Australian Open 2004 interviews

3rd round Interview

January 24, 2004

L. HEWITT/R. Nadal
7-6, 7-6, 6-2

LLEYTON HEWITT

THE MODERATOR: First question for Lleyton, please.

Q. You were saying out there that you expect a tough match. Was it even tougher than you thought, the young boy tonight?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. I seen a little bit of his second-round match. He played a lot better tonight than he did in that second-round match, I tell you. He could have very easily been down two sets to one in that match against Ascione, I think, the French bloke. And it wasn't until the other guy started getting a few cramps that he actually got on top of him. He really went up another couple of levels tonight. Yeah, he's a great player. As I said before, you know, all the good stuff you've heard and seen in the past, you know, he's going to be very good in a couple of years.

Q. How far are you from your top form?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I played pretty well tonight, I felt. You know, went hammers and tongs right from the baseline. Didn't move back too much and really attacked right from the word "go." Felt like I hit the ball pretty well the whole night. Even the times I got broken, he played a couple of incredible points to break me. And I was really happy with how I came back in both the breakers. You know, I was down mini breaks early, and I just kept fighting and finding a way to get through those tight sets. Then in the third set, obviously got on top of him early.

Q. How is your injury pulling up?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Pretty good. Feel good at the moment. See how I feel. Tomorrow doesn't matter so much, but I'll hopefully be all right Monday.

Q. It was a good hit-out for you?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it was a good match. Very good match.

Q. What about Federer?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, doesn't get any easier, that's for sure. You know, it's going to be a tough match and I've got to go out there and just worry about my game. And hopefully I can get off to a bit better start than I did last time against him a few months ago.

Q. Why do you think you've got such a good record against him?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know. I think we played a lot probably before he was probably at his best, I think. That may be one of the reasons. He got on the tour just a little bit after me, I think, as well. You know, since then, since we've probably both been at our best, we've probably only played a couple of times, I think. Nearly all the matches have been pretty close. We played -- not only this Davis Cup tie, we played a Davis Cup tie in Zurich a few years ago, which was a tight four-set match. The only match I think I lost to him was in Basel in his hometown, in the semifinals of the Swiss indoors, and I lost 7-6 in the third. I think I had match point. We've played some pretty good matches in the past. I've really got to, you know, play some of my best tennis to keep up with him.

Q. Is there any difference at all that this is at a Grand Slam, and you haven't played before at a Slam?

LLEYTON HEWITT: No, we haven't. You know, I don't know. It's probably pretty similar to a Davis Cup tie in that the pressure is there for both of us. You know, Round of 16 of a Grand Slam, you know. You can take a little bit out of a Davis Cup tie, I guess. But, you know, I was very fortunate to get out of that match, as well. But, you know, it's the best-of-five sets, like that Davis Cup tie, so there's plenty of time.

Q. Is that the match you remember most with them, the Davis Cup one?

LLEYTON HEWITT: It was the most recent, so...

Q. The one that stands out of the nine?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, for sure. Obviously, I think apart from that other Davis Cup match, when we probably both weren't at our best at that time, apart from that, that's probably the only five-set match I think we've played. Yeah, it definitely stands out. It was the biggest match I think that we both had to play under pressure. You know. It was a hell of an outcome in the end for me.

Q. The role of the crowd in both tiebreaks, what influence did it have on you tonight?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it's great. You know, the crowd not only in the tiebreakers, I think the whole time. They were loud out there. Fanatics really got them going. Awesome atmosphere out there.

Q. Did you organize those seats for the Fanatics tonight?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I think Roger's done most of that with the Fanatics, and with Wozz, helping them out as much as possible.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about how a crowd can help a player through a match?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, crowds obviously, you know, if you use them the right way, you get an atmosphere like we've had tonight, then it's always a positive, I think, and you can draw a lot of positives out of it and try and use that positive energy in a good way. Then again, you know, there's some times when you feel maybe the expectation of playing in front of a big crowd going for you, as well. I've played some of my best matches in Davis Cup away from home when you've got to block out the whole crowd and just concentrate on what you're doing. There's positives and negatives for both ways. I still think it's a lot easier to go out there and concentrate when the crowd's all with you.

Q. The fourth round is where you got to last year, and fell against Younes. Will that play on your mind at all?

LLEYTON HEWITT: No, not really. Younes was too good last year. He played a hell of a match. You know, I only lost my serve once for the whole day and I didn't break him in the whole match. There's not too many matches I can't recall when I haven't been able to break a guy once in four sets. I just had to live with that and, you know, I guess it was easy to get over that match, a little bit easier, because I knew it was a little bit out of my control. I felt like I played a pretty good match for most of it. Maybe just didn't take a couple opportunities when they popped up. But I won't be worrying about that on Monday.

Q. Did you get a chance to watch Todd's match against Roger?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I watched a little bit on TV before I went out to hit the balls out the back there. Actually saw him go up a break. Came in, and he was finished. Poor old Todd I think was a bit tired today.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. I got off to a slow start. Karol played extremely well there. You know, I didn't feel like I played that badly at the start. I had a few chances in the second and third game, and just -- even in the fourth game, and didn't quite take my opportunities on the big points.

LLEYTON HEWITT: That's always important to hear your national anthem. But, yeah, they were great out there today. They gave me a lot of support, even when I was down. You know, I think, you know, especially those guys have seen enough Davis Cup matches to know that I was probably going to get on the board sooner or later.

But, yeah, he was playing extremely well at that stage. I just knew that I had to keep plugging away. Got off to a rough start against him last week in Sydney, as well. I was able to turn that first set around, which took me a little bit longer today, but I still got through it.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, no, it's great. They're a big help out there. You know, I enjoy that support. I think everyone knows that.

You know, it seems like I guess why Flip and I have played so well in Davis Cup ties in the past. The Fanatics have had a lot to do with that.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. It would be great. It's a great atmosphere out there. Even for the opposition, I think. It brings a bit more of a buzz into Centre Court there.

You know, I guess the situation that we had in the semi and final of Davis Cup, you're not going to emulate that every time at a normal tournament, but it was a pretty awesome feeling. The closer you can get back to that feeling, all the better.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Very talented young player. Yeah, what I've heard, what I've see - little bits I've seen - he's a hell of a prospect coming up. It's going to be a tough match. I've got to go up to another level, I think. I look forward to the challenge, though.

Q. There's a bit of talk about him. Is there talk amongst the players about him coming up?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I think so. Probably more so -- you know, I probably heard a little more from the media, whatever, maybe last year sometime when he had some pretty good wins over Moya and I think Costa maybe on clay, as well. So clay's his number one surface at the moment. But he had a pretty good run at Wimbledon. I watched a couple of his matches there on TV. He played pretty well on grass, for his first time on grass.

He seems like he's got a really good head on him, as well. He's handled the expectation and the pressures very well. You know, he's just one of the next Spaniards coming up. There's a lot of them.

Q. Is it hard to keep your rhythm when you're playing someone like Kucera, seems to drift in and out of matches?>

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it's very tough. He returns extremely well. Yeah, he can have service games like the last one he had where he hit four double-faults, I guess. But, you know, that's not that normal. But he plays some loose service games, but then he'll be able to come out and break you back straightaway.

I broke him first game of the fourth set there, then he came out and played a great game to break me straight back the next game. It's awkward because he does float in and out of matches. Like in the first set, he hardly made a mistake and was attacking everything. In the start of the second and third, he was a bit more erratic.

LLEYTON HEWITT: It's tough. You can't get too down on yourself, keep plugging away, wait for your opportunities. I played him the last two weeks. I knew a little bit what I was getting, but he played even better the first set than what he did the last two weeks, as well.

Q. It's safe to say last year didn't go exactly the way you would have preferred. Any pressure on yourself this year, taking it as it comes?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, just taking it as it comes. I'd be happy to win another Davis Cup.

LLEYTON HEWITT: I'll see what happens. My goal is obviously to perform as well as possible, and I'm going to do everything in my control to prepare myself, you know, as well as I can for all four of the majors. You know, I'm not putting a huge expectation to go out there and have to win one. I think if I'm playing well enough, you know, I'll have opportunities at it, though.

LLEYTON HEWITT: In patches, yes. You know, I think he's -- as we spoke before, he's a little bit hot and cold sometimes. The first set, obviously, he played great today. There were patches in the third set where he played well. The start of the fourth set when he broke back, he played well.

In Sydney he played the first four games great. In Perth, he played the second set great. He's been very in and out in all my matches that I played against him.

Q. Could you comment for us on Todd Reid's great victory today, what it means for Australian tennis?

LLEYTON HEWITT: No, it was great. It's great for Australian tennis to have another guy, not just knocking on the door now, but, you know, contender on the tour. He's still got to get his ranking up there to be on the tour week in and week out. But this has been a great start for him this summer. Obviously, Adelaide, Sydney, now Melbourne.

Pretty gutsy effort out there today because he was obviously hurting. I don't think he would have played a five-set match before. To come through those conditions, it's only going to help him, experience.

Q. He talked about the experience of hitting with you, Davis Cup, training. Is it something that you noticed when you were practicing with him, that he was being lifted a bit by being out there with you and Mark?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, he first came to Sweden, and then after that tie I really felt like the next time -- I invited him to the World Team Cup to play a bit of doubles with us there. I noticed a huge difference just in those six or seven weeks after Sweden. I think he took huge steps forward after that first Davis Cup tie being sort of the orange boy there, and getting to know everyone, seeing what we do to prepare for matches.

He was hitting the ball a lot heavier when he came back in World Team Cup. Then he came for obviously the Switzerland tie, then the final, as well. He's been great around the team. You know, he's not so much the orange boy anymore, I guess. He's really a part of the team. Won't be that long before he's actually playing for Australia, which is a good thing,

Q. If, God forbid, you or Mark were unable to play singles, do you think he'd be next in line?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, there's obviously him, Scott Draper, Wayne Arthurs. It's hard to drop Scott Draper and Wayne Arthurs because they've got that experience, as well. But it's definitely between the three of them.

Todd really put his hand up. The thing about Davis Cup, you just don't know how that person reacts to playing Davis Cup until they're thrown in it. And that's something that Fitzy and Wally, you know, they're going to have to give him a shot sooner or later at some stage, if Flip or I get injured. You're just not going to know until that situation comes.

But the way he's handled the pressure of playing in Australia the last three weeks with wildcards, it's been pretty good.

LLEYTON HEWITT: No, I haven't. Wasn't a lot of lunch, I don't think. Looked like a lot of water.

Q. A lot of young guys in your position would be taking advantage of it, maybe be a party-type person, playing the field. You seem very committed and kind of mature. Can you talk about what having a committed relationship with Kim does for your career, keeps you settled?

LLEYTON HEWITT: It's been, yeah, I guess very settled the last four years. You know, obviously being 22, it's just been great for both of us. Because she obviously saw what I was going through, the pressures of being a top player maybe a year or so before she got into the Top 5, Top 2 in the world. We've both just been really able to help each other out when we need to throughout the year.

LLEYTON HEWITT: I think so. We don't talk about tennis most of the time. But if we do need anything, I think we both know when to talk about tennis and when not to, as well.

Q. What kind of stuff will you talk to about to get away from tennis? Movies?

THE MODERATOR: First question for Lleyton.

Q. When he hit the umpire's chair, do you think it was as serious as that?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I wasn't sure. He sort of starting jogging back, then dropped on the middle of the court. He looked like he was in a bit of pain. You know, you're just really not sure how bad it was.

You know, hard to sort of keep focus there. It's obviously a fairly long break in between, you know, longer than -- I don't know, would have been close to probably 10 minutes by the time the trainers came out and started evaluating it. Then he eventually came out to play again.

Q. What are you doing to your opponents? That's three in a row now.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. I've been winning in every match, though (smiling).

Q. Have you ever seen anyone do that before, fall into the umpire's chair?

LLEYTON HEWITT: No, not me personally, I haven't seen it.

Q. Or heard of it?

LLEYTON HEWITT: No, I haven't heard of it. You guys would probably know better than me.

I've seen people come pretty close at times, you know, to the seats that we sit in at the change of ends or the umpire's chairs, lines-people, stuff like that.

Q. Do you feel sorry for the bloke?

LLEYTON HEWITT: It's never a way you want to win a match. But I've got to go out there and try and focus on what I've got to do.

You know, I felt like everything was going pretty well for my game at that stage.

Q. It's not necessarily the way you wanted to win, but 37 degrees out there, you saved a little bit of time.>

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. I felt like I was getting on top of him. He just started, you know, serving a lot better, made a higher percentage of first serves there, in his service games in the second set.

When I really had to try to step it up at 4-All in the second set, I was able to do that. Break him to love. That's a nice match to get through. Your first match in your home Grand Slam is always tough, I think. To come through, not waste too much energy and be through to the next round, that's nice.

Q. Are tennis players superstitious? Do you think they will start getting out of the food cue, giving players a wide berth?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know. There are some players that are very superstitious. I don't know if they'll take it that far.

Q. Did he say anything to you about exactly what it was?

LLEYTON HEWITT: No. I just said to him, "How bad is it?" He just said, "Just felt it when I ran into the umpire's chair."

You know, it's hard to say. If you get a knock, obviously it's going to be pretty painful for the next five or ten minutes, unless he's got a fracture or a break in it, which no one knows at that particular time. It's really only his pain that he can know whether he can play on or not.

Q. Given the tragic events of the last 48 hours, do you think sports people are more at danger when they go out in public?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, at times, I guess. You know, it's obviously shocking news what happened a day or so ago. But you got to be pretty careful, I think, when you go out, for sure.

You know, it can happen to any one of us, I guess.

Q. Have you experienced any troubles?

LLEYTON HEWITT: You know, I haven't experienced any real, real troubles when I thought I was in danger at all. But, you know, I know there's been times when, you know, you get people heckling or whatever at times. I've seen it with other people, as well, other sports people and whatever, that I've been out with. You know, I heard some stories and stuff like that.

You know, it's something that I think people in the spotlight, not only sports people, but high personalities I guess who are always in the spotlight.

Q. Have bouncers ever been an issue?

LLEYTON HEWITT: No, not with me, I've never had a problem.

Q. How well did you know him?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I didn't know him that well, to tell you the truth. Done a few interviews. He's emcee'd a couple of things that I've actually been on. I haven't seen him since Adelaide Crows' breakfast before a grand final a couple years ago that he emcee'd. That was the last time I had spoken to him.

Q. Had your old man and him crossed paths at all?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I'm not sure. I don't know how much.

Q. General South Australian feeling of loss?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, well, I think for anyone, an Australian more than anything. Someone that plays the elite level of a huge sport in Australia. Not only for South Australia, but also for Australia.

You know, I think everyone can tell by how much media and news has been about it the last, you know, 24, 48 hours.

Q. You came off court. Were you feeling like you got what you wanted out of today's game?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. He's a different kind of an opponent. Yeah, he doesn't come out and cream winners at all. He doesn't try and put that much pressure on you. You're sort of dictating play most of the time out there. Sometimes it's an awkward match-up. Sometimes when you're actually hitting the ball better, he actually counterpunches a lot better, as well.

There wasn't too often he actually came inside the baseline there. It felt like he was standing about 10 meters behind the baseline just trying to run everything down today.

You don't experience too many matchups that way, but against him I felt like I was always in control on most points, I felt out there, which is a good thing.

Q. You were happy with your game?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. Against that guy, it's always tough coming in and playing the first round of a Grand Slam anyway. I think everyone's just happy to get through sometimes, especially when you don't waste too much time and energy.

Q. What is it like for you to play against a guy where you're in the unusual position of being the physically imposing player, the bigger player?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, well, it doesn't happen that much, I guess. But, you know, I'm trying to be more aggressive. It's a good chance for me -- you know, I felt comfortable against him out there, that I knew I was in control of the match nearly every point.

So it felt like, you know, unless he got off to, you know -- put a good serve in and he could dictate play from then, it felt like I was able to dominate. It's something that I've been working on in my game, to try and get more aggressive in that.

Yeah, against a guy like him, you have to do it as well. It's actually good that you can take what you've been working on in the practice court into a match situation.

Q. You've seen a lot of Karol recently.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. Three weeks in a row now. It's going to be a tough match. Obviously, last week was a bit of a weird match from 4-Love down, then winning 6-4, 6-1.

He's a tough player. Smart player out there. He moves the ball around well. He moves extremely well. Yeah, he's got a pretty good serve on him, as well. He uses the angles of the court well and goes for the lines a lot.

But I've got to go out there and play my game. We had a tough match in Perth, as well, where I got through in three sets. You know, it's no easy match.

Q. You mentioned in the post-game interview that the balls were a bit heavier than in Sydney. Do you think this is something that might affect your game?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I'm not really sure the reason of it, to tell you the truth. I don't know why -- I don't think it will affect my game too much.

But it's probably more similar to Perth, I'd say, than Sydney. The balls are actually fluffing up a little bit more, whereas in Sydney they were getting smaller like pellets out there.

Even in the heat today, it was still unusual. Whether it's the roughness of the courts that's chopping them up a bit and making them more furry, I don't know.

Q. How exactly have you been trying to get more aggressive? What kind of drills have you been working on in training?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I guess going for your shots a bit more, shot selection, and taking advantage of the short ball a little bit more, not being afraid to come into the net at the right opportunities.

Q. Anything else specifically you worked on over the winter?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Not specific, no. Just, you know, in the whole trying to be more aggressive and take your opportunities, I guess.

Q. I know about your involvement in the Special Olympics. How exactly did you become global ambassador?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I got asked a couple of years ago. You know, I felt like it was a good way to put back into sport, as well. You know, for me, the first time I got involved with it, it was at the US Open. Just the year after I won the US Open, I did the camp before I went in to defend my title.

You know, I just really enjoyed that first time. I try to make it before all the Masters Cups and as many tournaments as possible. Obviously, I went to the Special Olympics games in Dublin, in Ireland, last year after I lost in Wimbledon. It was a little bit of a wake-up call I guess in a lot of ways. After you lose first round of a Grand Slam, you know, I got to get away from Wimbledon for a day or so and sort of, you know, think about other things, realize that, you know, it was just a tennis match that I lost.

Q. In that way it helps your tennis, as well?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I think in a lot of ways it does. You know, you see how fortunate you are I guess in a lot of ways. You know, they don't really care who goes out there and hits tennis balls with them. They just want to get out there and hit tennis balls and enjoy the sport for what it is, not for the money or the fame.

Q. Do you prepare differently now for this season? In what way?

LLEYTON HEWITT: What do you mean?

Q. For this new tennis season.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, I haven't done that much differently. I've taken a few weeks off towards the end of last year. That was more preparing for the Davis Cup final more than anything, you know, tried to get my fitness level at a stage where I felt like I could last, you know, the 2004 season.

Q. Is Kim involved in this Special Olympics at all?

LLEYTON HEWITT: No. She's involved in her own stuff in Belgium more.

Q. How did he get the nickname "Mamool"?

LLEYTON HEWITT: It was the horse that ran in the Melbourne Cup. Mamool is actually a Lebanese desert. He's Lebanese. He told us that. He had a few bucks on it, it came last. There you go (smiling).

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