split toenails ground Lleyton
By Leo Schlink
March 23, 2005

LLEYTON Hewitt could be sidelined for up to six weeks with a toe injury.

The world No.2 yesterday withdrew from the rich Nasdaq-100 in Miami after severely injuring toes on his right foot in Indian Wells last week.

Plagued throughout his career with feet problems - a legacy of pounding hardcourt baselines around the world - Hewitt will undergo minor surgery.

It is understood some of his toenails have lifted and split because of the lack of give on hardcourts.

Andre Agassi was unable to take to the court against Hewitt last week because of a similar problem.

Hewitt returned to Australia yesterday to receive treatment from Davis Cup doctor David Brooks. He aggravated the problem during a tight three-set semi-final victory over Andy Roddick - now the most likely beneficiary of his absence from the tour.

While the Australian extended his rankings gap over the American by reaching the Indian Wells final, he has now left the door ajar for Roddick to reclaim the world No.2 position.

Hewitt leads by 450 rankings points in the entry system - 4305 to 3955 - but a long lay-off will allow Roddick to close quickly.

The Australian Open finalist is not expected back on tour until the Hamburg Masters series in May.

He will use the German claycourt event to prepare for the Arag World Team Cup in Dusseldorf ahead of the French Open. He will then lay siege to a second Wimbledon title.

Apart from helping Australia to a 5-0 Davis Cup thrashing of Austria in Sydney, Hewitt has been in superb form this season.

Assessing his current form to be the equal of that he produced during a two-year stint as world No. 1, he has built an 18-3 record this season.

The right-hander has contested just four events, reaching three finals.

Beaten in the Adelaide quarter-finals by Taylor Dent, Hewitt won a fourth Sydney crown before losing the Melbourne Park final to Marat Safin.

He was beaten at Indian Wells by nemesis Roger Federer.

Hewitt reached the third round in Miami last season.

YES, MY SON YOU DO HAVE MATCH POINT: (by Elissa Doherty): Adelaide Sunday Mail MARCH 13

Tennis star Lleyton Hewitt's parents have publicly thrown their support behind his engagement to soap star Bec Cartwright, describing the romance as "like magic".
Fresh from a trip to Sydney to meet Bec's parents, Glynn and Cherilyn have told of their joy at the upcoming marriage, and affection for their son's new fiancee.
They revealed one of Australia's most anticipated weddings would most likely be a private, no-media affair in Bec's home town of Sydney.
"To see the two of them together ... they are besotted with each other," Glynn said.
"It was his decision of course, but we are fully behind it."
Lleyton confided in his parents two weeks before he planned to propose but Glynn said they were not aware he would "definitely" pop the question the night he lost the Australian Open final.
Bec accepted a $200,000 diamond in January after a whirlwind courtship, which began shortly after both emerged from other long-term relationships last year.
Glynn and Cherilyn described the love affair as "fate" and said they had no concerns about the seeming speed of the nuptial announcement.
"This is magic" Cherilyn said. "Anyone can see that they love each other so much." In contrast, they said the couple's previous relationships had been "experiences" and agreed with recent comments by Lleyton's ex-fiancee Kim Clijsters that the breakup was "the right decision".
"We believe it was the right decision...it was fate," Glynn said.
It is unclear when the couple will exchange vows but Glynn hinted "we have some time to choose our outfits".
The pair were speaking at the launch of the South Australian version of 'TRIVIAL PURSUIT', in which bout Glynn - a former SANFL (aussie rules) footballer - and Lleyton feature.
They had returned from Sydney where they met their future inlaws at Bec's place for a barbecue and at Lleyton's 24th birthday dinner at the 'Summit Restaurant' overlooking Sydney Harbour.
"It was excellent, she's lovely, the parents are great, we are both on the same wavelength," Cherilyn said.
Their son's relationship has meant more time in front of the TV, watching soapie "Home and Away" again with "renewed interest"
Glynn said Lleyton had not seen the script for his role on 'Home & Away', expected to be filmed later this year but joked that it would "have to be a good script".

Our dream to help orphans

06feb05
ACTRESS Bec Cartwright has spoken of her deep love for tennis ace Lleyton Hewitt, their secret dream and her long-term career plans in her first revealing interview since their surprise engagement last week.

"It's been a crazy couple of days but, obviously, I'm very excited about the engagement," the popular Home And Away star said.

"I've had nothing but good feedback from all the people close to me which is what is important.

"Lleyton is an amazing person and so talented at what he does. He is very dedicated and has worked so hard to get where he is. He deserves every success."

Cartwright became engaged to Hewitt after he presented her with a near flawless four-carat classic solitaire engagement ring from Tiffany & Co. The ring, said to be worth more than $200,000, covers the width of Cartwright's finger and was made in New York.

The rare diamond was mined in Canada and cut to specific proportions to maximise its brilliance.

"I'm excited about (being engaged), so it's nice people know about it," she said in the exclusive interview earlier this week.

Yesterday, Hewitt and Cartwright celebrated their engagement with family and friends at Adelaide Hills restaurant, Maximilian's.

While approaches for an interview were politely declined, sports fan Craig Poulter was able to obtain Hewitt's autograph.

"I just felt it was really good of him to give me the time to sign an autograph when he was obviously having a good time with his friends and family," Mr Poulter said.

"He looked like he was having a great time and from the sound of their laughter, it's obvious they're all delighted."

The tennis superstar and his mates even offered Mr Poulter a boutique beer to try.

Another diner said guests included Andrew McLeod and Hewitt's coach Roger Rasheed most of whom arrived on a chartered mini bus.

She said the joviality spilled over into the speeches, which included a joking apology from "Mrs Shrek" and a tongue-in-cheek reference to McLeod as a "great housewife".

The diner said friends also paid tribute to the strength Hewitt had found after his "hard times" last year and noted his new attitude of life being too short to waste seemingly a reference to the speed of the engagement.

There has been such intense interest surrounding the engagement that Cartwright and Hewitt have sold the story of whirlwind romance to a TV station and magazine for a rumoured six-figure sum.

The money will help realise the couple's dream an orphanage for 62 children in Cambodia.

"We will be involved from scratch, starting off with the land, the building, and then feeding the kids. It will be unreal," she said.

Cartwright, who is contracted to play Hayley Smith in Home And Away until the end of the year, became passionate about helping orphans after visiting Vietnam at the invitation of the AIDS Trust of Australia.

"It was an eye-opener; it changed how I saw things," she said. "It really upset me. They were amazing, incredible kids with so much courage.

"I didn't know anything about AIDS, and I've learnt so much.

"What hurt me most was the discrimination - kids with AIDS weren't allowed to swim in the public swimming pools due to a lack of knowledge.

"After seeing this, I knew I could make a difference.

"It is a terrific feeling to be able to do this and I want to do more."

Before her engagement, Cartwright posed in a sexy photo spread for FHM magazine which goes on sale tomorrow. "I find it very hard to take myself seriously when I'm trying to be sexy," she said.

"But I am extremely happy with the FHM shoot. It really is so much more 'me' being in swimwear instead of underwear. My parents think the shots are great as well."

Hewitt and Cartwright first met at a charity tennis tournament in late 1999 but their relationship intensified two months after Hewitt's engagement to Belgian tennis player Kim Clijsters was called off last October.

 

The price of love? A home for Cambodian orphans
By Christine Sams
February 6, 2005


Bec Cartwright and Lleyton Hewitt will reveal intimate details of their engagement only for a price.

The couple have declared they are selling their story in a bid to help Cambodian orphans.

"My aim has been to build an orphanage in Cambodia," Cartwright told The Sunday Age last week, after she and Hewitt had sold their story to a women's magazine and Channel Seven for an undisclosed sum, believed to be at least $200,000. "Now it's all going to happen."

The 21-year-old actor has plans to directly fund an orphanage for 62 Cambodian children with the proceeds of her engagement story. She visited Vietnam on a personal holiday last year and has taken an active interest in South-East Asia ever since.

"My interest in this all started during that trip," she said. "It's been a real aim of mine to do something like this."

Speaking about her love for the Australian tennis champion, Cartwright said: "I just admire him as a person. He's done a great job to get where he is. We're very excited about it all, and my family is thrilled. There are great vibes all around."

Cartwright said the past 12 months had been one of the most important years of her life, not least because of her engagement, which reportedly involved Hewitt giving her a ring valued at about $200,000.

Cartwright was not wearing the ring when interviewed by The Sunday Age.

"In the last year I've really become a lot more focused on what I want to do and where I want to go," she said.

It is likely the newly engaged Cartwright will end her association with the Home And Away series this year to travel with Hewitt on the international tennis circuit. She may also have further acting training in the United States.

Cartwright has not visited Cambodia, but hopes to visit the completed orphanage with Hewitt.

"I'm certainly hoping to get there at some point," she said.

She is working with the AIDS Trust of Australia in setting up the project.

The establishment of a Cambodian orphanage is part of a grand global plan for the soapie star, who boosted her profile by winning Seven's Dancing With The Stars last year.

Apart from taking an avid interest in Hewitt's tennis pursuits, Cartwright will also hone her own professional skills. She will continue her acting training and will appear in a charity stage production of The Vagina Monologues in Sydney.

Cartwright said the theatre show, which has previously attracted such performers as Catherine Zeta Jones and Gwyneth Paltrow, was the perfect opportunity for her stage debut. "I wanted to set myself a new challenge," she said. "I'll be extremely nervous, because I only get one shot on the day."

She laughed off suggestions that some of her fans might be shocked at the content of the play, but admitted she would be running a few lines past her father, Darrel, before he sees it.

Cartwright is due to appear in The Vagina Monologues at the Sydney Opera House on February 16.

The one-off performance at The Studio will also feature an appearance by Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore.

The Warrior Returns

Lleyton Hewitt is back to his best and he’s gunning for glory
By Alix Ramsay November.
Tennis Life

It is strange how you never miss people until they are gone. When the new crop of Grand Slam champions emerged four years ago, Lleyton Hewitt was the first to establish himself at the top. For two years he set up camp at the sharp end of the rankings and with two consecutive Masters Cup victories in 2001 and 2002, he ended both seasons as No. 1.

Hewitt was not as talented as Roger Federer—then again, who is?—he was not as powerful as Andy Roddick and he was not as charismatic as Marat Safin. But he was good. And then we all forgot about him.

As 2003 began, Hewitt set his goals for the year. The list was short—it began and ended with the Davis Cup—but it was all that mattered to Hewitt. A proud Australian and a patriot through and through, he was willing to sacrifice his position in the new world order to bring the trophy back home.

At the same time Federer was preparing to make his move toward greatness, beginning with his first Wimbledon and Masters Cup titles, and Roddick was heading off on his marvelous summer that brought him two Masters Series titles, the US Open and, ultimately, the No. 1 ranking. That year, too, Juan Carlos Ferrero (remember him?) won the French Open and was crowned as the new king of the clay courts. Comparing Hewitt's game to those of the three new champions, Australia's favorite firebrand seemed lightweight.

It comes to something when to win the Davis Cup for your country—and to do it on home soil, to boot—is regarded as a failure. But apart from that particular piece of silverware, Hewitt collected just two titles in 2003 and his ranking had fallen to No. 17 by the Christmas break. That was the end of Hewitt, then, the sages cried. He would not trouble the big boys at the big events any more.

That was when we started to miss Hewitt. His tenacious, never-say-die, blood-and-thunder battles were sadly lacking in the mix at the top. Roddick was blasting people off court with that serve (with the exception of Federer, of course) and we missed Hewitt’s dogged insistence that the big man play another ball and think the point through. Federer was simply too good for everyone and we wanted some to become a thorn in his side, to make him work for his wins. Or, at least, we needed someone to try. And we rued the fact that there was no one to stir up the ATP with forthright opinions and criticisms. Hewitt, meanwhile, was languishing outside the Top 10 and was a forgotten man.

But you write off Hewitt at your peril. While the focus of attention was elsewhere, the wee man was on his way back. Starting off the year with the title in Sydney, it took the eventual champions to beat him at the Grand Slam events (Federer in the fourth round in Melbourne and the quarterfinals in Wimbledon, and Gaston Gaudio in the quarter finals in Roland Garros) before he dug in for battle at the US Open.

Coming through the summer hard-court season as the man to beat, he was still not given due credit. He got to the final in Cincinnati and went on to mop up the Washington and Long Island trophies. Ah, yes, the pundits said, but everyone of note is in Athens for the Olympics. It will be different when they return. And then they came back from Greece. And then Hewitt reached the final in Flushing Meadows. So much for pundits.

It was the same at the Masters Cup. When it came to the crunch, it was Hewitt chasing Federer for the top honors, not Roddick or Safin. The fact that the Swiss had beaten him with apparent ease throughout the year was no disgrace—Federer had walloped everyone for more than a season. But despite losing to Federer in Houston—and losing to the race for the No. 2 spot to Roddick—Hewitt had announced his return.

“I think I’ve had probably as consistent a year as I’ve ever had,” Hewitt said. “I lost to the winners of all four Grand Slams and making the US Open final again and putting yourself in a position to try and take out a Grand Slam title, that was obviously a huge bonus this year.

“I heard Cliff Drysdale talking, and he sounded like there was only two players playing the game. I know there’s been one stand-out for the last year and a half but if you look at the points, I think there’s a couple of us right up Andy’s butt at the moment.”

And as he headed home to Adelaide, Hewitt was making plans for the Australian Open. Federer may be streets ahead of everyone at the moment but Roddick and the rest had better watch their butt, their back and every other part of their anatomy—Lleyton is back and he means business