Aust Open Magazine - thanks Stef!

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

Lleyton - The intimidator
By EVONNE BARRY and PAUL MALONE
13jan03

INTIMIDATION will be Lleyton Hewitt's big asset at the Australian Open, according to Jim Courier.

The former world No.1 said the top ranking creates an extra hurdle for challengers.
"It gets in the other players' heads in the locker room," said Courier, a dual Australian Open champion. "I think the players will be intimidated by Hewitt. I had that 10 years ago. I scared them with my fitness."
Courier said Hewitt's mental toughness definitely was his biggest advantage.
"His mind is so razor sharp. You Australians are very lucky to have him," he said.
Courier has joined his old enemy, the media, as an ESPN commentator.
"There's a conflict in my heart," joked the champion of 1992 and 1993. "But it's a lot more fun than I thought."
Courier said he had settled into post-retirement life.
"It's nice not to have to get up and stress out about whether you are going to be miserable at the end of the day," Courier said.
Meanwhile, three of Hewitt's main rivals for Open glory are winning fitness battles to be on the starting line at Melbourne Park.
Marat Safin (shoulder), Carlos Moya (back and elbow) and Roger Federer (groin) - seeded third, fifth and sixth in the men's singles - all wound up their preparation sessions yesterday, ready to test themselves in the unforgiving two-week marathon.
Safin, seeded to meet Hewitt in the semi-finals, completed two training sessions after pulling out of a semi-final at the adidas International tournament in Sydney last Thursday. It was the event at which both Moya and Federer complained of injury.
They blamed the game's short off-season breaks for soreness and their defeat in the first two rounds.
The dangerous Russian did not hit a serve in his 15 minutes with the media during his first practice session, before reporters were escorted back to their area as part of Melbourne Park's security "lockdown".
It is during the serve that Safin's tendinitis will be most tested if he plays his first-round match tomorrow against Dutchman Raemon Sluiter.
Grand Slam supervisor Stefan Fransson said last night that his office had not been told of any withdrawals from the $18 million Open.
Moya is the only one of the suspect trio due to play today, against Belgian Dick Norman.
Fourth seed Juan Carlos Ferrero said he would pick himself up emotionally after his frustrating defeat by South Korean qualifier Lee Hyung-taik from match point up in the adidas final in Sydney on Saturday.
Ferrero can expect a tough match today against Argentina's Franco Squillari.
Open favourite Hewitt practised with Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov in a relaxed session before his first-round match tomorrow against the experienced Swedish qualifier Magnus Larsson.
Melbourne's Mark Philippoussis was pleased at being spared the heat of the day. His meeting with Dutchman Martin Verkerk is the second match tonight.
Verkerk is ranked No.84, 20 places ahead of Philippoussis.
Three other Australian men are in first-round action today, Australian No.2 Wayne Arthurs and wildcards Scott Draper and Peter Luczak.
Andre Agassi's bid for a fourth Australian title starts this afternoon against fellow American Brian Vahaly with his Australian coach Darren Cahill cautioning against the 32-year-old being ruled out of No.1 ranking calculations.
Safin said last week that Agassi, the Open's second seed, might be too old to regain the No.1 ranking.
"He and Lleyton are going to have a great year, so are Safin, Federer and Moya - they can all push for No.1," Cahill said.
"Andre at his best still believes he's the best player and I believe he can finish the year as No.1.
"There is no end in sight. He is fitter and faster than I've ever seen him. He's had no better preparation than what he had at Kooyong."
Favoured by many to grab the chance to weave his magic over Hewitt in the Australia Day final, Moya said he would not be surprised if Hewitt came at him with tactical variations if their paths crossed in the big one.
"Maybe he should do something different, but he's No.1 and can win every tournament," the Spanish No.1 said.
"With only two matches under my belt, it's not much preparation for a Grand Slam.
"But for a lot of players, it's the same."
Moya said Australian fans had treated him no differently since he unwound a four-match winning streak against the world No.1.
"People like me a lot here. They still remember 1997, (when he was Melbourne Park runner-up) it was most important in my life," he said.
"To me, Australia is like a paradise because the weather is good and the people are so nice. They don't hate me because of how I beat Hewitt four times.
"Lleyton beats many players that many times."
Arthurs will experience match conditions for the first time since he tore his right calf muscle four weeks ago when he confronts Brazilian Marcos Daniel. Draper, the Australian No.4 with a world ranking of No.141, has a winning chance against another shotmaker, American Alex Kim, ranked 23 places better than him.
Luczak, the Australian No.5, meets Hungarian Attila Savolt.
Hewitt's seeded third-round opponent Gustavo Kuerten won the Auckland title yesterday with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Dominik Hrbaty, of Slovakia.

From The Sunday Times (UK) 12/1/03
By Pat Cash - Lleyton Hewitt has the character and the game to be the first Australian to win in Melbourne for quarter of a century

One very special quality is required for an Australian to win the Australian Open. It's the same one that's needed for a British player to win Wimbledon and has nothing to do with racket skils. I'm talking about an attitude, a "two fingers up to anyobody who stands in my way" state of mind. Lleyton Hewitt has what it takes.

Although I believe I posessed that same mental strenght I ended up just short twice. I was determined, well prepared and not ready to take any bull from anybody. In two Davis Cup finals in Melbourne I came up with the sort of display to clinch the silverware but in the Open, a brilliantly athletic Stefan Edberg and then a relentless Mats Willander beat me in five sets.

Hewitt is perfectly equipped to go one step further and end a 27 year gap without an Aussie champion since Mark Edmondson concluded the fortnight of his life against John Newcombe.

Those who know about tennis will confirm that Hewitt has that special gift known as White Line Fever. He's not bothered about the weight of national expectation in the way Patrick Rafter was a few years ago. He's not too concerned that he nmight not gather too many friends on his path to the title. He's not going to be side-tracked by the hype that can ultimitely weight down players like a lead waistcoat. Winning tennis matches is all that matters, everything else is a distraction to be ignored. And nothing, or nobody is going to stop him.

Maybe Rafter was just too nice a guy. Everybody still loves him for the way he repeatedly said, "Sorry mate" to an opponenet when he had to pull out of a serve because of a bad ball toss. But Pat always felt enourmous pressure whenever he played at home, be it in the Australian Open or in the Davis Cup. He came from nowhere to be top of the pile when he won back-to-back US Open titles in his mid-twenties and seemed to get boweld over by all the euphoria because he thought himself just an ordinary player. I didn't feel the same way because I had been in the Australian public spotlight since the age of 17, and it's the same with Hewitt.

Technically, Hewitt has the game to add a third Grand Slam to his collection. Mentally he has no peer other than Andre Agassi, who has taken this title three times but might struggle to make it four with his 33rd birthday just around the corner. Apart from the American I cannot see anybody to trouble our boy. Marat Safin should, but probably won't. Admittedly he has just been injured playing in the build-up tournament in Sydney but I would put a big question mark over the Russian. He's got everything going for him except committment. The physique is perfect and he possesses all the hsots, with the glaring exception of a volley, but there's not very much brain. Too much time spent in nightclubs and there is always a gang of girls following him around. Of course young men should have fun but there's a time to work and a time to play. This fortnight in January is not a time for big nights out.

Roger Federer has not progressed in the way everybody thought he would when he beat Pete Sampras at Wimbledon a few years ago. John McEnroe picked him out to win Wimbledon and look how that backfired. Mac isn't quite the prophet many people make him out to be. There are some shocking faults in so many aspects of the young Swiss guys game - serve, forehand and backhand. He needs a decent coach to repair the damage before it goes too far.

I've also been disappointed with Andy Roddick over the past six months. There has been no real imporvement, because there is no variation to his game. He cannot pass any opponent off his backhand and left handers just chop him up.

Hewitt has never been a problem off the court and there are few people who can say they have consistently got the better of him on it. He's got his stedy tennis-playing girlfriend Kim Clijsters, his parents are never far away and there are just a few mates. In many ways when you talk to him it's almost like he's still a little boy.

I had been out practicing to play in the senior event at the US Open and was in the locker room when in walked Lleyton. We said our, "G'days" and then he said in passing that he wanted one of my black-and-white chequered headbands. I laughed the thing off as a joke - what would the world No1 and defending champion want one of those for? Thena couple of minutes later his coach, Jason Stoltenberg repeated the request.

Apparantly Lleyton was a 10-year old kid in the stands at Melbourne park when I played the 1992 Australian Open. I always used to throw a few headbands into the crowd after matches, and he just missed out on catching one. Ever since that day he had yearned for one. Yet when I walked across the locker room to sign the headband and give it to him it was more like presenting something to my teenage son Daniel than the world's best tennis player.

Appearances can be deceptive, however because when he walks across that baseline he becomes the complete copetitor.

To my way of thinking there's only one way to beat Hewitt and tha'ts to atttack his only potential weakness - his serve. Though coaches Darren Cahill and Stoltenberg have tried to imporve things in the last couple of years, Lleyton rarely gets more than 50% of his first serves into play and that is a statistic an opponent can work on. At my peak I would have attacked the Hewitt second serve at each opportunity. I would come into the net for everything and try to overwhelm his passing shots.I would put so much pressure on his second serve that he would start trying to up the pace and hit an increasing number of double faults which he is prone to do.

Look at Tim Henman's record against Hewitt. He's played him six times and never won once. The reasons are twofold; first, Lleyton is simply a bloody good player, but second Tim gives him too much respect and sits back on the baseline. It's so hard to get the ball past the kid from there. However give Henman some sympathy because you need to have everything going for you if you are going to beat Hewitt with attacking tennis. If you have a bad day and hit some weak volleys, you are going to be annihilated.

Critics say Hewitt hasn't got a big weapon but that is doing his forehand a disservice. Admittedly it is not in the Mark Phillipousssis league, but it does come down the court at some pace and if you ally that to his amazing speed round the court, you have some player. To me, he is Willander reincarnated with twice as much power.

In years gone by there is no question that Hewitt's form peaked too early. He's gone into the Australian Open winning warm-up events in Adelaide and Sydney. Then last year he was still suffereing the after-effects of chickenpox and was nowhere near fit enough to survive seven matches in what can be absolutely brutal heat.

Now he's decided to by-pass those other tournaments much to the displeasure of the tournament directors and got himself extremely fit. By the time he comes to play his first-round match he'll be chomping at the bit to get out there.

He has been awarded a beautiful draw. He starts off against a qualifier which should be a nice comfortable three set breeze to get him into his stride, and although Gustavo Kuerten could crop up in the third round, this is not Roland Garros. Although the Brazillian has won the French Open three times in the past six years, he has never survivied beyond the second round down here.

It could be Roddick in the quarter-finals and Safin or Federer in the semis. But as I have already said, these under-achievers may not be accomplished enough to last into the second week. As far as I am concerned, it will be Lleyton Hewitt standing on the winners rostrum in a fornight's time, a home grown Australian Open champion at long last. As we say in this part of the world, "No Worries."

Nothing wrong with a bit of old-fashioned mongrel
January 13 2003
By Ilie Nastase


I remember as a kid growing up in Bucharest I always behaved the same way - fooling around, joking with all the other kids. When I lost, I cried.

One day I was playing against this kid. We were about 11, and he beat me 6-0. I put my racquet down and started to run after him, and he started to run.

We were running and running and finally I caught him. He said to me, "What's wrong with you?" I said, "You beat me 6-0 you son of a bitch, I'm going to beat you up."

That's an eagerness to become somebody. I went away and decided that nobody was going to beat me 6-0 anymore.

You can't change someone. If I had had my tennis game and a different personality . . . I don't want to imagine that. They would have to have invented me, like a robot.

I like the way I played, even the things that people thought I shouldn't have done. That's the person that I was. For what I did on the court - all those crazy things - I think my results were still there.

I see Lleyton Hewitt the same way. I like his tennis very much, the way he fights for every point. He gives everything on the court, and, for me, this is very important. I tend to forgive whatever else he does - I don't see that, I just see his tennis.

You don't win matches because of the way you behave. You win matches because of your tennis. The thing that upsets the players is being so tough to beat.


I like (Hewitt's) tennis very much, the way he fights for every point.
If Hewitt would start to lose more, people would not think he is so bad.

I can liken him to Jimmy Connors the way he fights on court. Connors was one of the best, and also hated by the players and some of the crowd.

I used to practice with him and it was like playing the final of Wimbledon or the French Open. One day I told him, "Listen, find another partner because I don't want to be playing the best match of my career on the practice court."

I probably behaved badly sometimes, swore too much or said things that I shouldn't have, but it was my personality.

And whatever I was doing on court was not with a mean face. I was doing it with a smile on my face. I was more of a joker, and I think that makes a difference.

Hewitt is very serious in what he does, and people take it that way. Maybe he could have more of a smile on his face, but that would not be him. You cannot be perfect - it would be just too good to be No. 1 in the world and also be No. 1 in the way you behave.

I am not Australian, I am not his best friend, but I admire the way he plays.

Some players, maybe (Goran) Ivanisevic, (Marcelo) Rios, they should look at the way he is trying every point. For that he should be given a medal. He is very professional.

I've seen him play at Wimbledon, seen him practising, seen him going around with his girlfriend, which is nice, seen him with his mum and his dad. I think having them there is good, up to a certain point, but he doesn't need them there anymore.

When you get to No. 1, you know what you're doing.

You just need maybe only a normal person with you, even someone who doesn't play tennis, just to encourage you and be there. Maybe it was the case with Martina Hingis, too. I think it's time for Lleyton to do it without his parents.
[one note-he does have someone like that doesn't he bring Hayden and Brett/Brad (which is it) with him too?]

Ilie Nastase won the 1973 French Open and 1972 US Open singles titles. One of the most controversial players of his time, he has been president of the Romanian Tennis Federation for the past six years, and will be in Melbourne this week to contest the seniors doubles at the Australian Open.

Aiming for the heavens
January 13 2003


Lleyton Hewitt has won two grand slams but there's little doubt his home tournament is the one that stirs his soul. Richard Hinds reports.


Although the failure of any Australian man to win the local singles title since Mark Edmondson upset John Newcombe in 1976 inspires endless head shaking and many an exasperated sigh, it is no real mystery.

Simply, in those 25 years, no Australian male has held a sufficient edge on his rivals to lift a trophy that has become, the odd Thomas Johansson or Petr Korda year aside, the property of the game's elite.

Which is not to say every Australian contender during the long drought would have looked out of place on the roll of honour. Pat Cash was certainly good enough to lift the trophy in 1987 and 1988. But in those years, and in those finals, Stefan Edberg and Mats Wilander were just a little bit better.

Pat Rafter, a dual US Open champion, had to be mopped up off the court after the 2001 semi-final. Had he been playing Max Mirnyi instead of Andre Agassi he might never have reached meltdown. But for every grand-slam champion there is usually at least one ultimate challenge, and Rafter could not meet his.

Cash, Rafter - even Mark Philippoussis, it seemed for one tantalising moment after he beat Pete Sampras in 1996 - all had chances to win the Australian Open. But what makes the 2003 edition so compelling and pressure-packed for local fans is that Lleyton Hewitt is favoured, perhaps even expected, to.


Given that he has not yet advanced beyond the fourth round of the tournament, the mantle of favouritism seems an enormous burden. Despite his US Open and Wimbledon triumphs and back-to-back No 1 rankings, there remains just a skerrick of disbelief about the seemingly undersized Hewitt's vast accomplishments.

Yet, what Hewitt has achieved in the two years since his last legitimate crack at the title - discount last year's chicken-pocked first-round exodus - has ensured he starts every tournament as the man to beat.

"He has proven he can play on every surface and in any conditions," says the veteran Swede Thomas Enqvist. "Everyone knows the men's game is very open and a lot of players can win, but he is certainly the favourite."

Perhaps the biggest question about this year's Australian Open is whether the public expectations will inspire Hewitt or place too much pressure on him. But, as ever, the greatest expectations will be from Hewitt himself.

Although the Australian Open's reputation has been revived in the past 15 years, it remains fourth - equal third if you are exceedingly generous - among supposed equals. But while Hewitt has conquered New York and startled on grass at Wimbledon, something makes you suspect the local title has always occupied a top-two spot - Wimbledon was No 1 - on his grand-slam shopping list.

Asked whether an Australian Open was his primary objective during the Hopman Cup, Hewitt seemed eager to reduce the pressure he will face in the next fortnight by saying he craved the title but did not care if it came now or in 10 years' time. However, since he became the youngest Australian Open qualifier in history at just 15 years and 11 months, Hewitt has never seemed particularly patient. So why should he wait to complete what would be the most important part of his personal journey?

The road trips the Hewitt family would make from Adelaide to Melbourne Park every year are now part of local tennis lore. As the story goes, the family would attend every session with the very little Lleyton and kid sister Jaslyn often carried out of the stadium asleep.

Winning Wimbledon made Hewitt part of the sport's vast history. Yet there seems something more up close and personal about his Australian Open quest. Until the kid who spent hours at the practice courts admiring Ivan Lendl's work ethic grinds his own way to the championship, Hewitt will be unfulfilled.

"Being an Australian and me growing up and going to Melbourne Park since I was nine or 10 years old, it's a very special place and I get goose bumps as soon as I get in there," Hewitt said recently.

Hewitt's initial coach, Peter Smith, is well aware of the young champion's intentions. "Some people want to win titles but he almost sees it as his destiny to do so," says Smith. "Wimbledon was big for him and, although he won the US Open, this is next in order. I know he is well aware that the final this year will be on Australia Day. It's in his mind."

Does that place even more pressure on Hewitt?

"Yeah, maybe there's more outside pressure, I think," he said during the Hopman Cup. "I don't put any more pressure on myself going into the Australian Open. I really look forward to it. It's something that everyone knows by now - I love challenges and I love going out there and competing and seeing where I'm at. The Australian Open for me, that's sort of a goal. I couldn't care less if I win it in 10 years or this year. But if I could win it some day, it would be fantastic.

"Still, saying that, I think the way that I handled the situation being No 1 seed at Wimbledon, that's a pretty prestigious thing, to be No 1 seed at Wimbledon and go through the tournament. Apart from one little hiccup there in the quarter-finals, I played pretty faultless tennis there. I don't think it's any more pressure on myself than going into Wimbledon as number one seed."

Entering potentially the most challenging fortnight of his career, here is how Hewitt shapes up:

 Form: Some concerns after unexpected defeats by Jiri Novak and James Blake at the Hopman Cup, where Hewitt's renowned patriotism was expected to inspire a better performance. However, Hewitt claimed the event was only a warm-up and has practised impressively in Melbourne. The ultimate "gamer", expect him to hit the court running.

 Fitness: After being dogged by a virus last year, Hewitt was helped in his pre-tournament fitness campaign by former South Australian tour player Roger Rasheed. He was also joined by junior Wimbledon champion Todd Reid, a graduate of the tough Bollettieri Academy, who was impressed by Hewitt's ferocious approach to practice.

Said Hewitt: "I've put in a lot of time on the practice court and a lot of time in the gym as well, grinding it out in the last 2 weeks. I was able to put the feet up for about a week-and-a-half to two weeks after Shanghai, which was nice. I would have liked to have rested a little bit more I guess and tried to freshen up but it's not the case, and at the end of the day you want to see how hungry you are for the Australian Open. I decided to work pretty hard."

 Draw: A qualifier and either Cecil Mamiit or another qualifier should ensure a trouble-free passage to the third round. Gustavo Kuerten is a potential third-round opponent, although the Brazilian's appalling Australian Open record means there is no guarantee he will make it that far.

The real fun will start should Hewitt meet former foe - now good buddy - Alex Corretja in the fourth round, given Hewitt's apparent dislike of the Spanish style (luckily, Carlos Moya and Juan Carlos Ferrero fell on the other side of the draw). Then, potentially, Andy Roddick or Novak await in the quarters and Marat Safin or Roger Federer in the semi-finals.

 Opposition: Much focus has been on Hewitt's mostly underachieving contemporaries, such as Safin, Ferrero and Federer. However, given he has won the title three times and looks in good condition, there is a strong argument that Andre Agassi should start favourite.

Said Agassi: "It's way too hard for me to be that objective on myself or anyone else, to be honest. It's not really my place to decide who's favourite, who's not. I've got to work hard just to be up there . . . If I'm playing Lleyton, I can assure you he's the player to beat because I'm playing him in the finals, one and two. Until then, I don't think a whole lot about it."

 Conditions: Apparently, the quicker Rebound Ace has been tailored to Hewitt specifications.

"Obviously the ball is going to come through a lot quicker if you're playing a day match where it's 38 degrees or 35 degrees rather than overcast," said Hewitt. "You just don't know with Melbourne weather, either. There's a good chance that I'm going to be playing night matches as well hopefully, if I can stay in the tournament, at some stage during it. That's going to be a totally different situation. A night match is going to be a lot heavier conditions. It's going to be tougher to put the ball away. You've just got to go out there, I guess, and weigh it up on the day and who you're playing against and see what happens."

It's love-all as rivals make up
January 13 2003




Alex Corretja has changed his opinion of Lleyton Hewitt - they may even practise together, writes Richard Hinds.


Perhaps it is too early to claim Lleyton Hewitt has made the transition from problem child to choir boy. In a moment of extreme pressure during the Australian Open, perhaps we will find out. But there is one significant sign that the world No 1's on-court behaviour has improved significantly in recent times - Alex Corretja now talks to him.

After an icy stand-off, the Spaniard approached Hewitt at the US Open last September and ended a feud that began before the 2000 Davis Cup final when Corretja said publicly what some others had come to believe.

"He just appears arrogant to me," Corretja said before the final. "If he behaves that way next week [in the Davis Cup], there will be a nasty reception awaiting him."

Corretja believed Hewitt's fist-pumping antics were too often used to intimidate opponents and umpires. "It's good that a guy has motivation, but sometimes I think he's doing more like a psychological thing than other stuff," he said. "I don't like the way he behaves on court. I've never said that before for a player."

But by the 2002 US Open, Corretja had come to believe Hewitt's behaviour had improved and he wanted to clear the air.

"I've been pretty honest when I talk about everyone on the tour and I said that [about Hewitt being arrogant]," Corretja said. "But I must say that from my point of view he has really changed his attitude. He is more relaxed and he is thinking about himself when he is on the court - he is not trying to distract the other guy to help his game.

"I do have a lot of respect for him because he has shown he has been the best on the tour the last two years and I had the chance to talk to him last September at the US Open. I left some time to pass away to relax. At first I was trying to talk to him but it was difficult because he was hurt and if someone criticised myself I would also be upset.

"I tell him, 'I felt like you had something against me', and he said, 'No, it wasn't against you, that is just the way I behave with everyone and you took it personally and I'm sorry about that'."

Corretja said he apologised to Hewitt for making his comments publicly rather than face-to-face. "He said it was OK, he didn't want to have any problems with me or anyone else. We shake hands and it's been great. Of course we are rivals like everyone else, but it doesn't make sense to sit in the locker room with someone next to you who you don't talk [to] at all."

Given Corretja is one of the most popular and approachable players on the tour, his initial opinion of Hewitt's behaviour carried some weight in the locker room. Equally, the Spaniard's belief Hewitt's demeanour has improved seems justified.

Although he remains entangled in a dispute with the ATP and continues his stand-off with the media, Hewitt's primal screams and exaltations have seemed less threatening since the 2001 US Open, in which he was accused of claiming a black linesman was favouring his opponent, James Blake.

After their US Open peace talks, Corretja saw Hewitt again in Tokyo and they exchanged pleasantries. There has even been talk of practising together and Corretja is effusive in his praise of the world No 1.

"I'm amazed by what he achieved and he definitely deserved it because he has been working harder than anybody else," Corretja said.

"It is amazing the way he has developed his game everywhere because three or four years ago you could say, 'OK, he could be a really good player', but now he's winning the slams on different surfaces . . . he only needs to improve a little bit on clay and it will be ridiculous."

Hewitt not soft but very, very strong

Despite his toilet-paper ads, Lleyton is king in Oz, writes Kevin Mitchell

Sunday January 12, 2003
The Observer

In his occasionally petulant career, Lleyton Hewitt has fireproofed himself against total derision through the brilliance of his tennis - although quite what endorsing a brand of Australian toilet paper will do for his image abroad is not immediately apparent. But this is a country where sporting status is measured in how much money advertisers can throw at an individual for the ritual embarrassment of pretending to be in love with anything from mobile phones (Adam Gilchrist) to second-hand cars (rugby players you've never heard of).
Already, Hewitt is the youngest Australian to have his face on a postage stamp. So let's hear it for toilet paper.

The boy from Adelaide has gone through the other rites of passage peculiar to celebrities. There was the bust-up with the local tennis writers impertinent enough to suggest in his home town that his opponent could play a bit; an unfortunate outburst over a black official at the US Open; and a general air of brattishness that led Alex Corretja to observe last summer: 'Hewitt is an unfriendly guy.' Brad Gilbert said during Hewitt's progress to this year's Wimbledon title that some day someone in the locker room would 'whack the kid'.

Nevertheless, the 21-year-old kid has matured. A little. Maybe 19-year-old Kim Clijsters has had something to do with that. The lookalike girlfriend known Down Under as 'Our Kim' is universally loved in a Kylie sort of way. 'Australia is definitely my second home,' the Belgian said between applause at the Sydney International, a warm-up gig for this week's Australian Open in Melbourne.

It is difficult to understand from a distance what a star Hewitt is in his own country. Up close, you witness the full media overkill. Lleyton and Kim have taken over from the parted 'Nicole and Tom' as the paparazzi's couple of choice at first nights and airports, and, as Clijsters pointed out last week: 'I almost spend more time here than in Belgium.' Tough call there, Kim.

In fact the couple's playing schedule means they meet up only at grand slams and other moments they can squeeze in between major tournaments in the United States. He bought her a set of golf clubs for Christmas, a hint that she might like to join him on the course occasionally.

'I think he plays off six or seven,' she told reporters. 'I'll have to practise a lot [but] it's just too much walking for me. I think you have to walk around for five hours or something. I'd rather go shopping for five hours.'

So, as they polish their lines for a hungry media, go shopping - for golf clubs, toilet paper and whatever else celebrities do not already have too much of - Lleyton and Kim are growing up in public as best they can.

And tennis life could hardly be more perfect for Hewitt. When the glamour is stripped away, when the changing-room sniping is done with, the kid can play a bit. He is rated number one in the world and is a good bet to keep that ranking for a little while yet. It is hardly a shock that he is top seed for this week's Open, the first Australian to be so acknowledged two years in a row. More significantly, if he lives up to his seeding, he will become the first Australian to win his own Open since the unseeded janitor Mark Edmondson beat the number one seed John Newcombe in 1976.

The Open is Australia's version of Wimbledon - seemingly beyond the grasp of the locals. Hewitt, for instance, has never gone farther than the fourth round in six times of trying. Last year, recovering from chickenpox, he went out in the first round to the ordinary Spaniard Alberto Martin. But he comes here having beaten Martin's compatriot, Juan Carlos Ferrero, 7-5 7-5 2-6 2-6 6-4 in a dramatic Masters Cup final in front of 9,500 gobsmacked Chinese fans in Shanghai. If ever a tennis match showed Hewitt's fighting spirit it was that one.

He is also the only seeded Australian, man or woman, in the Open, which might surprise those casual observers who imagine that this country is peerless at everything from marbles to cricket.

Hewitt, already a firm favourite, has had his price shortened further as a dozen of the world's leading players have again not bothered to make the journey, all citing injuries from the end of last season. (The patriotic Hewitt has been particularly scathing of the absent Greg Rusedski, slightly kinder about Tim Henman, who is at least trying to get fit for the Davis Cup tie in Sydney in February).

Tennis Australia were last week digging their heels in against suggestions by the International Tennis Federation and several players that their Open be pushed back a few weeks to give everyone a chance to prepare properly. This, said Andre Agassi, who always trains through Christmas, is the reason the likes of Pete Sampras do not take the 15-hour journey from the US. Sure it is.

Hewitt is another training zealot. While others have been earning money in the Sydney International, he has been spending long hours every day in Sydney fine-tuning his game with an array of physios and personal trainers almost as big as the England rugby union team's squad of experts. It is that striving for perfection that separates Hewitt (and Agassi) from the pack. 'That's the thing about Lleyton,' says Clijsters. 'When he walks on the court he wants to win every match he plays.'

Still, if Hewitt sees off the challenge of Agassi, his outrageously talented Sydney clone Todd Reid, and Carlos Moya - who beat him four times out of five last year - the endorsement offers will hit his agent's desk like gold bricks. And this kid is so popular he could get away with pushing haemorrhoid cream... so to speak.

The Rocky Hewitt Show The Herald Sun 11 Jan

typed up by Elizabeth

Deep in the third set and deep in trouble, lleyton hewitt headed for the fence in search of salvation.
the tiny 12 year old outwardly looked perfectly suited to a gig in the Little Masters event, but a mighty beast burned within.
hewitt snatched the wire fence, glared at his south australian team manager and exploded: "no pain. all heart, rocky. you've got to fight to the end!'
the first movie hit the screens five years before lil lleyton was born, but the sylvester stallone classic had become an obsession.
"it was a big thing from a young age," recalls simon longhurst, the manager sitting courtside at brisbane's coops centre that day in 1994.
"he believed that no matter how many times you get hit, you keep coming back.
"here's this little kid hanging on to the fence looking at me, saying 'it's all heart, Rock. i'm not going to give up'.
"it was then i knew he had a special quality."
Hewitt was tackling an opponent two years older, who appeared two times stronger. he had every excuse to roll over and take the 'gallant loser' option.
in the end, he lost - but not without an almighty struggle.
"i remember that day, he was so angry with everybody." longhurst days.
"but the moment he walked out, he said 'well, what are we doin' for tea?'"
longhurst, who spent 13 years as a coach with tennis south australia shared a room with the little bloke that trip and thought he had seen it all. but two years later - this time down in burnie, tasmania - hewitt would top it.
representing SA in the nation under-16's teams event, hewitt started poorly against victorian adam ramadeen and was down 0-3 before he could conjure some emotion.
victorian coach ray kilkenny, allowed to sit courtside davis cup style, was about to talk tactics at the change of ends when hewitt walked past and propped half a metre from the pair.
he stared at ramadeen and muttered something like: "i hate losing. you won't win another game"
"once he walked out on to the court, it was like he was a gladiator. he's going out on an arena to fight," longhurst says.
Hewitts bold, brash prediction proved spot on - poor ramadeen did not win another game, losing 6-3 6-0.
Later hewitt bought kilkenny and ramadeen a drink and was as friendly as ever.
"he's just got white-line fever" kilkenny says.
hewitt, at 22, is now no.1 in the world. he had won more than $20 million in prizemoney.
Sure, his court speed is aresome. his backhand is probably the most consistent in the world. his topspin lob may be even the best ever.
but it is that mental steel that sets hewitt apart from the rest.
"believing in yourself can make you the strongest man in the world. thats what he's got' is how colourful australian andrew ilie puts it.
spaniart alex corretja said this week that hewitt was clearly the strongest platyer mentally on tour. "definately, yes. no doubt" he said.
thats a big compliment coming from corretja. the two-time french open finalist, widely regarded as the nice guy of the mens tour, savaged hewitt's on-court antics before the 2000 davis cup final.
he accused hewitt of arrogance, psychological game-playing and questioned his education. no more mr nice guy for a moment there.
"i never say that before (about) a player, but i dont like the way he behaves. he can do what he likes, but his behaving, it's a little strange," corretja said at the time.
"after four points, he's already 'come on'" he said, mimicking hewitt.
"i don't know if that's too normal. i think it's good that a guy had motivation, but sometimes i think he's doing more like psychological things than other stuff"
but in the relaxed surroundings of kooyong the past 3 days, corretja was feeling much differently.
"i think he definately would like to be the best and he is living his own life thinking to be the best... you have to sacrifice many things and not everybody likes to do that," corretja said.
in other words, there are others with more talent, but not the drive.
"im amazed by what he's achieved and he's definately deserved it because he has been working harder than anybody else," corretja said.
"i said a few years back i saw his career as being difficult because he had to spent a lot of time on the court, but it's been amazing.
"i take my hat off and it's beautiful what he's done.
"now he's winning the slams in different - wimbledon, US open, masters cup, masters series, everywhere ... he only needs to improve a little bit on clay and it will be ridiculous."
german legend boris becker is one of hewitts biggest fans, writing in 'the times' soon after his wimbledon triumph this year: "he is a street fighter. there is not a timid bone in his body. he is young, but there is something of the veteran about him. he is lethal."
peter smith, hewitts coach of 10 years from the age of 6, takes the blame - or credit -for introducing hewitt to Rocky.
smith often gave his pupils copies of the movie for motivation. "lleyton became addicted to it," he said.
"he had that competitive spirit that is unmatched ny anything i've ever seen."
no one knows hewitts mindd and game better than smith. they are still close.
in smith's office at adelaide's generation next tennis centre, hands a photo of a six0year old hewitt looking every bit like the stefan edberg clone. complete with the late 1980s mullet.
so whats makes the little guy so damned determined... almost indestructable?
smith said hewitt had never sought the help of a psychologist. never will.
"he's had zero help in that area. neither of us ever believed in stuff like that," he said. "we figured that if you need that, then there's something wrong in the first place."
smith is adamant the fight is a gift from god. it also helped that both hewitt's parents were competitive sportspeople. father glynn played more than 300 games of football for richmond, south adelaide, woodville, west adelaide.
glynn was handy with a racquet too, but not good enough to beat his 12 year old son in the seaside club championship.
mum cherilyn was a PE teacher who represented south australia in netball.
"he's just a fiercely competitive kid. i don't think that was necessarily developed. it's just him. it's just natural." Smith said.
"his sister jaslyn's the same. thhey just hate to lose.
"he's as competitive in backyard cricket to this day as he is on the tennis court. he's just one of those kids that whatever he's doing he likes to win.
"he's pretty quick bowling out the back. the backyard pitch is quite small.. it's in an enclodsed area."
smith has a theory that being a small kid was a huge advantage for hewitt.
"ever since he started playing at about 7, he was small. he was also pretty good, but he was small.
"Then, when he started playing senior open tennis - state league pennant even at a young age - he was much younger and much smaller in almost every match he played.
"in that sense, he kind of learned to look after himself.
"it's the only way in this sport you can fight back. in this sport, you can't fight back physically."
some believe hewitt has a pathological fear of losing.
on the morning of the 1999 australian hardcourt championship semi-final in adelaide - against his now coach jason stoltenberg - hewitt stayed up intil 2am playing pool against his best mate brett smith, son of his former coach peter.
apparently he was so keen to 'kick brett's arse", he was in no hurry to go home. he slept in a camp bed next to the pocket in which he had slammed the winning eight-ball.
later that year, hewitt's emotion and passion got the better of him in the davis cup final against france in nice.
he had blasted cedric pioline off the court earlier that year in the australian open and entered the clash brimming with confidence.
pioline led 5-3 in the first set before hewitt hit back, forcing it to a tie-break.
when he went up 7-6, hewitt dashed to the bench, drew an imaginary line in the sand and screamed: "There's the line. I'm not going back!" his body was shaking.
but hewitt lost, captain john newcombe later conceding that famous adrenalin had brought him undone.
it was a defining moment. hewitt realised he had taken it too far and, for the most part, has been more measured since.
for, really, behind all the gusto and fist pumping, hewitt is a genius. a craftsman who is a natural at setting up points. si often he does the right thing on the big points.
"everytime i told him anything about tactical approaches to the game, he just absorbed it," smith said.
"even as a young kid, it was like a game of chess.
"it was not to do with brute strength. it was a matter of being able to select shots at the right time and get people off balance.
"his whole game now is that delicate balance. he's pretty much the tactical genius of the game."
Less subtle is hewitt's official website lleytonhewitt.biz. it appears on the screen to the theme of Rocky.
No pain. All heart, Rocky. You've got to fight to the end.

Shouldering the wait of a nation
January 12 2003


Lleyton Hewitt has his eyes on an Australian Open title.


It is 27 years since an Australian man won the national tennis championship. It adds to the already hefty weight of expectation upon world number one Lleyton Hewitt, reports Linda Pearce.


Consider, for example, that Australia last year brought two Winter Olympics gold medals to the southern hemisphere, hung unexpectedly from the necks of a skater and a skiier; that it has reared an American football All Star, and dozens of soccer players employed by the world's most prestigious leagues; and that none are traditional Australian sports.

Note, too, that in the past quarter of a century, the America's Cup yacht race has been conquered, along with Olympic disciplines as diverse as athletics and taekwondo; that world championships have been plundered in everything from rugby union to gymnastics and boxing; and that a successful invasion of the hostile West Indies ended a long era of cricket frustration.

Now ponder the incongruity of this one longstanding failure: since 1976, a period in which Australia has claimed multiple Davis Cups, Wimbledon and US Open singles titles and boasted two No.1 players, no Australian man has won the national tennis championship.

The last was Mark Edmondson, who defied logic and rankings when courts were still made of grass and racquets of wood, and after Kooyong invitations to many of the world's best went unanswered.

Twenty-seven years later, 21-year-old Lleyton Hewitt is the Australian Open's top seed, as he was 12 months ago, when illness and Alberto Martin intervened. But, for the first time, following a healthy preparation that included an extended and essential pre-Christmas rest brought about by Australia's unsuccessful Davis Cup year and his own continuing viral problems, Hewitt is also the undisputed favorite.



advertisement

advertisement
No Englishman has won at Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936, so there can be no comparison with the hype and desperation that annually follows Tim Henman through the iron gates of the All England Club.

Even so, Edmondson's record is under its greatest threat since Pat Cash reached consecutive finals in 1987-88, and Australia Day would be a fitting date for the handover.

"It's not a record, this so-called record that you media want to beef up every year," Edmondson countered, a little impatiently, having heard it all before.

"But, realistically, I suppose, and certainly since the two years that Cashy got to the final, it would be the most promising year for Australia to have an Australian champion. In the men's anyway."

Hewitt wants this one badly, and a success at home would mean more than any other to a player so nationalistic, even provincial, that he still lives in Adelaide, fanatically supports the Crows in what he regards as the world's best game, and listened to Hunters and Collectors before his Tennis Masters Cup triumph in November.

All matters of personal taste, of course, but it does seem that Hewitt's only foreign attribute is his Belgian girlfriend, Kim Clijsters.

Indeed, the Open is the tournament Hewitt has coveted above all others since before he crossed the border with his family to spectate for the first time in the late 1980s, and stayed in an apartment nearby.

"The Australian Open means an awful lot to me, and I'd love to win it next, that's for sure," he said after Wimbledon.

"And I really think this year that it's within reach."

With the French Open, the Australian is the only major title Hewitt has not won, making his home slam even more special than before - if that is possible.

"Being an Australian and me growing up and going to Melbourne Park since I was nine or 10 years old, it's a very special place, and I get goose bumps as soon as I get in there." he said.

"I loved Mats Wilander, watching him play. I remember watching a lot of his matches. Also, I used to go in there early in the morning and (Ivan) Lendl was working out with (Tony) Roche on the back courts out there - I think show court one and two. I'd just sit there and watch those guys, Lendl, grind it out for hours out there. I think I just learned a lot from watching those guys; how hard you've got to work if you want to be the best player in the world."

An uninterupted annual pilgrimmage became one of participation when, in 1997, and aged just 15 years and 11 months, Hewitt became the youngest qualifier in tournament history, and lost to veteran Sergi Bruguera in the first round, botching his first attempt to serve so badly that it bounced off the backdrop at the other end of the court.

Yet, since then, despite achievements including the US Open and Wimbledon titles, and membership of a Davis Cup-winning team, his best result at home has been one appearance in the fourth round, and a record of 6-6.

Yet, elsewhere, Hewitt has defied predictions that his would be merely a caretaker's reign; that someone bigger and stronger and with more obvious weapons would usurp him soon enough; or that Andre Agassi's time would come again.

Wrong, and wrong, at least so far.

As Peter McNamara, former world No.7 and current coach of Mark Philippoussis, points out: "The next generation, they're all these crazy guys anyway. Who is the next No.1? Hewitt is probably the next No.1 for five years, maybe."

The grand slam intangibles are the expectation and associated pressures that accompany an Australian in Australia, as Pat Rafter and others have found.

Ignoring last year's first-round loss to Alberto Martin, when the after-effects of chicken pix were the only true winner, Hewitt's last big Melbourne Park occasion was the 2001 Davis Cup final against France, where he split his singles rubbers.

As it is in Sydney and Adelaide tournament play, Hewitt's local representative record is outstanding, although it may be significant that the only blip in a live singles rubber occurred on the biggest occasion, on day one of the final against Nicolas Escude, while his finest moment, upstaging Gustavo Kuerton in Florianopolis on Brazilian clay, was one of his most remote.

"I think he wears the load of expectation pretty well; he's done it in Davis Cup," said captain and admirer John Fitzgerald.

"Granted, he wants to win the Australian Open title, but he's such a great player, and he handles so many different types of situations where he's won that I don't think it's an overbearing one."

Todd Woodbridge, however, believes he has seen evidence of pressure-related inhibition.

"Maybe a little bit at the Australlian Open, but I think that's because he wants it to badly, so he wants to do well so badly," Woodbridge said.

"Every other tournament he's played in Australia he's played unbelievable. Sometimes if you want something too badly that inhibits you, so if he can just play like he does at Wimbledon or a US Open, it can go his way."

James Blake, his once-controversial rival and conqueror in the Hopman Cup final a week ago, described the crowd support - even for one who has polarised so many Australians in the past - as possibly a double-edged sword.

After such a long drought, the significance of such a potential achievement can become so relentlessly talked about as to become a burden.

Not only that, but Hewitt is now sitting on a perch that provides a target for those opponents plotting from below.

"Whenever someone gets to No.1 in the world, everyone else tries to think of ways to beat them. That's probably why it's tough to stay there," Blake said.

"Pete Sampras said that was the toughest thing he ever had to do, was trying to stay No.1. Not gettting there, but trying to stay there... We're still trying to figure out what that secret is. Carlos Moya might be the only one that has some kind of secret to beat him. We'll see if the rest of us can figure it out."

If so, would someone please tell Wayne Arthurs?

The left-hander widely credited with owning the game's best serve rates his Davis Cup teammate among the best two or three returners. What makes Hewitt so good?

"I wish I knew," Arthurs quipped.

"If I knew that question I'd be in the top 10, I think. The bastard never tells me his secret; I wish he would. Just the quickness on the feet, and his reading of the ball. He just seems to know where the serve's going to go. And his hand-eye co-ordination is definitely up there with Agassi's for the return."

Others also point to his exceptional balance, speed and agility, his ball sense and anticipation, his professionalism and relentless desire.

He is self-motivated, yet sometimes needs to set himself for something specific - such as proving the media or rivals wrong, or thumbing his nose at the men's governing body, the ATP.

In Shanghai, Davis Cup coach Wally Masur said it was as if Hewitt decided he would have, must have, the Mercedes that came as part of the prize.

Never mind that he could buy a new car each day with his $30 million in estimated annual earnings.

The slighter quicker Rebound Ace courts should suit him this year, and the No.1 has welcomed the change.

After all, his two major championship victories have come on the two fastest grand slam surfaces: Wimbledon's grass and Flushing's Decoturf II.

He has also had an extended break for the first time since 1998.

Woodbridge blames a modest Australian Open record partly on an over-ambitious lead-in program that has usually included tour events in both Adelaide and Sydney.

"Lleyton's not the sort of guy that has to play a ton of matches to get ready, get in form, whereas I think those few years as a young player he was probably a little bit tired going into the Open."

So, is this year Hewitt's?

"Last year, I said that and put the mocker on him," Woodbridge said, laughing.

"If he's healthy and fresh and fit, I think so; that's got to be the main thing. But he's proved that he can win any tournament in the world. I hope he performs at the Australian Open because with what he's done everywhere else in the world, he deserves to play well at home and show that (here)."

Hewitt believes he has been unlucky, with illness last year and unsympathetic draws before that, but all now seems to be in place.

As a student of tennis history, the 2003 favorite may know that when Edmondson became the last local Australian Open champion, the trophy slipped from his hand during the presentation and broke into several pieces.

Now, 27 years later, Hewitt's best opportunity has come - and so has the growing expectation that he will grasp it more firmly

Mum's the word for not-so-lil' Lleyton
January 12 2003
By James MacSmith


Cherilyn Hewitt, mother of world No. 1 Lleyton, yesterday described her son as a Jekyll and Hyde-type character before his Australian Open campaign.

The tennis superstar's aggressive demeanour on court bore no resemblance to that off the court, she said.

"The fierce competitor out on the court is not the shy, reserved kid that he is off the court," Mrs Hewitt said. "He is very much the Jekyll and Hyde personality."

As Hewitt endeavours to put last year's first-round exit behind him, his mum has revealed how much an Australian Open victory would mean to Lleyton and his family.

"He just loves the Aussie Open," she said. "We've been coming here forever, and now he's playing it's an exciting way to start the year.


"He would just love to win one Australian Open, whether it's this year or in five years."

She said her son was aware of the public expectations, but that didn't weigh too heavily on his mind.

"Lleyton keeps everything deep inside. He doesn't really talk about it a lot. He probably confides in Kim (Clijsters) a fair bit, but we only find out after the event. Then he'll come out and say what he's thinking.

"He's always been like that. When he first won the Adelaide event, I'd take him to training and we wouldn't talk about the tennis. We'd talk about every other thing and then when it was all over he'd start talking about how he felt."

Mrs Hewitt was reluctant to discuss the relationship between her son and Belgian world No. 3 Clijsters, but said Hewitt had benefited enormously from having someone around who understood the demands of professional tennis: "Their relationship has been great for both of them, absolutely."

Mrs Hewitt and husband Glynn are often seen at their son's matches. She believes the support Lleyton enjoys from his family has contributed to his success. "I like to think we helped in some way."

Cherilyn and Lleyton recently filmed a commercial for toilet paper. It's one she considers apt considering his treatment by the media.

"What disappoints me most is when stories are made up by the media," she said. "The media have given him so much crap over the years that he actually needs a bit of toilet paper."

WOODY'S WORD: NOT TOO MANY HEADACHES FOR LLEYTON
Friday, 10 January, 2003
by Mark Woodforde

The draw for the 2003 Australian Open has been done and the first conclusion to be drawn is that Lleyton Hewitt must be extremely pleased.

From my reading of the draw, there really are only four players who stand in the way of Hewitt and a place in the final, where the world No.1 would be bidding to become the first local winner since 1976.

In other years Lleyton has always seemed to run into players who give him problems and then there was last year's bout of chicken pox, but the coast seems clear enough this year.

The first player would be Gustavo Kuerten; however he himself has a tough first round against Hicham Arazi so whether he plays Lleyton in the third-round remains to be seen.

Then there's Andy Roddick, but whether he makes it out of his section is also debatable. Is he playing well enough? If so, he does have a game that would give Lleyton a bunch of problems?

Marat Safin is also in Lleyton's draw and they may clash in the semi-finals. Safin certainly has the firepower to threaten Lleyton, as does Roger Federer, but the good news is that Federer and Safin are slated to meet in the quarter-finals, so they both couldn't play Lleyton.

And even by the time they get to the semis, their reserves may be so depleted that they simply can't go with Hewitt in a best-of-five match.

So, all things considered, you would have to say that all is in place for Hewitt to win the championship at home, which begs the question of how would he handle the pressure of playing at homer in a final to be played, of all days, Australia Day?

With a ranking of No.1, comes all sorts of pressure and the expectation that you will never lose. But Lleyton absorbs that sort of stuff very well and in Grand Slams, the cream always rises to the top and he has shown in the past two years that he can be there at the business end of a Slam.

And at the 2003 Australian Open, there don't appear to be too many players that could keep him on the court long enough to deplete his fitness and leave him fatigued in the second week.

There are always mixed opinions as to the value of having to play five-set matches earlier on in the tournament. Players don't like complications during a Grand Slam and like their matches to be as quick and easy as possible. You just don't care how you win it, so I don't think Lleyton or any other player for that matter would be looking for long and drawn out affairs early in the tournament.

But enough of Lleyton. There are several juicy first-round clashes to look forward to and in particular, that between Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian and Jerome Golmard. I'd love to see Nalbandian do well. The courts suit him because of the bounce and allow him to unleash that big forehand, while Golmard is one of those dangerous floaters who has shown before that he can take out a seed.

Wayne Ferreira and Tommy Robredo is tough to call and Robredo would be anxious at having to overcome one of the craftier veterans in the game.

The No.17 seed, Gaston Gaudio meets Thomas Enqvist. Gaudio has a fabulous backhand, one of the best around. Those heading to Melbourne Park could do worse than spend some time watching him play because his backhand is a thing of beauty. But Enqvist knows how to play these courts and was the poison for a few Australian players, particularly the year he took out Pat Rafter and Mark Philippoussis in consecutive rounds.

Franco Squillari is not a great draw for Juan Carlos Ferrero in the first round, but might provide the No.4 seed with the solid first-round match he may need to get himself acquainted with Melbourne Park.

Serena Williams has Kim Clijsters and Monica Seles on her side of the draw and they are two players who could beat her if she's not on her game. Clijsters beat Serena late last year, while Seles always performs well at Melbourne Park.

Venus Williams has Lindsay Davenport on that side of the draw and while it's awful thing to say, there's not too much else in that half. From watching Jennifer Capriati in Sydney and from reading comments in the press, she doesn't quite appear the same girl who won the last two Opens. I'm not sure if there isn't some doubt in her mind and that her outspoken comments in the media are perhaps designed to try and rattle a few of the other girls.

Finally, the draw affords a great opportunity for Aussies Nicole Pratt and Rachel McQuillan to meet in the third-round. Neither player has reason to fear those around them in the draw, even the seeds and I'd be disappointed if they didn't both steel themselves to meet in the third-round.

That would mean an Australian in the fourth-round of the Australian Open, which would be a wonderful opportunity to showcase what our women players are capable of.

DREAM DRAW FOR HEWITT
Friday, 10 January, 2003
by Ashley Browne

Lleyton Hewitt's hopes of becoming the first Australian to win the Australian Open since Mark Edmondson in 1976 have been boosted by a relatively easy draw for the 2003 championship, which starts at Melbourne Park on Monday.

The No.1 seed has drawn a qualifier in the first-round and the winner of Cecil Mamiit and another qualifier in the second-round, before a potential third-round clash with the No.30 seed, Brazil's Gustavo Kuerten, a three-time French Open champion.

Even more significantly, he is on the opposite side of the draw to his greatest nemesis, Spain's Carlos Moya, who has a 5-2 career record against the world's top-ranked player, including wins the last four times they have met.

Hewitt is in the same half of the draw as the No.3 seed Marat Safin, however the Russian's participation in the tournament remains under a cloud, following his withdrawal on Thursday from the adidas International in Sydney because of a shoulder injury.

Hewitt's potential fourth-round opponent is Spain's Alex Corretja, in what could be a potential grudge match following remarks made by Corretja several years ago about Hewitt's on-court demeanour.

"It's a pretty fair draw for Lleyton," said tournament director Paul McNamee. "It's a potential third round against either Hicham Arazi or Kuerten, but there's no secret that a guy like Moya has given him trouble. You have to put it in perspective and say it's a fair draw."

The championship's No.2 seed, Andre Agassi opens with fellow American Brian Vahaly.

If the draw plays itself out according to the seeds, then the quarter finals would match Hewitt against Jiri Novak, Safin against Roger Federer, Moya against fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero and Albert Costa against Agassi.

Kuerten's first round clash with Hicham Arazi is intriguing, with Arazi a quarter-finalist here in 2000 while the Brazilian has never progressed past the second-round.

The comeback kid, 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek will play a highly-anticipated opener against Todd Reid, the 18 year old who is at the vanguard of the next generation of Australian stars. Ferrero plays talented countryman Tommy Robredo.

Another player mounting a comeback of sorts, Australia's Mark Philippoussis opens against Martin Verkerk and could play Thailand's No.11 seed Paradorn Srichaphan in what would be a huge second-round clash for the Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific

Hewitt's secret place in the sun     *pics
By JOHN THIRSK in Sydney
08jan03
the Daily Telegraph
LLEYTON Hewitt has set up a secret training camp in Sydney's east to bring him to his peak for the Australian Open as his rivals fight out the adidas International on the other side of the city.

The Herald Sun yesterday found the world's No.1 and his entourage at White City - the former home of the NSW Open which has become the adidas International - working away under the midday sun.

So intense has Camp Lleyton been at White City, he hasn't even ventured to the Sydney International Tennis Centre at Homebush to see his girlfriend and world No.4 Kim Clijsters play.

Hewitt's main goal for 2003 is to become the first Australian to win his own title since Mark Edmondson in 1976. His one regret from a memorable 2002 was his first-round defeat at last year's Open when he had chickenpox.

This period of ill-health ensured health and fitness became a priority this summer, and Hewitt has gone to extraordinary lengths to keep his body in balance.

A leading immunologist has drummed into Hewitt the need to give his body adequate recovery time between major tournaments.

It is the reason he used the Hopman Cup in Perth, where he teamed with Alicia Molik to finish second to the US, instead of this week's adidas International as his lead-in event to the Australian Open, starting on Monday.

Hewitt's great rivals Carlos Moya, the Spanish world No.5 who has beaten him four times in a row, Marat Safin, ranked No.3, Juan Carlos Ferrero (No.4) and Roger Federer (No.6) are all in action this week at Homebush.

But not Hewitt, 21, who has a rigid daily program and has surrounded himself with a team of coaches, trainers and health experts. Yesterday, his personal chiropractor, Andreas Bisaz, adjusted Hewitt on a courtside bench between his workouts.

Also on board was his mate from Adelaide, former Sturt player Roger Rasheed, his personal trainer.

Each morning Hewitt goes through a stretching and warm-up routine before going into his practice session.

Hewitt in great shape to keep prize at home

From Neil Harman, Tennis Correspondent in Melbourne
www.timesonline.co.uk

FOR the next six days, all sorts of questions will be raised against Lleyton Hewitt and he will not dignify a single one of them with an answer. The world No 1 has gone into Australian Open purdah, the talking is for others, his focus is unshakeable.

Those who might line up to doubt Hewitt’s ability to become Australia’s first winner of the Open since Mark Edmondson’s unlikely triumph in 1976 should pause for a moment to consider that he has spent the past month honing himself into the best shape of his life.

Without being 100 per cent Hewitt was able to win Wimbledon, another Masters Cup and end a second year on top of the pile. A couple of defeats last week in Perth, to Jiri Novak, of the Czech Republic, and James Blake, of the United States — potential champions both — while disconcerting, should not lull his detractors into a false sense of pleasure.

Hewitt is hardened to that and is in pristine condition thanks to a strict winter training regime similar to that of an Aussie Rules footballer preparing for a new season. He is determined to break Australia’s barren spell and bring his collection of grand-slam titles to three.

Whatever the outcome of a fortnight in Melbourne that starts on Monday and will test the limits of Hewitt’s endurance, patience and good humour, less will be seen of him in 2003 as he tries to lift more of the titles that matter. His schedule has not yet been posted but he intends to cut back on minor events.

Tom Ross, his manager, said: “We have put together a programme for him that is all about the four grand slams and the Davis Cup (even worse news for Great Britain) and making sure he has just the right amount of competition. It is about what Lleyton believes will bring out the best in him.”

Though there are financial penalties for not participating in each of the nine Masters Series events on the ATP Tour, the fact that Hewitt has been entrenched in a legal row with those in charge of the men’s game for five months has only served to harden his attitude against appearing when they would expect him to appear. Thus, it is unlikely he will repeat the novelty of his 2002 debut in Monte Carlo this April and may well miss two of the three clay-court Masters events in Europe.

“He knows the structure of the tour doesn’t make it easy for him to walk away from Masters events but if it means it would make it easier for him to retain his Wimbledon title or go the distance at the French Open, that is what he will do,” Ross said.

“He has absolute respect for everyone else playing and that means, when he is out there, he will give his all. Once you get to the level Lleyton has attained, it is about establishing your place in history. People have talked about him in those terms ever since he won his first title as a 16-year-old.

“He is the leader of a generation and yet he has achieved this against guys like Marat Safin, Roger Federer and Juan Carlos Ferrero, who could all be challenging him for No 1 this year. He says it is an honour for him to beat these guys and he really means it. I think it is not unreasonable to forecast now that the odds are already on Lleyton winning one slam this year, based on his track record.”

All of Australia — except a few members of the media with whom he is not on speaking terms — would relish that outcome. It is doubtful whether any other Australian could seriously challenge. Mark Philippoussis takes his rehabilitation from more knee surgery on a stride at the Commonwealth Bank Classic at the former Open site, Kooyong, in Melbourne from today. In two matches in Madras, India, last week, he looked rusty and he is already discounting his Open prospects. “I’m not strong enough yet to play seven five-set matches. Obviously, no one should expect me to win,” he said.

Wayne Arthurs has begun to practise less than four weeks after ripping an eight-centimetre tear in his right calf muscle, but his participation is uncertain. Arthurs, the second-ranked Australian behind Hewitt and one of only three home men to earn direct main-draw entry, had to withdraw from the AAPT Championships in Adelaide and cancel his request for a wild card into this week’s adidas International.

He has been receiving daily treatment since tearing his calf during sprint work on an outside court at Melbourne Park. “He’s hoping to play but he’ll have to make that decision as late as he can,” John Fitzgerald, Australia’s Davis Cup captain, said. “I want a few options for the British tie.” Oh that Roger Taylor, his opposite number, might find himself in such a position.


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


Tuesday January 7, 06:05 PM

Moya has no fears of Hewitt showdown in Australian Open

SYDNEY (AFP) - Carlos Moya used his big forehand to bludgeon American James Blake out of the Sydney International tennis tournament and promised more of the same if he bumps into world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt in next week's Australian Open.

The Spaniard world No.5 powered to a 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 win over 28-ranked Blake in one hour 47 minutes to set up a second-round meeting with American qualifier Mardy Fish, who knocked out former Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek in straight sets.

Moya is approaching the form that made him world No.1 in March 1999 and says he has added a stronger backhand to his formidable forehand armoury.

The 26-year-old Spaniard, runnerup to Pete Sampras at the 1997 Australian Open, has beaten Hewitt in their past four meetings and his confidence is high should he encounter Australia's best hope of winning the national Open in more than 28 years.

"I have a lot of confidence when I play Lleyton," Moya said on Tuesday. "I haven't dropped a set to him in our last four matches.

"He has trouble with my forehand and he finds it difficult to find my backhand.

"I'm able to move him side to side and finish the point. I feel comfortable when I play him."

Hewitt ranks with seven-time grand slam winner Andre Agassi and former US Open champion Marat Safin as the players to beat at the Australian Open, beginning in Melbourne on Monday.

Moya beat the feisty Australian in the round robin of the Masters final in Shanghai in November and holds a straight sets decision over him in the final of Cincinnati ATP Masters Series in August, winning, 7-5, 7-6 (7/5).

The Spaniard said he had 10 days off after losing to compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero in the semi-finals of the Masters Series finals and was working on strengthening his backhand, which has been considered a weakness in his game.

"My backhand has improved a lot, but it will never be as good as my forehand, but I can play my backhand with more confidence now," he said.

Blake was most impressed with Moya's famed forehand and has now lost to the Spaniard in their past three meetings.

"I'm not used to playing too many guys with bigger forehands than me... it is just huge and he can hit it from anywhere on the court, he moves so well to get it and he plays defence well off it (forehand)," Blake said.

Blake believes Moya has the weapons to beat Hewitt should they match up in Melbourne.

"He's got a great game to play him. His forehand is huge so he can dictate the point and he hits it so heavy that it's pretty comfortable for him to hit that all day and just run Lleyton around."

Moya already has an Australian Open victory over Hewitt, having beaten him over five sets in the third round of the 2001 slam.


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


Moya emerging as threat to Hewitt's supremacy

By John Parsons in Sydney (Filed: 08/01/2003)
www.telegraph.co.uk

History shows that results in the week before a Grand Slam can be misleading. However, Lleyton Hewitt, whose recent form has been patchy, should not underestimate the possibility of Carlos Moya overshadowing him in the Australian Open.

Despite intermittent injuries last year, Moya soared from 19 to five in the world rankings. Yesterday in the Adidas International event Moya began his 2003 campaign in style by bringing James Blake down to earth - following his victory over Hewitt in the Hopman Cup - 6-3, 6-7, 6-3.

On a day when Roger Federer, the defending champion, was upset by Argentine qualifier Franco Squillari - and a groin injury which restricted his serving - Moya looked fit and ready for the new season.

The Spaniard, who briefly reached No 1 in 1999, pipped Tim Henman for the final place in the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, after Sebastien Grosjean missed six match points against him in the final tour event in Paris.

Yet the most significant statistic that Moya carries over into the new season is that in his five matches last year against Hewitt, the Wimbledon and world champion, he has won the last four, twice on hard courts and twice on clay, without losing a set.

How? "You should ask Hewitt that not me," said Moya, before adding: "I don't really know why I always seem to beat him or why he struggles against me. I can only say that when I play him I feel very comfortable."

Blake, offered his own explanation. "As tough as it is to do, Carlos is one of the few players on the tour that can probably overpower Lleyton on a regular basis," he said. "His forehand is huge which means he can dictate the point, which is what he likes to do. Yet it's not so flashy that he's just going for winners.

"Hewitt's probably the best returner, the best counter-puncher, in the game but Carlos just hits a much heavier ball and has a bigger serve. He likes to get that big, heavy forehand going as soon as he can, hitting it inside-out or just cross-court from corner to corner.

"He hits it so heavy that it's pretty comfortable for him to hit that all day and just run Lleyton around. Then if you get to his backhand he either doesn't give you a lot of pace (which Hewitt enjoys) or tries to rip a winner with it. There's also the fact Carlos has beaten him so often that it gives him confidence going into their matches."

Blake, who paid heavily for a loss of his own serve when he missed an easy forehand volley between two double-faults after breaking back to 2-2 in the final set, said: "As soon as he was playing a forehand, I was on the defensive."

Far more worrying for Federer than his 6-2, 6-3 loss to Squillari was the strain in his groin which he first suffered in Doha and puts his involvement in the Australian Open, which starts on Monday, at risk. "I won't go on court there if I'm in pain, but I'm not considering pulling out at this moment," said the Swiss fourth seed.

Federer concurred with the common complaint that the tournament year is too long, but at least he understands the predicament facing those eager to tackle the problem.

"It just seems impossible because every player has different points to make," he said. "Some want more claycourt tournaments, others more on grass, some want fewer tournaments, some want more. In the end all we care about is ourselves."

Marat Safin avenged last year's Wimbledon defeat by Belgium's Olivier Rochus with a 6-1, 6-4 win, while the charismatic Thai Paradorn Srichaphan, who climbed from 126 to 16 in the world last year, beat Scott Draper, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. This came just 24 hours after his triumph in the Chennai event in India.

Nicolas Lapentti is lauding the merits of a revolutionary new racket, with two heads separated by a shock absorber system, called 'The Twin'. He says it lets him hit harder and faster and also divides into two sections for easy packing.

"You can even leave one head to be restrung and still have a racket to play," says the promotional literature. It did not help the Ecuadorian against the Korean qualifier, Hyung-Taik Lee. He lost 6-2, 6-0.

Nick Saviano, a former tour player whose name has been linked to the Lawn Tennis Association's search to find a replacement for their performance director, Patrice Hagelauer, resigned yesterday from his coaching post with the United States Tennis Association.

Saviano, who still has a home in Wimbledon, had been with the USTA since 1988, most recently as director of tennis coaching education and tennis international performance.


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


Safin says Hewitt strong ahead of Australian Open
AP
Sun Jan 5, 3:49 AM ET

SYDNEY, Australia - Russia's Marat Safin said Sunday that world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt could be pacing himself ahead of the Australian Open (news - web sites) and that Hewitt's early season losses are not an indicator of his real form.

Safin, the world No. 3, is one of a batch of hopefuls looking to overtake Hewitt's top ranking in 2003.

Hewitt lost his final two matches — to Jiri Novak and James Blake — at last week's Hopman Cup in Perth that marked his last tournament before heading to Melbourne Park for the start of the Australian Open on Jan. 13.

Safin said it was dangerous to peak too early and that Hewitt was better off gradually building up to his best.

"You can't play great tennis for four or five weeks because you're getting tired," Safin said. "It's better to start slowly and win a couple of matches. If you are able to win the tournament, that's great, but you have to prepare yourself as well as your can for the big one."

Safin has reunited with former coach Denis Golovanov, a "great friend who I can trust" and is bidding to go one better than his runner-up effort at last year's Australian Open.

He is top seed at this week's Sydney International, where he meets a quality field containing six of the world's top 10 men.

Five of the world's top 10 women are also in the field, including Australian Open champion Jennifer Capriati, Belgians Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne and Amelie Mauresmo of France.

American Lindsay Davenport was among the first-round winners Sunday, beating Australian Nicole Pratt 6-3, 6-3.

In other matches, Tatiana Panova of Russia beat Evie Dominikovic of Australia 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2, South African Amanda Coetzer downed Japan's Ai Sugiyama 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 and Switzerland's Patty Schnyder defeated Paola Suarez of Argentina 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Safin and Capriati will not play until Tuesday.


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


Monday January 6, 11:41 PM

French ace Grosjean aims to follow in Hewitt's steps

PARIS (AFP) - French No 1 Sebastien Grosjean says the only way he can climb to the top of the ATP rankings will be to borrow something from Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin.

The 25-year-old, who slipped from sixth to 16th in the ATP rankings as a chronic thigh injury disrupted his season last year, sees the Australian and Russian as his role models.

Hewitt finished on top of the world for the second year running while Safin, who also led Russia to their first Davis Cup triumph, ended 2002 as No 3, behind Andre Agassi.

"What I really need to do is take something from Hewitt's exceptional professionalism and add a little of Safin's natural stroke-making," Grosjean told Monday's l'Equipe sports daily ahead of next week's Australian Open.

He named Hewitt, Safin, Agassi, Spain's Juan-Carlos Ferrero and Switzerland's Roger Federer as the men to watch in Melbourne next week.

"The top 10 has been constantly changing in the last few years but they are always there. They are really world class," he said.

Grosjean, whose rose to No 6 in the world in 2001 when he lost the year-ending Masters final to Hewitt in Sydney, had his first complete break from tennis for years just before Christmas after effectively being forced to play on one leg because of his thigh injury.

"But I still had some tournaments last year despite the injury so I believe if I am fully fit I can get good results," he said. "The target this year is to stay fit for as long as possible, but the number one priority is to win a Grand Slam."

His game is now being fine-tuned by former France Davis Cup coach Thierry Tulasne.

"I need to be pushed and he is pushing me," Grosjean said.

Service and volley are staples of his daily training sessions but Grosjean says Tulasne has expecially helped him shake off a sometimes carefree attitude.

"I need to be aggressive, that's sure. As long as I'm concentrating and hurting my opponent with my shots my game as a whole is good, but once I lose that aggression my game goes off," he admitted.

"For 2003 my main aim is to win a Grand Slam," said the player who failed at the semi-final stage at both Melbourne and Roland Garros in 2001.

But the 1996 world junior champion still believes he can make No 1 in the world.

"That's the final objective but to get there I must attack my opponent. That's how my game will progress and I'll have a chance of making my goal."

Gloom setting in for open season
By Jeff Wells
January 6, 2003

TWO number ones and two very different stories a week out from the Australian Open.

To some the prospect of this summer of tennis is horrifying. Another great Aussie letdown?

Another Williams romp and all the nonsense that goes with it?

Even at yesterday's quiet first day of the adidas International the gloom set in at the sight of geeks poking their heads through a hole next to a cutout of adidas-sponsored Anna Kournikova to have their pictures taken. How to look like a tennis loser in one easy lesson.

There is also one for the real Russian sex symbol of tennis, Marat Safin, who has a famous hole in his own head. The ladies can push their noggins in to join his legendary entourage for a moment. But can his numbers beat Anna?

'No," he shook his head when I asked him. "Anna is ... good."

So Lleyton Hewitt, world No.1, will go into the Australian Open off two straight losses to Czech Jiri Novak and American James Blake in the Hopman Cup.

A loss to neither is a disgrace. The robotic-looking Novak, 27, has crept up on the world, raising his ranking from 53 to 7 in two years, with great disguise and accuracy on his shots. He made the semis at the Australian Open last year, losing to eventual winner Thomas Johansson, so he likes Rebound Ace. And he broke Andre Agassi's heart at the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, virtually ending Agassi's challenge for the number one.

Blake, 23, is the dynamic new American hope, and looks better than his 28 ranking. For two straight years he has pushed Hewitt to five sets at the US Open, so he is a hardcourt threat and one of those players lurking, waiting for Hewitt to stumble.

And Hewitt has stumbled, even though the Rebound Ace in Perth looked very stodgy, designed to keep the rallies going and provide valuable practice in the much too short lead-up to our Open.

Somehow in the next week Hewitt has to find a serve. Speed and courage can only carry him so far without the biggest weapon in the game.

His flat first serve has been running at a shockingly low percentage for someone who doesn't

have a real cannon. But nothing seems to have evolved during his break. He still stands a little wider of centre than many players, giving himself more net to deal with. And he doesn't seem to take the pace off it when it falters, to go for placement and consistency.

Maybe it is because his kicking second serve is one of the best in the business. But when that starts dropping short, sitting up to be hit, he can be in trouble. He also seems to be retreating so far behind the baseline that his chances of getting to net are slimming.

It must gall some of our old champions to see the serve and the volley missing from his game. If he had both working he would be almost untouchable. But the scent of his blood is now in the air and at Homebush this week Safin, Roger Federer, Carlos Moya, Andy Roddick, Srichaphan Paradorn, and Juan Carlos Ferrero (who had him on the ropes in the Shanghai final) will all be feeling better about themselves.

And the Aussie fans who have suffered for so many years as Pat Cash went troppo, Pat Rafter never prepared properly, and Mark Philippoussis went missing, will be fretting again.

Maybe it would be easier for them to get on the Serena Williams bandwagon. She has declared this to be a no-loss year, which must have made for interesting reading at Williams Mansions. Oh to be a fly on the wall when they sat down to eat their donuts.

We recall all the hype when Venus appeared on the scene -- she was the one who was going to win everything. Serena was the smokey in the stable.

Now Venus knows that she can't win a Grand Slam title because Serena will win them all.

Maybe she fears another whupping because she won't even bother with a warm-up for the Australian Open. In that past that would have been the usual arrogance - now it reeks of fear.

Serena is back minus the blonde fright wig and some of the deltoids which made her look like Roy Jones Jr. But can anybody threaten her?

Former No.1 Lindsay Davenport played only nine tournaments without a win, after knee surgery, last year. But she is back, looking trim, and warmed up nicely with a 6-3 6-3 win over Nicole Pratt. The big shots were ominous when she moved into court, and she laughed when questioned about the futility of playing the slams, what with the Serena Slam coming up.

But she will need a little more fancy footwork to threaten the unbeatable one.

wellsj@dailytelegraph.com.au

The Daily Telegraph

Don't worry, Lleyton
By PAUL MALONE
06jan03

WORLD No.3 Marat Safin yesterday laughed off Lleyton Hewitt's surprise Hopman Cup losses as insignificant pointers to the Australian Open.

Hewitt's defeats by Czech Jiri Novak and American James Blake in Perth prompted speculation about his preparation for the Australian Open, which starts next Monday.
But Safin, the 2002 Australian Open runner-up, said Hewitt's chances were best served by not playing so well, more than a week out from a grand slam that is always unpredictable because it is played so close to the off-season break.

"When you play a great tournament before the grand slam, it's not so good. You can't play perfectly for such a long time," said Safin, top seed at Sydney's adidas International.

"It's better (to) build up slowly, mentally."

Safin, 22, said Hewitt deserved to be favourite to finish world No.1 for a third-straight year because he could play on all surfaces and was the "most stable" of the leading players.

"There's going to be (Roger) Federer, (Juan Carlos) Ferrero, (Carlos) Moya, me ... (Andre) Agassi, I don't know, if he's getting (too) old, 33, to compete with us," Safin said.

"We'll see. It's an opportunity for me to finish No.1. Who wins the Australian Open, it doesn't mean he will finish the year No.1."

Safin said Russian tour player Denis Golovanov, aged 23 and thought to be in Sydney as his hitting partner, had become his latest in a string of coaches.

Golovanov, only nine months older than Safin and ranked No.184 in the world, seems to have been appointed on the basis that he is a trusted friend.

"He's one of my best friends. I make a deal for one year and let's see if we can do some great things this year," Safin said.

"I don't know if it's a good decision, but it's a decision I make because I couldn't find another guy I can trust.

"Everyone is missing something. Hewitt is an unbelievable fighter, but he doesn't have big strokes. I have my problems also. It's mental. It's why I am suffering sometimes."

Australian Davis Cup coach Wally Masur and veteran British commentator John Barrett said Hewitt's Perth losses did not necessarily point to Melbourne disappointment.

"I wouldn't place great emphasis on it even if he won them all. Lleyton's tennis is all about the big occasion," Masur said.

"Let's not forget the Australian Open is best of five sets and Lleyton's very good in that format and Burswood is a controlled environment. When you get Lleyton out on centre court and it's hot, windy, whatever, and he doesn't get annoyed at those things. Other players do."

Barrett said: "The pressures are mounting on Lleyton because he has done so much that he is expected to never lose. He has had his off-season break and got the match practice he needed. I should be amazed if he's not there in the latter stages of the second week."

Hewitt still Open fancy
January 5 2003
By Linda Pearce
Perth

It is not the time to panic, far from it, but nor is it the month for Lleyton Hewitt to search too long for his best. The Australian Open favourite has suffered successive losses for the first time in nine months and if the Hopman Cup is not the world's most meaningful event, then it is still Hewitt's last before the Melbourne Park grand slam tournament begins.

Still, the idea is not to peak too early, and there is no danger of that. Tuesday's brilliance against Dominik Hrbaty was followed by lapses against world No. 7 Jiri Novak and the 28th-ranked James Blake. Yesterday's 6-3, 6-4 result against Blake followed Alicia Molik's 6-2, 6-3 loss to Serena Williams, and ensured the United States would win its second mixed teams title.

Hewitt bloodied his knuckles in the first set by pounding them against his racquet strings in frustration. His competitive spirit means any loss is unwelcome, regardless of the circumstances.

But to put the week in perspective, it is all about easing back into match play and preparing for what is to come, and Hewitt was less disappointed than another expectant, capacity Burswood crowd that capped a record attendance week.

"Not always, I don't think, you want to be going into grand slams and playing your best tennis right at the start," said the Wimbledon champion. "I know the US Open the first year I won it, I wasn't playing my best tennis until I got probably to the fourth round.

"I think the competitive juices will be flowing as soon as I get out there and you get the smell of a grand slam, and I think I'll be able to get up for it."

Blake has similar expectations for the world No. 1. When asked about Hewitt's Australian Open prospects, he said: "Pretty darn good, still. He can play well on this surface. Obviously, he grew up on it.

"He's going to have the crowd support. Maybe that could be a double-edged sword (as) it could be tough with all the pressure, being the first Australian to win it in I'm not sure, 30 years or so. He's going to have to deal with that every single match he plays.

"I think people are going to be asking him about that. But he's dealt with some tough situations in grand slams before and ended up winning 'em, so I think he'd probably still be the favourite."

As against Novak, Hewitt struggled on serve yesterday and again piled up the unforced errors - 28 in the first 11 games - in a 64-minute finale against Blake, whom Hewitt had beaten in all four previous encounters, including two US Open five-setters.

Improving the success rate of his first serve will be a priority for Hewitt during his practice week in Melbourne. "I'll just be doing a little bit of fitness work I guess, and hitting, and just trying to find some rhythm and consistency, I guess," he said. "Basically, you just want to be feeling good so that come Monday or Tuesday in a week's time, you're ready to go."

The optimism was shared by Molik. The 21-year-old had upset three higher-ranked players - Daniela Hantuchova (8), Silvia Farina Elia (17) and Daja Bedanova (37) - in the round-robin stage, but was soon reminded that Williams is the highest and best of all.

While Molik's serve was broken in the opening game, the first set was dominated by her opponent's. Williams won each of her service games with an ace and closed out the set with three in succession, losing just one point out of 16 and three points for the match on serve. It was not painfully one-sided, but it was 6-2, 6-3, and comprehensive.

Williams was called "Alicia" by the courtside interviewer, but there was no mistaking the world's leading player, whose form built encouragingly over the week and who will take clear favouritism to Melbourne Park, where she could become the fifth woman to win four consecutive grand slam titles.

"I feel definitely I've gotten a little bit better with a couple of matches. I'm glad I came over early this year," said Williams, who travels to Melbourne today. "I'm definitely happier. I'm serving much better and pretty satisfied." And where she would like to be before the Australian Open? "I'm insatiable. I'm never where I would like to be."

Molik leaves Perth for the Hobart international tournament with the twin benefits of the confidence gained from her three victories and the lesson learnt from her only loss. For all her gains, the distance to the top is still substantial, if a little less intimidating than it may have seemed a week ago.

"It's good to see an Aussie coming up on the female side," said Williams, having earlier predicted that the under-rated Molik would enjoy an improved year. "We already have one on the men's side, but it's good to see her doing so well."

Molik, too, was hugely encouraged. "I've been feeling like my tennis has really been solid this week. I'm really excited to be going to Hobart and then the Australian Open this year with the form that I've had."

Lone star Lleyton left to fight the world solo
COMMENT | By Jake Niall
January 5 2003
The Sun-Herald


The loss of just one superstar hurts. Lose two and even the best teams crash back to the field quickly. The Australian cricketers are reduced to England's level without Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath.

Unfortunately for Lleyton Hewitt, the same formula applies to Australian tennis, which does not have anything like our cricketing depth. Subtract Pat Rafter and then lose Mark Philippoussis to injury and we're left with Lleyton the Lone Ranger.

Hewitt is about to discover what it's like to carry an entire nation's tennis hopes by himself. As recently as December 2001, when Australia hosted France in the Davis Cup, he shared the burden with Rafter. What happened in that final when Rafter couldn't come up was an ugly portent of the immediate future.

Rafter's injury meant Wayne Arthurs had to play in the deciding singles match. Arthurs is a decent competitor, but he isn't a top-20 player and that's what you need, as the bare minimum, in Davis Cup finals.

Prodigal, unpredictable Philippoussis could have saved the day had he been available but, of course, he was returning from the latest knee injury. Once, the issue with Philippoussis was his mind and whether he was motivated to win Davis Cups and grand slams. Now, the question mark hangs over his fragile body.




Australian tennis can only treat the Scud as a bonus. He can't be relied upon because, as a big man bursting with fast-twitch explosive power, he is prone to break down. It is to be hoped that his knees and shoulders hold together for long enough for him to win that grand slam title his talent demands.

Hewitt is a lonely figure at the top. The Spanish assembly line has produced 13 players in the top 100, including five in the top 30. France and Argentina each have nine ranked in the first 100, with seven Argies inside the top 50. The French also have a wunderkind on the horizon, Richard Gasquet, who should be ensconced in the top 10 before he turns 20.

Australia, meanwhile, has three players in the top 100: Hewitt, Arthurs and Philippoussis. Arthurs has done remarkably well to get to number 52. Our fourth-ranked man is Scott Draper, rated number 137 on the planet. Draper considers himself an "emergency" singles player in Davis Cup and he is right - it's an emergency if he's required to play.

Tennis Australia is optimistic that the coming teenage cavalry, headed by the pugnacious Todd Reid and Ryan Henry, will arrive soon.

Unlike cricket, tennis doesn't have a Darren Lehmann who can step in as a competent stop-gap until the youngsters bloom.

Hewitt must hope the teenagers get a move on, too, because, tough as he is, he won't enjoy the weight of expectations, not to mention the obsessive media focus that is to follow.