Roche backs Hewitt to snare Australian Open

Leo Schlink

December 10, 2007 12:00am

MASTER coach Tony Roche predicts Lleyton Hewitt can return to the grand slam winners' list as early as next month's Australian Open.

Roche is adamant world No. 21 Hewitt is ready to start the long climb back to major contention after this season failing to reach a grand slam quarter-final for the first time since 1999.

But Roche wants his charge to become more adventurous and less defensive.

"He's (Hewitt) not going to go away from his strengths, but it's important for him to add a little bit of variation to his game and be a little bit more aggressive, look to finish the points and utilise a few other areas of his game," Roche said yesterday.

"Just (being) not too predictable. He's been the No. 1 player in the world and he's won two slams and he's won the Davis Cup, so he does a lot of things right. But it's probably the time now in his career he just needs to add a little bit of variation to his game, and that's what he's working on." Hewitt has not won a major since Wimbledon in 2002, but he has been a regular late-round threat, twice reaching grand slam finals - most recently at Melbourne Park in 2005.

Asked what Hewitt's Open goal was, Roche replied: "To win it. When you're dealing with a world-class player who's been there, with that experience, obviously he wants to win the Australian Open.

"It's something that means a lot to him, and he's already got a Wimbledon and a US (title), so he wants to win his own Australian Open. It's been too long since we've had a winner here (Mark Edmondson in 1976).

"He's doing a lot of training off court and doing three hours a day on court, so the first part of the preparation has gone very well. The next part now is getting some good matches under his belt in Adelaide and Sydney for his preparation for the Australian Open."

Roche said Hewitt was on the cusp of the second chapter of his career and dismissed fears Hewitt's hunger had abated with marriage, fatherhood and sustained success.

"That's no problem with Lleyton being hungry. That's his great strength, and you'll never, ever lose that," Roche said.

"And there's no question that he's going to be so fit that the five-set matches in the heat are not going to be a problem."

Asked if Hewitt could return to his best form, Roche said: "Yes, most definitely."

Roche was in Melbourne to hit with members of the Optus Australian world junior tennis competition team.

Roche hit for an hour with Joey Swaysland, from Wagga, and Brisbane's Jason Kubler.

Hewitt's training torture
Article from: Herald Sun



Leo Schlink

December 05, 2007 12:00am

LLEYTON Hewitt is spending up to six hours a day steeling his body for a renewed tilt at the Australian Open title.

Hewitt, 26, has been ravaged by injury and fitness concerns since reaching the 2005 Melbourne Park decider and this year failed to reach a grand slam quarter-final for the first time since 1999.

But the South Australian yesterday declared he was on track to be the fittest he had ever been for the Australian Open after a series of searching workouts with coach Tony Roche

"I'm hitting every day with 'Rochey' for three hours," Hewitt said yesterday.

"I'd be spending about the same time in the gym each day.

"By the time the Australian Open comes around, I'd like to be fitter than I ever have been going into it."

Two years ago, Hewitt stunned the tennis world when he arrived at Rod Laver Arena carrying more muscle than ever before after an intensive strengthening program devised by then coach Roger Rasheed.

Since then, Hewitt's effectiveness has been compromised by ankle and knee complaints.

Recovered from an ankle problem which prematurely ended his season in Tokyo in October, Hewitt is in the throes of a brutal pre-season under Roche.

Hewitt conceded the training was tough.

"Rochey and I are hitting on my court every day and doing all the preparation for the Australian Open series (Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne)," Hewitt said.

"He's very tough and we've been spending a lot of hours getting things right.

"It's been great.

"Every day he's working with me on specific things.

"We're working on specific shots, specific tactics. There's a purpose behind every drill and I'm really enjoying it."

This year Hewitt reached the fourth round of the French Open and Wimbledon, the third round in Melbourne and the second round at the US Open.

He remains confident, however, of rebounding strongly at the Australian Open.

"Everything is good at the moment and I'm really looking forward to getting back to the Australian Open," Hewitt said.

"It's the one tournament I'd love to win."

 

MEDIA RELEASE  Wednesday September 12, 2007 

HEWITTS RESPOND TO TODAY TONIGHT 

Bec and Lleyton Hewitt express their disappointment and disgust at the attempts by Channel 7 program Today Tonight to discredit them for their involvement in the development of an orphanage in Cambodia by the AIDS Trust of Australia. 

Back in 2005, Bec Hewitt as part of her commitment from her appearance in Dancing with the Stars chose to assist the AIDS Trust as her charity and donate her monies from viewer phone calls to enable the purchase of land upon which the Hope for Children’s orphanage could be built. She followed this donation of $41,000 with a further $25,000 from an interview with Today Tonight in relation to her and Lleyton’s engagement. Both amounts have been confirmed by Aids Trust CEO Ross Smith as having been received.

An interesting fact is that when Bec’s previous management, who organized her deal to take part in the Dancing with the Stars, questioned lawyers from Granada Television the actual amount the charity would receive from the calls, he was told that after the telco costs all monies would be directed to the charity. A week later prior to the show airing, he was further advised that Channel 7 had decided to keep half of the monies previously determined for the charities, a fact that was never publicized. 

“I can’t believe that a television network that I gave such a large part of my life to for 7 years would make up such a story to try to discredit me and my family. It’s devastating that people that I have known and worked with are the same people involved in creating this rubbish story.” Bec Hewitt said.

“It is disappointing that this one particular program has made a number of personal attacks on the two of us. I went out of my way to help and promote Channel 7 and this is their way of saying thank you! ” 

“To have your honesty questioned in front of the country is a very low act” Lleyton Hewitt said. “To try to make a play on words so that a story can be fabricated but never approach you for your comments or right of reply, is not what I thought being Australian was about. I am sure that the public are smarter than what this show takes them for, and realize its just sensationalist journalism” 

Aids Trust CEO Ross Smith said today “Bec and Lleyton fulfilled all their commitments with us. Bec’s generous donation formed the foundation for us to build and operate the Hope for Children’s Home. It was always clearly understood that Bec would donate the monies to purchase the land, after which it was left to the Trust to raise the remainder of monies for the project. In fact Bec and Lleyton attended a number of fund raising functions to help assist the Trust with their objectives. The support they have given has changed the lives of nearly 100 children, and has been tremendous”.

An email to Bec from Terry Trethowan, the former CEO of the Aids Trust who now works at the orphanage, is attached as testament to the difference the Hewitts’ generosity has made. 

Bec and Lleyton’s manager David Drysdale said “This is why the majority of charity work Bec and Lleyton take part in is done away from the media scrutiny. If selected media are going to resort to this type of attack on celebrities helping others, then many will question future involvement. That only leaves charities and people in need more disadvantaged.”

Bec Hewitt 'devastated' by report

September 12, 2007 03:17pm

BEC Hewitt is "absolutely devastated" about a Channel 7 program to air tonight which questions her involvement in building an orphanage in Cambodia.

The TV actress wife of tennis player Lleyton Hewitt promised to contribute money to the Hope For Children orphanage, a project of The AIDS Trust of Australia.

Seven, while refusing to confirm that tonight's program raises questions about her commitment to the project, said "people can make up their own mind" after viewing the Today Tonight story.

"We've had a tour of the orphanage Bec committed to fund and met children with HIV who she promised to help," the program's producer Phil Goyen said.

Basically we're going to put all the facts and financials out there and people can make up their own mind. We've come to Cambodia to see exactly what's been done and who's done it."

Lleyton Hewitt's manager, David Drysdale, said today that Bec had donated $66,000 to buy land in Cambodia for the orphanage to be built.

Her commitments to the project were "absolutely" fulfilled, Mr Drysdale said.

He said the couple supported the cause together and Bec did everything she had promised to do.

"What Bec promised as part of her deal with Dancing With The Stars is that she would donate monies to the AIDS trust to enable them to purchase some land upon which the orphanage could be built," he said.

"So Bec donated $66,000 from two different commitments that she had which enabled them to purchase the land and then the AIDS Trust, through other fundraisers and so on, raised the money to build the orphanage and to run it."

Mr Drysdale said the Hewitts were ambassadors for the orphanage and appeared at fundraisers to help the AIDS Trust raise money.

"Bec and Lleyton were involved in some of the fundraisers and turned up at cocktail parties ... as ambassadors to ensure that monies were raised," he said.

Mr Drysdale said the Hewitts were disappointed by Seven's story, particularly as Bec Hewitt had worked for the network for many years.

"They're disappointed and pretty disgusted with where Today Tonight are going with it, and Bec's absolutely devastated that the television network that she used to work for has tried to do this to her."

The AIDS Trust of Australia has confirmed the Hewitts fulfilled their commitments to the orphanage.

 

Hewitt hoping new coach leads to better results

August 28, 2007 By Carl Dispoto PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) - Lleyton Hewitt is hoping to follow in the footsteps of Ivan Lendl, Patrick Rafter and Roger Federer in more ways than one. Playing in his first Grand Slam under the guidance of coach Tony Roche, who helped lead Lendl, Rafter and Federer to the top of the tennis world, Hewitt dominated his first-round matchup at the U.S. Open on Tuesday as he tries to regain former glory.   Hewitt's status has slid considerably since he was last ranked as the world No. 1 in June of 2003. He spent all of 2005 ranked among the top five, but injuries and age dropped the 26-year-old Australian as low as No. 21 this year.   "It feels like quite a while ago, I guess," Hewitt said of his days at No. 1. "In other ways, it doesn't feel that long ago. It's a strange feeling." Known for his physicality and brash demeanor on the court, Hewitt is slowly making a comeback and entered the U.S. Open as the 16th seed. He is seemingly rediscovering his game since joining Roche, a fellow Australian and Hall of Famer who twice was runner-up at Flushing Meadows. "The two weeks I spent with Rochey at home, there was a purpose to everything I was doing," Hewitt said. "It's good to get back to that. When you feel confident within yourself, you're happy with where your game is at and you enjoy it a lot more." The 63-year-old Roche has an impressive coaching resume following a successful singles and doubles career. He won the French Open in 1966 and finished as runner-up in five other Grand Slam appearances, including here in 1969 and 1970. Roche helped Lendl develop his grass-court game and coached Federer part time from 2005 until they parted ways in May. He will coach Hewitt during the Grand Slam and Masters tournaments in 2007 and 2008. Hewitt won his first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open in 2001 and has advanced to the quarterfinals seven consecutive years. He took his first step toward extending that streak with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Amer Delic in the opening round. Delic proved little challenge for Hewitt, who won an astounding 37 of 39 points on his first serve. He also benefited from repeated mistakes by Delic, who committed 39 unforced errors in a match that lasted just 97 minutes. "It makes it a lot easier when the body is going to hold up out there, not having nagging injuries every second week," Hewitt said. "I feel like I've been able to do what I've wanted to do. At the moment it's paying off. "The guy just gave me a nice beating," Delic said of Hewitt. "He's been around for a while and he's won a lot of big matches. I think he still has the capability of winning more big matches." However early matches have not been the downfall of Hewitt, who reached the the quarter and semifinals in Montreal and Cincinnati after hiring Roche only to lose to Federer in both tournaments. He is trying to join a growing group that is trying to wrestle Grand Slam dominance from Federer and No. 2 Rafael Nadal. "I believe that it's in me, for sure," Hewitt said. "I think I'm good enough to. They've been the dominant players in the Slams for years and no one has had a chance, really. That's what you keep striving towards, working for. Hopefully it's right around the corner." Hewitt would not have potential matchup with Federer at the Open until the finals, but could face No. 3 Novak Djokovic in the fourth round. No. 8 Tommy Robredo or No. 11 Mikhail Youzhny may be waiting in the quarterfinals and Nadal is a clear favorite to reach the semis. Any level of success at Flushing Meadows would merely be a stepping stone to a larger goal for Hewitt: winning the Australian Open. He has made no secret that his appearance in the 2005 finals in Sydney was one of the highlights of his career and desperately wants to be the first Australian to win the title since Mark Edmonson in 1976. But the Australian Open is still five months away and Hewitt can utilize that time to re-establish himself as one of tennis' pre-eminent players.

 

It's bye-bye bile as Hewitt learns to play the game

Richard Hinds
August 8, 2007

Page 1 of 2 | Single page
BY THE time Lleyton Hewitt left Australia on his latest quest to improve his world ranking on the US hardcourt circuit and challenge for a third grand slam title at Flushing Meadows, he almost certainly had some new supporters in his corner.

The AFL fans who had seen Hewitt talk with knowledge and passion about the game on The Footy Show. Listeners to the radio interviews in which Hewitt discussed with good humour his hopes of returning to the summit. The Mills and Boon tragics who heard wife Bec's description of the devoted husband and father on A Current Affair - so sweet that diabetics were advised to change the channel.

Perhaps even the reporters who had attended the press conferences where Hewitt announced his partnership with coach Tony Roche and promoted the forthcoming Davis Cup tie against Serbia, the once media-hostile Hewitt smiling and posing for pictures instead of scowling from beneath a sponsor's cap.

It has not happened overnight, but it has happened. The man who spent the best years of his career bunkered with his entourage spitting bile at critics he believed were persecuting him and his family has learnt he, rather than the media, can control public perceptions.

Which is easier for some than others. Easy for a squeaky clean hunk like Pat Rafter, who once admitted he deliberately avoided interviews because his image was so good anything he said could only make it worse.

As the Herald revealed at Wimbledon, where Hewitt for the first time did a commentary stint with Channel Nine, the 26-year-old's new management has wisely advised him he needs to get on the front foot. To reveal the quiet, thoughtful man spoken about in glowing terms by tennis insiders. What they call "the real Lleyton".

But unlike previous, grudging pay-for-quote media deals, that could not be done without a significant mind shift. Without an athlete whose propensity to shoot the messenger was as reflexive as his forehand volley realising the world was not against him. Perhaps even conceding that if the criticism that followed his misdemeanours was harsh, then he had it coming.

Credit from the tennis world goes to Hewitt's new manager, David Drysdale, a former Davis Cup team manager, who, before attempting to sell Hewitt, has put some store in rebuilding his reputation and perhaps even building a few bridges with the non-paying media. (Although there is clearly a fruitful relationship growing with Channel Nine.)

But if the machinations of Hewitt's apparent change of attitude fascinates media analysts and sports marketing experts, of far wider interest will be whether it has any impact on his game.

Many think Hewitt performs at his best when his back is against the wall. When the surface is unsuitable, the crowd hostile, the opponent disrespectful. When it is him against the world. That attitude was reflected in Hewitt's playing style. Camped behind the baseline, he was the ultimate counter-puncher. Like some post-apocalyptic cockroach, he would never go away. But in the tennis's new order, mere obstinacy gets you three sets and an early shower against Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Hewitt clearly needs to find a more attacking, more expressive - perhaps even a more joyful - game if he is to return to the top.

Roche will no doubt address the technical side. But by projecting a more positive attitude, by inviting the public to join him rather than daring them not to, perhaps Hewitt has already adopted the mindset needed to step inside the baseline and take a few more big swings.

The initial signs are positive. In the first round of the Montreal Masters, Hewitt beat Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, a good result against another former world No.1 who had been on the improve. Afterwards, the 21st-ranked Hewitt agreed he would have to raise his game to challenge Federer and Nadal. "They are not going to get any worse," he said.

Perhaps tellingly, rather than the customary us-against-them, Hewitt is engaging in a bit of "if you can't beat them, join them" in Montreal by playing doubles with Nadal, the Spaniard whose desire is every bit as intense as Hewitt's, but whose spirit is much more free.

And so an intriguing new phase of a compelling career has begun. A phase in which one of Australia's greatest sportsmen might yet become one of its most popular.

 ----------------

New coach, and approach, for Hewitt

By Joel Drucker
Special to ESPN.com
(Archive)
Updated: August 15, 2007, 1:37 PM ET

A tennis player competes by himself, but in many ways, he is an extension of those surrounding him. For former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, that's a potentially positive premise.



Hewitt's recently hired coach, Tony Roche, had split with Roger Federer this spring. At one level, joining up with Hewitt was a 180-degree shift for Roche. He had left tennis' reigning king -- a man with all the weapons -- to a deposed ruler with but a few holdings and a world ranking of 20 this week.



But in other ways, Roche's alliance with his fellow Australian was precisely in character. Federer and Hewitt each will eventually join Roche in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Both the Swiss and the Australian rank among the greatest clutch players of the 21st century. To be sure, Federer's dominance has been epic compared to the brief, boutique-like tenure at the top Hewitt enjoyed, a tiny window between Sampras and Federer.




Lleyton Hewitt is one of only four active players (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Marat Safin) who have won multiple Grand Slam titles.

Yet Hewitt's value on the tennis stock market could well be stronger than his ranking reveals. Though his only tournament title this year came at the Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas in March, in all of the Slams, Hewitt has competed with trademark tenacity. At the Australian Open, he lost a tight four-set, third-round match to eventual finalist Fernando Gonzalez. In Paris, he and Rafael Nadal took nearly three hours to complete a straight-sets battle in the round of 16, a repeat of an even longer match they played the year before at the same stage. And at Wimbledon, he advanced to the same stage, competing in a brutalizing 4-hour, 12-minute war versus Novak Djokovic, but going down 7-6 (10), 7-6 (2), 4-6, 7-6 (5).



As Djokovic said after that match, "I was aware of the fact that he's one of the most difficult players in today's tennis to play against on this surface. He won Wimbledon already. He knows what it feels like to play … big matches in front of the full stadium. I knew I had to be really 100 percent physically on the first place ready if I have any intentions of winning this match."



Hearing such praise from a man who's unquestionably the third-best player of 2007 vividly testifies to Hewitt's skill.



The addition of Roche to his corner is inspired. Tempting as it is to think that at age 62, Roche might be out of touch with today's game, his approach is classic: it never goes out of style. The man called "Rochey" is deeply beloved. Chris Lewis, a 1983 Wimbledon finalist, worked with Roche for four years and said, "Tony embodies the essence of the old-school Australian values and tradition: hard work and understatement."


Granted, Hewitt's on-court vocalizing doesn't make him a poster boy for understatement. But in some vital ways, he has changed much in the past couple of years. There was a time when the most visible people surrounding Hewitt were his mother and father. That this happened to coincide with his time as the world's best is but one part of what back then made him both effective and combustible.


Five years ago this week, Hewitt was ranked No. 1 in the world -- and riding a fast-paced river of emotion he may one day look back on with regret. Already distrustful of the media due to a series of misunderstandings with Australian journalists early in his career, as he advanced to tennis' pinnacle it was painfully clear that while Hewitt was a grand master in the art of competition, in matters of media and communication he was an infant. For journalists seeking to understand what made this great player tick, dealing with his management firm and parents was one royal pain in the butt.



The ATP knew how combustible things could get around Hewitt too. But the tour also had its obligations. Prior to each Tennis Masters event, one commitment calls for the major seeds to conduct a simple 10-minute interview with ESPN that's then cut up into short sound bites for airing during the week. But at the 2002 Tennis Masters event in Cincinnati, Hewitt emphatically refused to do the interview, triggering a series of threats, statements and potential fines that cascaded into Hewitt suing the ATP for defamation of character. Not until 2006 did the two parties settle. As Hewitt spent thousands of dollars in court fees, it was only natural to question his judgment. A little paranoia may be useful on the court, but to carry this into an epic struggle was more than a bit much.



During that 2002 blizzard, Hewitt's camp was horrific. His management firm was occasionally helpful, often elusive. Hewitt's father, Glynn, was exceptionally hostile toward journalistic inquiries. On at least one occasion, Hewitt's painful level of non-cooperation jettisoned a major national magazine cover story. It was too bad, because in many ways Hewitt's counterpunching style made him a fan favorite on the order of Jimmy Connors and Michael Chang. But back then, Hewitt seemed intent on making things exceptionally complicated.



Now he's cut the clutter to a minimum. It's encouraging to see that Hewitt's parents are far less visible, replaced by friendly wife Bec and daughter Mia. Add to that the power of Roche, and Hewitt appears to have his house in order more than he ever has.



"One big thing about Tony," Lewis said, "is that he's subtle but reality-based. It's all factual, it's all real. He'll command exceptional respect from Hewitt."


At 26, Hewitt remains a superb competitor, a man who will leave every ounce of blood on the court. Leave the whining to Marat Safin. For all that's gone on before away from the court, Hewitt will look back with no regret about what he did when he competed. With a respected new coach in his corner, he's out to prove once again that he'll leave nothing on the table.


Joel Drucker is based in Oakland, Calif., and writes about tennis for Tennis Magazine and The Tennis Channel.
 

Hewitt to go it alone at US open

By Bruce Matthews
July 28, 2007

A FAMILY commitment will prevent new coach Tony Roche from joining Lleyton Hewitt at the US Open next month.

Roche will remain in Sydney to await the birth of his youngest daughter's third child.

Tennis Australia has arranged for Darren Cahill to work with Hewitt and the other Australians at the championships in New York from August 27 to September 9.

Cahill, who will do TV commentary at Flushing Meadows, and Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald assisted Hewitt at the French Open and Wimbledon.

Hewitt relaxed with a round of golf on the Mornington Peninsula yesterday afternoon following the start of intensive training under Roche in Sydney.

"We've been working for the last week and half, a lot of hard work and hours on the practice court," Hewitt said.

"He has got some good ideas, which is great. Rochey's a tough taskmaster out there as well.

"But I enjoy hard work, feeling like I'm getting something out of the practice session every time I step on to the court.

"There are small things we're working on and, hopefully, it's going to pay off, not just in the next few months but later on, and I'm looking forward to the Australian Open. He will definitely do a lot towards the end of the year and getting ready for the Open. That's the main priority."

Fitzgerald said Hewitt could be right in contention for another US Open title and to take a shot at the Australian crown at Melbourne Park on the new hardcourt surface next January.

"It's very difficult not to have faith in him when you see what he can do," Fitzgerald said.

"I don't think he's far away and I'm delighted Rochey is involved with him. It's a great fit and there's no reason why he can't win another major and get back into the top five."

Hewitt keen to save Davis Cup grouping

• July 27, 2007 - 1:49PM
   

Spurred on by his painful fourth-round Wimbledon loss to top Serbian Novak Djokovic, Lleyton Hewitt is determined to save Australia from the Davis Cup wilderness when the two countries meet in September.

Australia must travel to Belgrade for the World Group playoff on September 21-23, with a loss meaning the 28-time champions - the second most successful country behind the US - would be relegated to the lowly Asia-Oceania zonal competition next year.

As well as world No.3 Djokovic, the Serbians boast the 48th-ranked Janko Tipsarevic and doubles specialist Nenad Zimonjic, and will host the tie on clay, with the 19,000-seat indoor stadium already sold out for every session.

Hewitt, who has been training for 10 days with new coach Tony Roche, described the clash as one of the toughest Australia had faced but was excited by the challenge.

"This is what Davis Cups are about, this is what you live for, causing upsets like this and I'd love nothing more than to knock them out and give ourselves another chance next year," Hewitt said.

World No.92 Chris Guccione or claycourt specialist Peter Luczak, ranked five places lower, will serve as Australia's second singles player, while Hewitt is set to partner Paul Hanley in the doubles rubber.

David Cup captain John Fitzgerald will decide the second singles player based on form in the week leading up to the tie.

"It's a big one for Australian tennis, in the situation we're in at the moment," said Hewitt, whose ranking has slipped to 21.

"All of our focus is just going to be trying to get back into the World Group for next year.

"I don't want to sit out the Davis Cup year, not (be) in the World Group. It just doesn't feel right so we've all got a lot of desire and fire to go out and try and get through."

The Australians have only fallen out of the top echelon once before, forced to beat Chinese Taipei in 1996 to reclaim World Group status, and found themselves in their current predicament after losing in the first round to Belgium in February.

Hewitt lost 6-7 (12-10) 6-7 (7-2) 6-4 6-7 (7-5) to Djokovic in the final 16 at Wimbledon in a match that was decided by a few key points.

"It was a tough one to look back on and I'm still a bit disappointed about it," he said.

"It was frustrating to lose that one and hopefully it will spur me on a little bit when I see him on the other side of the court in Belgrade."

The 26-year-old described his new coach as a "hard taskmaster" and felt that he was close to breaking back into the top handful of players in the world.

"It's been good, a lot of hard work, a lot of hours on the practice court and he's got some good ideas which is great.

"He's a tough taskmaster out there. I'm enjoying it though, I enjoy hard work and feeling like I'm getting something out of the practice session so hopefully it's going to pay off.

"(At) Wimbledon I came awfully close to beating the No.3 player in the world, so I don't feel like I'm that far away from it.

"You get a win against one of the top three of four players and it can all turn around and open the floodgates."

Lleyton Hewitt hires celebrated tennis coach Tony Roche July 18

 

 

Former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt has enlisted the services of celebrated coach Tony Roche in his bid to regain the men's tennis top ranking.

Roche, who formerly coached Roger Federer, Pat Rafter and Ivan Lendl, announced Wednesday his next task would be to help restore the fortunes of fellow Australian Hewitt.

Roche will accompany Hewitt to all ATP Grand Slam tournaments, as well as the majority of the Masters Series events, for the rest of this year and 2008.

Roche, who split with Federer two weeks before this year's French Open, believes Hewitt still has what it takes to win Grand Slams and regain the world's No.1 ranking.

"That's the goal ... I think we've got to shoot for the top," said Roche, who will first help Hewitt prepare for next month's U.S. Open. "I wouldn't be doing this job if I didn't think Lleyton had a chance of winning a Grand Slam."

Hewitt spent two years atop the ATP world rankings in 2001 and 2002, winning both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open during that time. But he has been unable to add a third major title in the years since.

"A lot has happened since then - he's got married, he's got a family and I think right now he's ready to challenge for the No.1 spot again," said Roche.

Hewitt, presently ranked 21st in the world, has been without a fulltime coach since splitting with Roger Rasheed in January.

Roche said winning the Australian Open would be the "real big goal" and believes Hewitt only needs to make minor changes to his game.

"I just think a little bit more variety," he said. "Not so predictable and also a little bit more aggressive. Also we'll be doing a lot of work on the serve."

Hewitt, who first worked with Roche as a teenager in the Davis Cup, said he is excited at the prospect of with him again.

"It's not going to be easy but ... I think (Roche) has got a lot of things to offer me, we both know what I need to do to get to the top of the game again and I'm looking forward to doing it," he said.

As a player, Roche won the 1966 French Open and shared 12 Grand Slam men's doubles titles with John Newcombe.

Hewitt eyes top 10 return by January

July 13 2007

LLEYTON Hewitt is prepared to accept some short-term ranking pain to facilitate the ambitious medium-term gain of a return to the top 10 by the time the first Australian Open on Plexicushion starts at Melbourne Park in January.

Hewitt's manager, David Drysdale, said the world No. 21 was intending to play only two tournaments before the US Open late next month — the Montreal and Cincinnati Masters — before a busy pre-Christmas schedule designed to position him more favourably in grand slam tournament draws.

The past two grand slam events have delivered top-four seeds Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the round of 16.

Drysdale also confirmed that Hewitt was likely to remain without a personal coach until at least September — but that is more a reflection of the success of his part-time reunion with Davis Cup coach Darren Cahill in association with captain John Fitzgerald than any cooling of interest in Tony Roche.

Hewitt returned to Australia on Monday for a probable four-week break from tournament play. He competed in Los Angeles and Washington early on last year's US hardcourt swing, for one quarter-final, but is conscious of a demanding Davis Cup qualifying tie in Serbia in September as well as the ranking opportunities presented by the fact he was sidelined through injury at the end of last year and thus has no points to defend after the US Open.

"Ideally, we'd like him to be in the top 10 by the Australian summer but that's going to depend on what happens in the US, with the Masters events and the (quarter-final) points to defend from US Open," Drysdale said. "But we'd certainly want him in the top 12 for the Australian Open. If you're 13-16, then you play Nos. 1-4 in the last 16, and you've always got the chance then of playing Roger (Federer) or Rafa (Nadal)."

Roche can expect an approach in the next few weeks to ascertain if and how frequently he is available. Also to be decided is whether an exclusive arrangement is preferable to one that includes Cahill, whose services are supplied by Tennis Australia when circumstances permit. Hewitt has been without a full-time coach since Roger Rasheed resigned in January.

"Obviously, we want to talk to Tony, but that may not happen until next week, and then we need to look at the whole picture. Tony probably doesn't want to travel too much, so I guess we don't want to put all our eggs in one basket," Drysdale said.

"Lleyton's been very happy with Darren and Fitzy, so whether we would go with Tony exclusively or whether we have some sort of coaching structure that still involves the Davis Cup boys and we look at the whole package together.

"I just think it's fantastic that Lleyton's got a better relationship through Craig Tiley with Tennis Australia that's enabling us to take our time to make a good decision instead of rushing into something we might regret in the long term."

Mark Philippoussis' absence from tournament play has been attributed to a back complaint, rather than continuing knee problems, and he is now plotting a qualifying attempt at the Masters series event in Montreal early next month.

Andre gives Hewitt French lesson

By Leo Schlink
May 27, 2007

ANDRE Agassi is behind Lleyton Hewitt's resurgence after the Aussie was invited to Agassi's home in February and trained with the American he had idolised since he was a kid.

The Las Vegas session was organised by the man who coached both Hewitt and Agassi to the world No.1 ranking, Australian Davis Cup coach Darren Cahill. Agassi's famed conditioner Gil Reyes was also involved in the meeting of superstars.

Hewitt's manager David Drysdale said the US Open and Wimbledon champion had been inspired by Agassi's attitude and advice.

"Lleyton has a renewed enthusiasm for tennis and part of that renewed enthusiasm is, I believe, because of the training session he had with Andre Agassi and Gil Reyes," Drysdale said.

"Lleyton has looked at what Andre did when he came back to the sport ranked around 140th in the world before he won more grand slam titles and got back to No.1 in the world.

"He saw the legend of Andre Agassi evolve and he looks at himself having a similar opportunity now. He looks at the top players, at Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and knows that's where he belongs.

"He knows he has four or five really good years left in him and he wants to make his mark, just like Andre did as an older player. I can see a lot of similarities between where Andre was and where Lleyton is now. I think over the phase of Lleyton's career, you will see the making of Lleyton's legend."

Agassi disappeared in 1997 as he struggled to come to terms with his divorce from actor Brooke Shields.

Bloated after over-eating and a lack of training, he dropped to No.142 in the world as memories of his three Majors from seven finals dimmed. But driven to succeed for a second time, Agassi regrouped to add a further five majors in an unforgettable closing chapter - with his last grand slam title coming at the age of 32.

Cahill's influence in Hewitt's rebirth cannot be underestimated, according to Drysdale, who has a long, positive connection with the man he now manages. He said Cahill's appointment as Davis Cup coach is a godsend for Australian tennis as it searches for its next champion.

And he believes the recruitment of Melbourne physiotherapist Ivan Gutierrez has been critical to Hewitt's recent excellent form in Hamburg and Portschach.

"The main thing we are trying to do with Lleyton at the moment is to get his body right," Drysdale said, pointing to the ankle, back and groin problems he has battled of late.

"We've taken those steps and Ivan has made a huge amount of difference. The fact we've got someone working week in, week out with Lleyton and someone who knows Lleyton's body very well has made an enormous difference. Ivan is brilliant.

"Darren Cahill has been a very positive influence on Lleyton through his role as Davis Cup coach.

"It began to turn around for Lleyton when Darren went with the team to Belgium for the first-round tie.

"Darren's helped a lot with Lleyton's confidence, with the belief he can go out there and beat the best. And he knows Lleyton's game very well."

Until last week in Hamburg, where he almost nailed the world's best claycourter Rafael Nadal, Hewitt had not made a Masters Series semi-final in three years. Now operating without a coach - a scenario likely to change with Tony Roche's imminent appointment - Hewitt exceeded Drysdale's expectations by reaching a second claycourt semi-final in Portschach.

"I really didn't expect the results he's had," Drysdale said. "But he expects, and wants, to win every time he steps on court. So, in that sense, what he did in Hamburg was not a surprise.

"My focus is make sure we get Lleyton's body right and if he's back in the top 12 by the end of the year, I'll be very happy.

"Once we get the body right, we'll get his coaching structure right. What that entails we are not sure yet.

"If we get the structure we want, I think 2008 is going to be a great year for him."

Roger Federer's shock decision to dismiss Roche has paved the way for Hewitt to hire the coach he tried to secure four years ago.

And it raises the opportunity for Hewitt to continue tapping into the Davis Cup support network provided by John Fitzgerald and Cahill while retaining Roche as a predominantly Sydney-based mentor.

For the moment, Drysdale is dealing with a happy, contented Hewitt.

He said, contrary to rumours, there has been no schism between Hewitt and his parents, Glynn and Cherilyn, who will not travel to the French Open or Wimbledon.

"It's fair to say Lleyton has taken a lot more control of his life, and that's not a negative on Glynn or Cherilyn," he said.

"They've got family commitments this time and they'll undoubtedly travel again, but they have travelled a lot over the years.

"Lleyton is travelling with Ivan and Callum (Beale, a fellow player) and he's very happy with Bec (his wife) and he's very happy with Mia (their daughter).

"He's just entering a new phase of his career and he knows there's still a long way to go for him.

"He wants to go out there and compete with the best and beat the best - and he knows he can. His enthusiasm for tennis has returned and he's hungry."

Sunday Mail (SA)

Reborn Hewitt draws line in the clay

* What makes Lleyton Hewitt grate can make him great again, writes Peter Lalor
* May 26, 2007

LLEYTON HEWITT is starting to get the mongrel back. He's starting to seethe and snarl and rattle cages again. He says he wants to prove those major titles and rankings of his youth are not just a distant memory, and there's a sense on the eve of the French Open that he might just be up for it.

Hewitt is standing on his own two feet for the first time. He is in Europe without a coach. Mum and dad are fading into the background.

There's a family to feed and an air of maturity that has been hard to find. After a prolonged and precious adolescence you can see he's growing up, that he's facing the world alone and most importantly he's starting to string the wins together.

At his best he's an insufferable opponent. He gets under skin, irritating and unnerving the man at the other end of the court. He is at the baseline but he's in your face and up your nose and then he's on his knees with wrist ####ed and lungs bellowing.

The French Open starts tomorrow and things are starting to come together. Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald has agreed to act as mentor in Paris. John Newcombe is in contact and will do what he can when he gets over for Wimbledon. Tony Roche is at home licking his wounds after a bust-up with Roger Federer, but there's a strong belief that given a month to relax he might be on board coaching. Despite whispers to the contrary the pair has had a strong relationship since Hewitt joined the Davis Cup team as a teenage orange boy.

Even when Roche was with Federer he was there if Hewitt needed a chat.

Hewitt has done better than expected this week at Portschacht, Austria, in a minor tournament that most of the leading players chose to bypass to rest up for Roland Garros.

But the 26-year-old is happy to be back winning matches after another extended injury break had the bookies at the start of the month offering 200-1 against him winning at Roland Garros.

It was, however, a loss that said most to observers about the South Australian's desire once again to shake up the comfortable upper echelons of world tennis.

Nadal beat Hewitt in the semi-finals of the Hamburg Masters last week but not without a scare. Hewitt was aggressive, determined and daring, keeping the ball low, rushing the net and stealing the first set from the champion who was on an 80- match winning streak on clay.

Newcombe was watching Hewitt in Hamburg and noted something he hadn't seen for some time.

"I could see the fire in the belly was there again. They were some good wins he had for the amount of tennis he played," Newcombe told The Weekend Australian.

Nadal noted his opponent had that old aggression back. "He made it very difficult for me," the world No.2 said.

Jim Courier had seen something similar in the Australian summer, noting "the drive" and "the venom" were back and if the body could hold together he might shake up the European season.

Hewitt's late run has lifted him into the top 16 seeds for the French Open, helped him dodge an early meeting with big guns Roger Federer and Nadal and placed him on the fourth line of betting with some local bookies. All this only a month after he found himself unseeded for the Rome Masters. The ignominy of that ranking reflects just how far the former world No.1 had fallen, but these have been tough years for Hewitt.

There's a sense that in the past five years Hewitt has gone from rattling to being rattled.

Of late there has been the knee, the back and the ankle. And if they weren't throbbing there was the pounding in the head caused by the lawsuits and bickering with almost anybody who crossed the cactus garden his parents had built around the family's prickly bunker. His attempt at an independent life derailed when Kim Clijsters left, but then got back on track when he married TV actress Bec Cartwright and they started their own family.

Hewitt himself says that the wind was taken from his sails by achieving so much so early. He grabbed the No.1 ranking when he was 20 and won Wimbledon at 21. The following year he got the gong as Young Australian of the Year and held on to the No.1 ranking despite being laid low by chicken pox.

But his success started even before that. At 15, he became the youngest qualifier in the history of the Australian Open. At 16 and ranked 550th in the world, he won his first major tournament. As a 17-year-old he beat Pete Sampras and sent a message up the ladder that he was not going to be pushed around.

He held the world No.1 ranking for 75 weeks straight before slipping to 17th in 2003. He has been back in the top 10 since, but injury and the distractions of his young family saw him slip to 20th last year.

Hewitt has pushed his way up the rankings again and Paris seems like it might just signal a new era. He played well there last year, reaching the fourth round, with no lead-up to speak of and reckons he can go further now he has rediscovered the hunger.

"You aspire to be the world No.1, to win a Grand Slam and to win the Davis Cup, and when I was 21 I had all three," Hewitt said this week.

For a while it seemed like that might be enough, but maybe it's the maturity that comes to a man when he becomes a father that has put his youth and career into perspective.

"I'd love nothing more than to win another Grand Slam, and I think I'm capable of it," he said.

Newcombe senses something reborn in Hewitt. "I think he's going well, he's recommitted himself," he said. "He's stood back in the past two years and he's seen all the guys who are in the top 10 and he feels pretty confident that he can beat them, except maybe Federer and Nadal.

Actually, I think he would feel good about meeting Nadal at Wimbledon or the US Open."

Newcombe and Roche took Hewitt under their wing when he was 15 and took him on tour with the Australian team a few times before handing him a racquet and unleashing the determined little patriot within. They kept a good relationship with the Hewitt clan over the years.

If you are in the tight Australian tennis community you tread carefully around the Hewitts as things tend to turn ugly early. When dad had a fight with the ATP over media commitments in 2003 it turned into a $2.5million defamation action by his son against the governing body.

A falling out with Andrew McLeod saw the Adelaide Crows footballer sue Hewitt, as did a cruise operator who wanted him to pay the $3971 bill for dinner with Cartwright in 2004, but the tennis player returned serve with a couple of writs of his own.

Over the years he's been at war with the organisers of the Australian Open about the surface speed but just when that was fixed and he was winning brownie points with his Davis Cup commitments he turned around and asked them to get his face off the advertising posters. It wasn't his fault but it looked like more of the same from the outside.

There has always been a sense of the Hewitts taking on the world. Dad Glynn, mum Cherilyn and sister Jaslyn shared last syllables and a bunker. Early coaches Darren Cahill and Jason Stoltenberg are both said to have walked after clashes that involved father and son standing on the other side of the net.

Old mate Roger Rasheed took the job in 2003 but things turned sour at Adelaide in the lead-up to the Australian Open with the player apparently snarling and abusing the coach during his loss to Igor Kunitsyn. He walked too.

There was a notion that coaching Hewitt was not the greatest job on earth when Pat Rafter turned it down and Scott Draper only agreed to do it at Melbourne Park before leaving to play golf, but Hewitt has been making all the right moves of late in an attempt to get Roche over the line.

Newcombe accepts that Hewitt and his game have suffered from a delayed adolescence.

"I just think the last three years there's been so much going on in his life off the court and you see it in top athletes, if the things away from the field are in turmoil then it's very hard for them to concentrate and put 100 per cent of their energy into what they are doing," he said.

"There was the break-up with Kim and not long after that he's with Bec and then a child comes along and a marriage, so there's been a lot going on and we tend to forget sometimes that these are young people.

"He's turned 26 and a lot of young athletes don't have a great maturity because they are in this little tunnel vision world. Although they travel a big world they live in a small world.

"Eventually most athletes of Lleyton's ability will come to grips with this whole situation and they'll settle down but it's just taken Lleyton a little longer to come to grips with everything."

It was noted at the Australian Open that Hewitt's parents were pushed back to the third row of the players' box and for the first time in memory aren't there as he prepares for a major event. This time he's brought his new family and new life along.

The bad run of injuries over the past few years have not helped but Newcombe and others think that these are a sign of stress and distraction.

If Hewitt can get through Paris unscathed he might just regain a place in the top four and maybe even put another major trophy next to the baby photos.

Recent statistical analysis shows that Hewitt holds a winning edge against six of the top-10 players. While he can't touch Federer, he has the measure of Nadal, Andy Roddick, James Blake and Nikolay Davydenko.

Newcombe believes the passion to challenge these players is back.

"It was there in Germany and it wasn't in an over-demonstrative way. There weren't too many 'C'mons!', they were only in the real tight moments. The rest of the time you could see he was really nose to the grindstone," Newcombe said.

"At 26 it's time to be on your own, even this period when he's over there without a full-time coach will be good for him. Fitzy is going to help him with the French and I've told him I will be over at Wimbledon with Channel Nine and I'll do everything I can to help him while I'm there, so he's got a support system there."

Hewitt close to Roche May 16

LLEYTON Hewitt's resurgence gathered momentum yesterday, with victory against Juan Ignacio Chela and unqualified enthusiasm at the prospect of teaming up with master coach Tony Roche.

Buoyed by a practice session with claycourt king Rafael Nadal, Hewitt confirmed he was keen on securing Roche after dispatching Argentine Chela in Hamburg.

The 6-2 7-6 (7-3) win guaranteed Hewitt a small rankings jump from 21st in the world and left him beaming.

Contesting only his second tournament in two months, Hewitt this week has downed tough claycourters Chela and his compatriot Agustin Calleri on the slow German dirt.

"It's been good," Hewitt said.

"I played two quality players. Chela is around No. 20 in the world. He's had a great year so far, especially on this surface.

"Today I felt I stepped it up another notch on my first round. For a set and a half, I played faultless tennis out there."

Speculation continues to bubble in tennis circles of an imminent liaison between the Australian duo following Roche's sacking by world No. 1 Roger Federer.

Hewitt did little to hose down excitement over the prospect Australia's best player and finest coach could soon be a tandem.

"Absolutely. It's something I'll look at," Hewitt said of approaching Roche. "I'm sure Tony has a lot of things on his mind at the moment. So down the track I might look at it.

"Rochey is a hell of a coach. One of the best, if not the best, guys around. Off the court, it's hard to find a nicer bloke. I was lucky enough to get a helping hand by Roche in the Davis Cup squad when I was extremely young, which obviously put me in the right direction to get to the pinnacle of the sport. It was a big help."

Due to face either Russian world No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko or Frenchman Gilles Simon overnight, Hewitt practised with Nadal before trouncing Chela.

"The practice with Nadal was good," Hewitt said. "He's the stand-out player on this surface. Roger (Federer) is great on any surface, but Nadal takes it to another level on clay, and I feel I hit it well with him."

Hewitt will next week tackle the Portschach event, where last year he injured his ankle and departed as a first-round loser.

Now back to peak fitness, Hewitt says he has re-emerged as a grand slam contender. He took Nadal to four sets at Roland Garros last year.

"Last year I felt like I played pretty well in Paris, considering that I played one match and hurt my ankle and could not finish the match in Austria," Hewitt said.

"Obviously Nadal is the favourite at the French Open. The other three, Roger is the main player at the moment. I'd love nothing more than to win another grand slam. That's what I am trying to do."