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SYDNEY - ADIDAS INTERNATIONAL

JANUARY 17, 2004

ATP Tennis

Sydney Saturday: Hewitt Is Last Man Standing

Lleyton Hewitt captured his 20th ATP singles title when his entertaining final with Carlos Moya at the adidas International in Sydney was cut short due to injury. Hewitt was leading 4-3 when a severe right ankle injury forced Moya to retire. Hewitt claimed his third Sydney title, having previously won in 2000 and 2001.

Facing break point, at 3-3, Moya moved wide in the forehand court. He planted his right foot and severely twisted his ankle. Hewitt returned Moya's forehand into an open court for a winner to claim a break of serve.

After a lengthy injury time out Moya returned to the court to play four points. But his movement was severely limited and, with Hewitt leading 4-3, 40/15, Moya was forced to retire.

After initial treatment on site, Moya was taken to the Mater Hospital at Crow's Nest. Initial analysis of X-rays allayed earlier fears that Moya may have fractured his ankle.

Hewitt won his first tournament title since he won his second Tennis Masters Series title at the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells last March. He improved his record in finals to 20-7.

The 22-year-old Australian is undefeated after eight matches this season, including three match wins at the Hopman Cup in Perth.

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID

Hewitt: “He was playing as well as I've seen him play. I felt like my game had really gone up another notch today. Even though it was only seven games, I had to fight off a couple of break points early. Did that well at the tougher end. Then I knew that I could capitalize on his service game and have a small chance when I was up the better end, which is the further end out there. And I was able to do that.

“When the injury happened, I was 0-40 up and had a winner coming up the line anyway in the open court.

“I'm playing pretty well, I think, at the moment. Getting more and more confident with every win you get under your belt.”

Moya: “I don't know how it's gonna be. I hope it's not gonna be that bad, but it really hurts a lot.

“I was almost sure [I couldn't continue], but I wanted to try. There was no way; I could not even walk. I'm gonna get X-rays now and I'll see how it goes."

On ending his nine-match winning streak this way: “It's disappointing. These things happen in tennis. I was playing very well, I was very confident, and I was playing pretty well today. I was back down, but the match was pretty open. But it is a pity to end this way.”

Hewitt wins 20th title

January 17, 2004

LLEYTON HEWITT joined exalted company today when he became the youngest Australian in open-era tennis to capture 20 ATP titles.

Hewitt confirmed his status as a genuine modern-day great when he took out the adidas International in Sydney for the third time with victory over Spaniard Carlos Moya in the injury-shortened final at Olympic Park.

The gritty South Australian is just 22 years and 11 months old and only all-time champions Bjorn Borg, Boris Becker, Mats Wilander, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras and Ivan Lendl have collected as many titles at a younger age.

Borg was the quickest to achieve the feat, chalking up his 20th career victory in Nice in 1977 at 20 years and 10 months ¡V one month older than Hewitt when the Adelaide baseliner became the youngest year-end world No.1 in history in 2001.

John Newcombe took until he was almost 29 to secure his 20th title, while Pat Rafter ¡V Australia's only other player to have reached No.1 since rankings began in 1973 ¡V had won just 11 tournaments before retiring at 29.

Hewitt said he was chuffed at his latest milestone.

"I knew it was my 20th. It's an awesome achievement to win any titles and especially to win 20 ... it's a nice sounding number at the moment," Hewitt told AAP.

"There's not been many people that have been able to do that, so it's a pretty special feeling."

His 20-title haul adds further lustre to a remarkable career that has already yielded Wimbledon and US Open crowns and an unbroken 75-week reign as world No.1.

Despite slipping to 16th in the rankings after a relatively moderate 2003 season, Hewitt will head to Melbourne Park oozing confidence having established a tour-best 10-match winning streak dating back to the US Open in September.

"I'm playing pretty well at the moment, getting more and more confident with every win I get under my belt," he said after he'd established a break of serve against Moya before the world No.6 retired with a badly sprained ankle while trailing 4-3 and 40-15 in the first set.

"I felt like I really, really went up a notch today. You've got to against a player of the calibre of Carlos Moya.

"Carlos is obviously one of the best players out there at the moment ... probably most of the time as well.

"He's a former world No.1, he's won a grand slam, he's a big-match player. I knew I had to go up a level today and I felt like I was able to do that.

"I thought it was a very high-standard match early on."

Hewitt has now snared three titles in Sydney, having gone back-to-back in 2000-01, and is riding a 17-match winning sequence at a tournament he believes offers him the best preparation for the Australian Open.

The 15th seed will open against a qualifier next week and said the Sydney experience had stood him in great stead for a serious tilt at his home grand slam.

"I had to face break points out there today, so I've come through a small pressure situation in a match condition but I didn't have to waste that extra energy," Hewitt said.

Moya's Australian Open hopes don't look quite so rosy after he was rushed to hospital for X-rays this afternoon, with Sydney's tournament doctor John Ackerman fearing the 1998 Melbourne Park runner-up may have fractured his right ankle.

Moya rolled on the ankle trying in vain to stave off a break point in the seventh game of today's final.

"I don't know how it's going to be," he admitted.

"I hope it's not going to be that bad, but it really hurts a lot. It's disappointing (but) these things happen in tennis.

"I was very confident. I was playing pretty well today."

Hewitt eases into final as Verkerk wilts

By Jacquelin Magnay January 17, 2004

Lleyton Hewitt claimed to have played near-faultless tennis all week after waltzing into his third adidas International final today when his semi-final opponent Martin Verkerk mysteriously forfeited early in the second set.

In what has been an ideal Australian Open preparation for the former world No.1, Hewitt was barely extended in a short-lived match last night and will be fresh for his match-up against in-form Spaniard Carlos Moya.

Moya beat South African Wayne Ferreira 6-2, 6-1 in the other semi-final to bring up his eighth consecutive victory, including taking out the Chennai tournament, this season.

Hewitt hasn't seen Moya hit a ball all week but he knows the final will be a significant step up in intensity."He always plays extremely well and he is coming off a win and the way he has gone through matches this week shows that," said Hewitt.

Moya, who has beaten Hewitt five times in the past three years, said his on-song serve has helped him relax and to take more risks. He noted Hewitt's all-round skills but warned: "If I play 100 per cent I can beat any player."

Hewitt, 22, said the semi-final forfeit may be a blessing for his Melbourne campaign. Hewitt's previous finals appearance was more than six months ago in a Los Angeles tournament and since then he has handpicked his appearances, including the superb Davis Cup victory last year.

"I have not had to push myself so hard," Hewitt said of the early finish yesterday.

"I played well in the Hopman Cup and I got enough matches this week and I don't feel like I have wasted too much energy. I played pretty well in Perth and I maintained that level. There were a couple of lapses, but other than that I have played pretty faultless tennis. I couldn't be happier."

Dutchman Verkerk was unable to make any impression on Hewitt's scrambling game. Hewitt was leading 4-2 in the first set when heavy showers delayed play for hours, but when it resumed in the late afternoon he quickly wrapped up the set 6-2.

Verkerk, a French Open finalist, then fired off several double faults and was struggling to keep the ball in play before calling for the trainer as Hewitt was poised to break his serve in the second set.

Verkerk later said he had stomach pains and was dizzy and light-headed.

There was no sign of the ankle injury that had troubled Hewitt during the Hopman Cup, even though the Sydney Olympic Park surface was slippery from rain.

"I always like to play in the final, I play for the titles. The bigger titles like the grand slams are the priority but any titles go on our records. It is not the easiest thing to win five matches in a row and it is tough not to have one bad match in a week," Hewitt said.

Todd Woodbridge will break the world record for doubles titles if he and Swedish partner Jonas Bjorkman overcome the top-seeded American twins Mike and Bob Bryan in today's doubles final.

This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/01/16/1073878038820.html

Nemesis Moya next on Hewitt's hit list

By LEO SCHLINK in Sydney 17jan04

LLEYTON Hewitt yesterday patiently endured wretched weather at the Sydney International Tennis Centre to reach his third consecutive adidas International final.

Hewitt was spirited into the decider when Dutchman Martin Verkerk retired because of illness when trailing the Australian 2-6, 0-1 on a program already ruined by the women's singles semi-final withdrawal of Lindsay Davenport.

Hewitt will today face nemesis Carlos Moya – who has beaten the Australian in five of eight clashes – after the Spaniard destroyed Wayne Ferreira 6-2, 6-1.

"I felt like I was hitting the ball well," Hewitt said. "I always played well at this tournament. I beat (Jonas) Bjorkman when he was four in the world and (Pat) Rafter and (Nicolas) Kiefer the next year and after that I've won it twice (2000-2001)."

Persistent rain was an appropriately miserable backdrop to the behind-the-scenes negotiations which eventually led to a men's doubles semi-final being moved to an outside court, Hewitt's match being brought forward and the other semi-final contest between Moya and Ferreira being shunted to court one.

When Hewitt finally emerged on court, he wasted no time in shredding French Open finalist Verkerk's pounding delivery with service breaks in the first and third games to lead 4-0. Hewitt won three of his four service games to love but lost concentration in the sixth game to have his lead cut to 4-2.

Only three more points were played before the rain returned and there was a 74-minute break before he again took to demolishing Verkerk's game. In fact, when play restarted, Verkerk won only one of the 11 points.

Just 10 minutes into the resumption – and having dropped serve with a bloated forehand – Verkerk called for a trainer and, after a short discussion, told umpire Norm Chryst he could not continue, triggering a chorus of boos from a frazzled crowd.

Hewitt's winning streak is now 10. His last loss was to Juan Carlos Ferrero in the US Open quarter-finals, where he was hampered by a hip injury.

Moya, who won in Chennai last week, will seek his 16th title. Hewitt seeks his 20th and his first since Indian Wells in March last year.

Lleyton hits the open road

January 16, 2004

In the past few years, Lleyton Hewitt has seemed to have as much trouble deciding how to prepare for the Australian Open as he has finding a way to win it. Adelaide or Perth? Sydney or the practice court? Illness and injuries. The road to Melbourne Park has never seemed straightforward.

But in reaching the semi-finals of the adidas International yesterday with a typically fighting three-set win over Frenchman Arnaud Clement, Hewitt seemed as fit, relaxed (in relative terms) and as well-prepared as he has ever been to face the challenge of breaking the 28-year-old local drought at the Australian Open.

In its execution, Hewitt's 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 victory over the deceptively tricky Clement provided further evidence for those - Hewitt chief among them - who believe the former world No.1 is close to the peak of his powers with the racquet. But it was the way he regathered himself under pressure that showed that his mind is also fully focused.

A seemingly one-sided affair suddenly became something of a struggle for Hewitt when he lost his way during the second set and subsequently found himself facing three break points at 2-2 and 0-40 in the third. Yet Hewitt knocked off five consecutive points with such force and conviction that he not only got himself out of trouble, he also seemed to demoralise his opponent.

"You can only get those situations in matches," Hewitt said. "You can't get that from playing practice sets . . . because it just isn't the same with the crowd and the pressure that you're under right at the particular moment, serving break points down."

It will be Hewitt's first appearance in an ATP semi-final since he made the final at Los Angeles in July last year, although that is partly a consequence of the long rest he took after the US Open rather than the form slump that saw his ranking drop from No.1 to No.17 last year. However, while he retains the chance to win his first title since March, it is the match practice he is getting before the Australian Open that concerns him most.

"The focus mainly is on next week still," Hewitt said. "Just taking it one match here and then trying to get the rhythm and the preparation right. And then, obviously, the closer you get to playing in a final or having a chance to win another title, then, yeah, it's always a nice feeling."

Another nice feeling for Hewitt is that the left ankle he sprained during the Hopman Cup is not troubling him. Once, during yesterday's second set, he seemed to stumble on the sticky Rebound Ace surface, but he said he was suffering no discomfort.

While Hewitt marched on, Todd Reid's encouraging run came to an end in the quarter-finals when he lost 6-4, 6-4 to the South African veteran Wayne Ferreira. Given Reid beat the same opponent 6-1, 6-0 in Adelaide last week, that result might have attracted the interest of the racetrack stewards.

"I kind of expected not to play well, but I didn't expect to play that badly," said Ferreira, who went into the Adelaide tournament having practised little.

The only chance Reid had to get into yesterday's match came when he had two break points and was leading 4-3 in the second set. But he was unable to grab either and the 19-year-old's impressive performance here ended amid a barrage of Ferreira forehand winners.

Now, Reid is hoping for a kind draw at the Australian Open, having lost to accomplished serve-volleyers Nicolas Escude and Richard Krajicek in the past two years.

Ferreira was impressed by Reid in their two encounters, although he said his own big game exposed a weakness in the Australian's make-up. "I'm a kind of tough player for him to play against because I hit the ball pretty hard and overpower him a bit," Ferreira said. "So I would give him trouble on a pretty regular basis. But he could do very well against a lot of other players because he gets a lot back and doesn't miss much."

Ferreira now plays Spain's Carlos Moya, who has not dropped a set in his three matches here after winning a tournament in Chennai, India, last week. Moya yesterday dismissed his countryman Tommy Robredo 6-1, 6-2 and, despite having just a 10-day break after the Davis Cup final in early December, looks to be in similar form to 1997, when he reached the final at the adidas International before making the Australian Open final.

This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/01/16/1073877976360.html

All systems go: Lleyton

January 15, 2004

LLEYTON Hewitt is content with his game, confident in the knowledge that he is being match-hardened in the lead-up to the Australian Open.

But Hewitt is making no predictions about winning his first Australian Open starting at Melbourne Park next Monday.

"I feel like I'm playing well, but you still have to go out and do the job next week," Hewitt said.

"Everyone wants to win titles, but at the moment it's trying to get matches under your belt by trying to work on little areas of your game and get the rhythm going.

"So far, so good."

Hewitt showed courage under fire yesterday for 49 minutes and trailed 0-4 in the opening set before surviving his second round match against Karol Kucera at the adidas International.

Twice Kucera, the 1998 champion, had points to lead 5-0 before the two-time grand slam champion Hewitt unleashed his stunning comeback.

In a stunning reversal, Hewitt showed the form which made him the world No.1 for consecutive years by winning nine successive games and 12 of the past 13.

"I had chances in probably all four of the games I lost and was probably trying to attack a little bit too much under the conditions," Hewitt said.

"After that I decided to go back to playing consistently ... trying to get some rhythm and build it up again.

"Once the momentum had really changed I was able to start playing some good aggressive tennis in tough conditions."

Hewitt said that even though he was down 4-0 he didn't get too down on himself.

"You've got to try and realise that it's a tough match and that there's another two sets even if you go down in that set (first set). You can always bounce back," he said.

"I wasn't giving up that first set no matter what ... I was going to hang in there.

"Karol doesn't go for too many heroic shots and runs a lot of balls down and makes you play that extra ball.

"But I'm happy with the way my game is going and playing tournaments getting match hardened.

"You enjoy it when you get out of jail like I did in the first set and then the momentum really swung."

The Daily Telegraph

Hewitt quick to see bigger picture

By Patrick Miles
15jan04

IT is a marginally less frenetic version of Lleyton Hewitt who strides the court these days.

The desire to win still burns brightly but, with a number of his career goals already achieved, it is time for the 22-year-old to be a little more circumspect, to concentrate on a greater, broader vision.
Down 4-0 to Karol Kucera yesterday, rather than channel all his energies into clawing his way back into the first set, Hewitt was prepared to let it slip, then regroup for an onslaught in the second and third.

In the event, the talented but infuriatingly inconsistent Slovak did much of the damage himself, allowing the No.7 seed to reel off nine games in succession and eventually win the second-round match 6-4 6-1.

Hewitt's quarter-final opponent at Sydney Olympic Park today will be Arnaud Clement, who was the runner-up to Andre Agassi in the Australian Open of 2001.

The fortunes of the Frenchman have declined since his day at Melbourne Park but he turned up the wick yesterday to defeat the Swede Joachim Johansson 6-4 7-5.

A win for Johansson would have produced the intriguing prospect of a match between Hewitt and his younger sister Jaslyn's boyfriend of four years.

But the value Johansson gained from training with Hewitt in December was not enough to beat Clement.

Hewitt is satisfied with his performances so far this season -- three wins at the Hopman Cup in Perth and two to date in Sydney.

In 2000, as an 18-year-old, Hewitt won his home-town title at the AAPT Championships in Adelaide, then took the trophy in Sydney to enter the Australian Open on a 10-match winning streak.

At Melbourne Park, as the hottest player in the world, Hewitt melted in the fourth round against Magnus Norman.

These days, his ambitions have altered and his mind is set on the events of prestige.

"I set different goals now," Hewitt said yesterday. "Back then, every tournament, week in and week out, is like a Grand Slam. Nowadays, the priorities are Grand Slams and Davis Cup for me -- obviously, the bigger picture.

"When you're able to win Grand Slams, the thing that drives you to keep going and get better is to win more of them. It's nice coming and playing smaller tournaments but you still miss preparation for the big ones."

The weather in Sydney yesterday made it more difficult for him to find his range.

It was overcast, cool and windy, in contrast to the morning and previous day of drain

ing heat and humidity.

"I was probably trying to attack a little bit too much, especially for the conditions," Hewitt said.

"I wasn't giving up that first set; I was going to hang in there. But if I did end up losing the first set, then I wanted to try to find a rhythm by the end of it that I'd be ready to go right from the start in the second set.

"I was fortunate enough that I was able to get back out of it and win in straight sets."

© The Australian

C'mon comeback

By JOHN THIRSK in Sydney
15jan04

LLEYTON Hewitt showed courage under fire for 49 minutes and trailed 0-4 in the opening set before surviving a second round match 6-4 6-1 against Karol Kucera at the adidas International Tournament.

Twice Kucera, the 1998 champion, had points to lead 5-0 before the two-time Grand Slam champion Hewitt unleashed his stunning comeback.
It wasn't until Hewitt broke in the sixth game, but still in trouble at 2-4 that the famous "c'mon, c'mon" cry echoed round centre court. The winners began streaming from Hewitt after he levelled at 4-4.

The set was over just eight minutes later.

In a stunning reversal, Hewitt showed the form which made him the world No. 1 for consecutive years, ending results by winning nine successive games and 12 of the last 13.

"I had chances in probably all four of the games I lost and was probably trying to attack a little bit too much under the conditions," Hewitt said. "After that I decided to go back to playing consistently trying to get some rhythm and build it up again.

"Once the momentum had really changed I was able to start playing some good aggressive tennis in those tough conditions."

Hewitt said that even though you are down 0-4 you can't get too down on yourself.

"You've got to try and realise that it's a tough match and that there's another two sets even if you go down in that set (first set) to bounce back," he said.

"I wasn't giving up that first set no matter what, but I was going to hang in there."

Fellow Australian Mark Philippoussis yesterday held his nerve brilliantly to subdue controversy-plagued Greg Rusedski.

The world No. 9 reached the last eight with a fine 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 triumph over unseeded Rusedski, ignoring the swirl of claim and counter-claim surrounding the British left-hander now caught in a drugs maelstrom.

"It was great to win a tough match like that. I thought we both played some good tennis," Philippoussis said.

Again tapping into the confidence he drew from Davis Cup victory over Juan Carlos Ferrero, unflustered Philippoussis rode out the Rusedski storm to prevail.

"It can make you or it can break you," he said of the confrontation with Ferrero.

Philippoussis will today face towering Dutchman Martin Verkerk for the right to challenge either Hewitt or Frenchman Arnaud Clement in the semis.

© Advertiser Newspapers Ltd

Johansson thanks Hewitt

12jan04
SWEDISH giant-killer Joachim Johansson paid tribute to Lleyton Hewitt after sending second seed Rainer Schuettler packing from the adidas International in Sydney today.

Johansson stunned last year's Australian Open runner-up 6-4 6-4 on centre court at Olympic Park and then revealed he'd spent a fortnight over Christmas hitting with Hewitt in Adelaide.

The 21-year-old qualifier - ranked a lowly 150th - is a former world No.3 junior but best known on tour for being the boyfriend of Hewitt's younger tennis-playing sister Jaslyn.

"I should say thanks to him (Hewitt) because I practiced with him for two weeks and he introduced me to a higher level," Johansson said.

"We've been playing golf every day as well, so she gets a little bit jealous."

Johansson began going out with Jaslyn, 20, after they both won Traralagon junior tournament in Victoria in 2000.

Johansson's previous best win of his career came in November in Stockholm against Chile's world No.35 Fernando Gonzalez.

He had to survive five match points against American Paul Goldstein in the second round of qualifying at the weekend just to make the Sydney main draw of 32.

Schuettler will now head to Melbourne Park for Monday's start of the year's first grand slam in tatters.

The world No.6 also crashed out in the first round last week in Qatar and will head to Melbourne Park for Monday's start of the Open low on confidence and match practice.

Slump all in the past, says Hewitt
By Richard Hinds
January 13, 2004

Since he stumbled at Wimbledon last year during his sudden fall from the game's top step, the tennis world has waited with some scepticism to see if Lleyton Hewitt could recapture his best form. A routine first-round victory at the adidas International is hardly compelling evidence, but perhaps he already has.

Hewitt played solidly yesterday in a mostly uneventful 6-4, 6-2 victory over Sargis Sargsian, the type of fit, fast and relentless opponent who can trouble more gifted players if they are not at their best.

Yet Hewitt soon found his rhythm on the baseline and his best serve when required to coast to the sort of victory that seemed almost inevitable in 2001 and 2002, when he topped the world rankings. That was particularly pleasing given he had to adjust to the more difficult conditions outdoors after playing under the roof at the Hopman Cup last week.

And given this was his first regular tour match in four months, this tournament has been cast as a new beginning for Hewitt - a chance to regain momentum after the disappointments of last year, particularly his first-round defeat at Wimbledon.

However, Hewitt believes he had already turned his game around at the US Open, where he reached the quarter-finals and "played some of the best tennis I've ever played".

"Even though the Davis Cup matches were spread out over a fair period of time, I was still able to handle the pressure and expectation of those two obviously huge matches against two of the best players in the world [Roger Federer of Switzerland and Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain]," he said.

Hewitt next meets the winner of today's match between Karol Kucera and Feliciano Lopez. Even a moderate run here should ensure the public expectations of a player now ranked No.16 at the Australian Open are just as great as they were in the previous two years, when he was the top seed.

"There's always pressure and expectation coming into the national title when, realistically, we've probably only got two main guys who are contenders, Flip [Philippoussis] and myself," said Hewitt.

"But it's great for tennis that I think the emotion is still there from the Davis Cup victories the last few times.

"So I think tennis is on a bit of a high in Australia at the moment, and I think they would like to see an Australian winner. That probably puts the same pressure on as being the No.1 seed the past two years."

---------------------------------------------------

Hewitt warns rivals: I'm as good as ever
Leo Schlink
13jan04

LLEYTON Hewitt yesterday completed a triumphant return to rankings tournament competition, feeding off the high of Davis Cup success to maintain an unbeaten run since the US Open last September.

The former world No. 1 demolished tough Armenian Sargis Sargsian 6-4 6-2 to safely reach the adidas International second round, where he will face either Slovakian Karol Kucera or Spaniard Feliciano Lopez.

Hewitt was unfazed by an unforced error count of 34 in raking winds, basking instead in his 22 winners.

"I was expecting a tough match," said Hewitt, whose sporadic appearances on the tour since the US Open have included wins over Roger Federer, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Attila Savolt, Xavier Malisse and Kucera.

"He (Sargsian) beat (Mark) Philippoussis in the Aussie Open last year and he's a very tough player on this court.

"He hits the ball pretty flat out there. He's a great mover around the court. He's a guy that you can get very grooved with as well because he hits the ball very clean off the baseline."

While there has been little quantity about Hewitt's tennis since the Wimbledon and US Open winner was forced off the circuit to have a wart removed from his left foot, the quality that carted the baseliner to the peak of the game has returned.

Hewitt yesterday declared he was hitting the ball as well as ever on the eve of an Australian Open.

"I feel like I'm hitting the ball just as well, if not better," Hewitt said, referring to his two-season stint as world No. 1.

"It has been a totally different preparation (this season), whereas the years before I've always come off the Masters Cup and playing a lot of matches.

"This year, I focused on the Davis Cup final and did a lot of hard work and training that would last right through the Australian summer."

Now ranked 17th in the world after turning his back on the chance to consolidate his ranking on the late-season European indoor swing, Hewitt says the pressure to become Australia's first male champion in a home Open since Mark Edmondson in 1976 will be as acute as ever.

"There's always pressure and expectation coming into the national title when, realistically, we've probably only got two main guys who are contenders, Flip (Philippoussis) and myself," he said.

"You're always in the spotlight.

"We try and put it in the back of our mind as much as possible, but it's great for tennis that the emotion is still there from the Davis Cup victories the last few times.

"Flip and I have had a couple of cliffhangers as well.

"I think tennis is on a bit of a high in Australia at the moment and I think they'd like to see an Australian winner.

"That probably puts on the same pressure as being the No. 1 seed the last two years."

Hewitt has lost only one match at Homebush -- to Max Mirnyi, of Belarus -- while excelling in Davis Cup and landing two adidas titles.

He was joined in victory by Davis Cup hopeful Todd Reid, who trailed 4-0 in the deciding set before beating Chile's world No. 12 Nicolas Massu 7-6 (7-5) 2-6 6-4.

"I saw Wally Masur (Davis Cup coach) in the stands and I starting thinking to myself, 'How are you going to play Davis Cup one day if you can't come back from four-love down?'," Reid said.