Sunday, January 30, 2005
www.australianopen.com
Excerpt from interview
Q. You played Lleyton 10 times before. Has he ever retrieved as well as he did tonight? He was running all over town to get balls.
MARAT SAFIN: He was there. He was there. He was running. But to be honest, I think he little bit run out of gas today. At the end, you know, he saw his opportunity, but then something went when I got the break in the third set, he just something happened inside of him that he didn't believe anymore that he can win that match, and he start to miss. I really felt that he's not as fast as he could be.
Just he couldn't you feeling these things, you know. Like when you play against him, he's just everywhere. And today he was missing the extra step that normally he makes with the passing shots, with everything, anticipation, all these things, with the lobs, just everything, just an extra step. I could feel it.
And then the fourth set, I think he just he couldn't he couldn't handle it, I think.
Q. When he double faulted to end the third set, was that a beautiful sight?
MARAT SAFIN: Just I was praying for that (smiling). I was praying. I was praying because I really needed that point. I needed a present. I need a present, because otherwise, you know, like it's too much. It was such a relief for me. It was, yeah, just great present and right time.
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By Greg Baum
At The Open
The Age
January 31, 2005
Lleyton Hewitt gave it his best and worst, but it was not enough to beat Marat Safin, one of the few who is his peer in matters of brilliance and darkness. Two sets of demons met, those Hewitt had been fighting bravely all tournament long and those Safin harboured from defeats in two previous finals here. Safin exorcised his, but Hewitt could not conquer his, and so was a championship won.
Safin had done it hard in his epic semi-final victory over Roger Federer, but Hewitt had done it hard for the whole fortnight. This was a bridge and a battle too far. In another time, or in other circumstances, Hewitt's ways might have got under Safin's skin. Last night, it was Hewitt's skin - fatigue, expectation, exasperation - that itched and could not be scratched.
Upon winning, Safin made no more an extravagant gesture than to clench his fist, for he understood what this occasion meant to Hewitt and to Australia, and was not about to flaunt his triumph. He will be all the more loved for it. "Too good, too good," Hewitt said to him at the net.
The story is simply told. Hewitt was rampant at the start of the match, Safin at the end. The axis was the beginning of the third set when the contest escalated in every facet; in every aspect.
Hewitt saved three break points in the first game, each accompanied an increasingly louder exclamation of "c'mon". Safin saved a break point in the second game when the umpire overruled a linesman, provoking a tirade from Hewitt.
But Safin lost his serving anyway, whereupon he dashed his racquet into the court and Hewitt roared. It could fairly be said that there was a racquet on the court at one end and a racket at the other. Safin had words with umpire Carlos Ramos, but sensibly, they were in Spanish.
In the seventh game, Hewitt was called for a foot fault when serving at break point. Serving again, he won the point after an epic rally, whereupon he rounded on the linesman, pointing and howling, for which display he was charged with a code violation by the umpire. Here were all the hallmarks of the Hewitt game condensed into a moment.
It was an alchemy that had worked for him before in this tournament, but did not now when he needed it most. The growing commotion masked a fundamental development in the game: Safin's serve had come on strong, Hewitt's had weakened and with it his control of the game. Safin won seven games in a row to seize control of the match. As long as he did not lose his nerve, he could not lose the title. He did not.
It was a night to remember; a night hard to forget. Classics can no more be scheduled than thunderstorms, and are less easily forecast.
Moving like a master now and it was Hewitt who was nonplussed. The crowd in Rod Laver Arena had been hushed in the first set, expecting more of a contest, and now was hushed again, longing for a contest. Safin had managed just two aces in the first two sets, but served nine in this set alone.
Hewitt won the first set by keeping the ball in play in the way of Andre Agassi. It was a simple plan, but subtle, too. He was the smaller man with the seemingly lesser game, but, by making Safin play one ball after another, he established himself as the aggressor.
Safin won only 11 points in the first set, which slipped by in just 23 minutes. It seemed then that this year's Open would be a repeat of last for Safin, in which an epic semi-final victory sapped him and left him flat in the final. For Hewitt, it seemed the final would be a counterpoint to the rest of the tournament. After a fortnight of fighting and conquering all sorts of devils, here was a day and a match with none at all, least of all on the other side of the net.
But Safin had shown in his semi-final that he is not so easily vanquished, and Hewitt had demonstrated throughout the tournament that he does not so easily conquer. In the second set, Safin found his rhythm and Hewitt lost a little of his. One break of serve was enough.
Thereafter the game ran away from Hewitt. His game collapsed, Safin's flourished, and the Russian's game at his best is always worth watching. Hewitt looked into his box, but perhaps saw only Greg Norman, a great player but unlucky in the big moments.
In a sense, this completed the 30-year remaking of the Australian Open. From the time of Edmondson's win in 1976, the tournament declined. Isolation, cramped facilities at Kooyong, and a diminishing preference for grass imperilled its future. The opening of Flinders Park in 1988 was the start of the rehabilitation. Pat Cash lost narrowly to Mats Wilander in that final, but no Australian had played for the title since until last night. A trail was blazed, but only last night can it be said to have been trodden to its end.
Small wonder chief executive Paul McNamee dared to think that this might have been not just exceptional, but unlikely to be repeated. For the sixth year in a row, more than 500,000 came. On one day, more came than ever before at any major tournament. The remaking of the Open is a fait accompli.
The Centenary Open will be remembered best for the death-defying adventures of Hewitt and the rousing run of Alicia Molik, for any sporting event must be more cherished for the success of local stars.
But it will also be remembered for a series of epic matches. Both semi-finals and the women's final went to three sets, and all were won from behind. Safin's conquest of Roger Federer in the first men's semi-final after saving match point and then holding his nerve while losing five match points of his own was the stuff of instant legend.
For suspense, it was matched by Hewitt's quarter-final victory over David Nalbandian.
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[Normally Patrick Smith’s articles are objectionable because of the way he refers to “Little Lleyton” – Smith seems to have a chip on his shoulder (he even referred to this great tournament as the Little Lleyton Open when writing about womens' matches) – the point he makes here is interesting, though, about Lleyton's competitiveness having raised the bar and being the standard that all are compared to.]
What makes Lleyton grate makes him great
Patrick Smith
The Australian
January 31, 2005
THIS wonderful tournament has been about fightbacks. About rallies and rallying points. About defying the odds, of men and women at odds with officials and the media. Of an odds-on favourite falling.
Mostly, though, the Little Lleyton Open has been about the man himself, for he has been the centre of all that has whirled about these past two weeks at Melbourne Park.
As victim after victim fell at his feet, his personality has been analysed more than his game. It matters not for they are one and the same. Relentless, aggressive, loud, abrasive and grisly yet with some light and shade. A serve has been muscled up, but he can flick a top-spin lob to a millimetre from where he intended it to touch down. After matches he has displayed a humour that had previously been buckled up.
His family is devoted to him, he is devoted to his nation, the nation divided about him. Half see him as a hero who cheers the heart, the rest see a man who rasps the nerves. We have been reminded that Andre Agassi was once a brat and now he is a sage. That is true, but we should also have been reminded of John McEnroe. He remained a tennis brat at 35.
No Australian has been in his national final since 1988, not one man has won the title since 1976. The expectation has been carried lightly and enthusiastically by Little Lleyton. After all, it has been his life-long crusade since he was the Littlest of Lleytons.
His march through the tournament has been tortured. Only the first round came easily. He beat up Frenchman Arnaud Clement as routinely as he had beaten him in two previous meetings this summer.
He took four sets to beat James Blake, an American with whom he has a black history. Not for the first time he got under Blake's skin and the American retaliated by mimicking the Australian's trademark but childish exhortations.
He conceded a set to Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela, who did not spit the dummy but did spit at Hewitt, offended that Hewitt rejoiced in his opponent's misfortune. Chela is a fool. Against Spain's Rafael Nadal we first became aware that Little Lleyton had received a slight hip injury in the Sydney warm-up tournament. He was down two sets to one and required treatment for his injury. Inexorably he won the fifth set 6-2.
In the quarter-final against David Nalbandian, a player who before the match indicated he found Hewitt's on-court demeanour offensive, he won 10-8 in the fifth. Close but nonetheless inevitable. There was a slight altercation between the players when they changed ends. Forever the tension teeters.
In the semi-final he defended a serving onslaught from Andy Roddick. When the American found he could not blast the Australian off the court, he all but gave up. There was no subtlety nor substance left to his game.
So in the end everybody's game was judged not on Roger Federer, the No.1 player in the world who lost to Marat Safin, but to that of Little Lleyton.
The standard of competitiveness was set by Hewitt. So Conchita Martinez was criticised for her disgraceful insipidness. Roddick was considered mentally weak. Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova were warriors because they would not concede in their three-set semi-final that astonished everyone for its bravery. Mad Marat had truly reformed.
So we come to Lindsay Davenport, the tall American who is the most pleasant, sensible woman on the tour. So nice that she chided one of her entourage after a security guard asked to check her credentials. "Don't worry, he is only doing his job," Davenport told her supporter.
Both Williams and Davenport were injured going into the final. Williams hurt again early in the match. Strangely she did not seek treatment immediately but played on until she lost the first four games. At 1-4 she called for medical assistance.
True, these can be difficult moments. Davenport could subconsciously think she has the match won. She relaxes, not deliberately but uncontrollably. In the second set she was up 40-0 on serve and set to level at 4-all. She lost that game after two double faults and sloppy attempted winners were struck wide. She did not win another game for the final.
She rushed through the final set, shoulders slumped like a dog refusing a walk, and the Grand Slam belonged to Williams in just another 20 minutes.
It was the performance of a person who did not believe in her own ability, did not look deep inside herself to find the resistance to halt the Williams counter attack. Afterwards she was, as always, gracious, but she smiled and joked. There appeared no anguish, no sense of what might have been. No grieving for a lost Grand Slam.
Little Lleyton berates himself if he loses a point in a warm-up. So the result was a Grand Slam final that was flat and without fight in a tournament made remarkable by them. It was hard for Serena to celebrate, hard for the crowd to clap for they had witnessed a capitulation by a former champion in a tournament that celebrated fightbacks.
That is all due to Little Lleyton. This has been his tournament in serve and spirit.
At a time when tennis has never been so competitive, when talent is so deep and spread so wide that the men's semi-finalists came from Switzerland, America, Australia and Russia and were ranked one, two three, four in the world, Little Lleyton is one of this nation's greatest tennis players.
Time yet to see if he will mature into one of our greatest sportsmen.
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Sun Jan 30, 2005 02:50 PM GMT
By Julian Linden
MELBOURNE, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Stricken by nerves and self-doubt, Marat Safin's belief returned in the nick of time on Sunday as the Russian beat Lleyton Hewitt 1-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 to win the centenary Australian Open.
Safin had been convinced he would lose the match after dropping the opening set and trailing 4-1 in the third when his luck suddenly turned around.
He reeled off five games in a row to take a two sets-to-one lead then broke Hewitt at the start of the fourth set and never looked back.
"This is a huge relief for me, because I didn't believe I could win," Safin said.
"I've already lost two finals here before and I started to doubt myself. I thought it was going to happen again."
Safin didn't know it at the time, but Hewitt was battling his own demons even though he was leading the match.
The Australian had made it through to his first Melbourne final the hard way, surviving two gruelling five set matches against Rafael Nadal and David Nalbandian but the effort had taken its toll.
NATIONAL PATRIOTISM
He sailed into the final on a wave of national patriotism fuelled by a never-say-die attitude but he couldn't muster the energy for one last fight when things started going wrong.
"Even when I was a set up, at no stage did I start thinking that this is just going to carry along," Hewitt said.
"His game really picked up. Once he got the momentum back he stepped it up again to another notch.
"I didn't feel like I played that badly out there, he was just too good."
There was no mistaking Hewitt's disappointment. He won the U.S. Open in 2001 and Wimbledon a year later but the Australian Open was the title he craved the most.
Hewitt wasn't even born when Mark Edmondson -- the last Australian to win the championship -- beat John Newcombe in the 1976 final but he did see Pat Cash make the final in 1988.
He decided then, aged just seven, to dedicate his life to going one step further than his childhood hero only to come up short.
"I'm sure in a couple of days I'll look back and think it's been a great achievement," he said.
"I'll have no regrets, and I've put absolutely everything into this tournament.
"I'll be able to walk out with my head held high that I've given everything. But right at the moment, I'm human and I'm disappointed."
SINGLE BREAK
Safin stunned Pete Sampras to win the 2000 U.S. Open but hadn't won a grand slam since.
He lost to Thomas Johansson in the 2002 final, then was beaten by Roger Federer in last year's final when he was too exhausted to play his best after two epic semi-finals.
"It's a psychological thing," he said.
"I have to forget about the final in 2000 because everything came so easy. I've lost two finals since then and I couldn't see myself winning the grand slams anymore.
"I also lost two semi-finals because I just couldn't handle the pressure. You need to believe in yourself, and I didn't.
"So today was a great relief for me. You can win one grand slam by mistake but not two. Now I think I can win a couple more."
Safin went into the final as favourite after his heart-stopping semi-final win over the seemingly invincible Federer but he couldn't have made a worse start, conceding the opening set after just 23 minutes.
He won the second set with a single break of serve then slipped 4-1 behind in the third after controversially losing his service then calling for a trainer at the change of ends to massage his thighs.
Just when all seemed lost, the momentum suddenly changed. Hewitt was given a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct when he aggressively pointed his finger at a baseline judge and Safin kept his cool to break him twice and win the set.
Safin served 17 of his 18 aces in the last three sets and by the fourth set he was winning most of the long rallies that Hewitt had dominated in the first set.
He grabbed the decisive break of serve in the first game of the fourth set when, during a 30-shot rally, he drew Hewitt to the net and whipped a backhand past his 23-year-old opponent and held his remaining service games without any problem to seal victory.
"I think he ran out of gas today. He saw his opportunity but when I got the break in the third set, something happened inside of him.
"He didn't believe he could win the match anymore...and that's when I started to think I could win."
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By Richard Hinds
Sydney Morning Herald
January 31, 2005
Marat Safin def Lleyton Hewitt 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
One man's destiny denied, another man's fulfilled. Marat Safin last night not only broke local hearts, he proved he had one of his own by beating Lleyton Hewitt in a tense, see-sawing final that gave an enthralling centenary Australian Open a fitting climax.
Twice an abject loser in the final here, Safin seemed likely to walk from the Rod Laver Arena empty-handed yet again after a start to the match that was every bit as dispiriting as his previous defeats by Thomas Johansson and Roger Federer. But, rather than throw in the towel, the Russian this time responded to his opponent's customary probing examination with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 comeback, a performance that would have done Hewitt himself proud.
The tournament's first night final had been billed as an occasion as much as a contest. It was supposed to be the night Hewitt appeared on court with an eraser rather than a racquet. He would rub out one of the most embarrassing records in Australian sport - the fact no local man had won the Australian Open since Mark Edmondson in 1976.
Accordingly, the pre-match atmosphere was of celebration rather than anticipation. Olivia Newton-John sang a song on court that may well have been in the hit parade when Edmondson won the title. Greg Norman, for whom Hewitt once caddied, joined the Australian's entourage. And, as well as the 16,000 supporters inside the arena, another 3000 watched on a big screen outside.
The 24 minutes it took Hewitt to win the first set did little to deflate the party mood or alter the suggestion that this would be a night of national celebration. But, as Norman might have told his former bag man, the greatest build-ups are often followed by the most bitter disappointments.
"I'm sure in a couple of days I'll look back and say it's been a great achievement and I'll have no regrets and I'll walk away with my head held high, knowing that I've given everything," Hewitt said. "But right at the moment, I'm human and I'm disappointed. To train so hard and come so close, it's hard to take at the moment."
Although Hewitt had nothing to regret after his brilliant march to the final, this defeat will indeed be hard to swallow. He had worked harder than any finalist in memory to merely get to the final and it will take an enormous effort to earn that chance again. In the past five grand slams, Hewitt has lost to the eventual winner. The player who ruled for two years as the game's No.1 has become the testing material for the game's stars. The question is now whether he can raise his game and reach the top again.
Safin deserved all the accolades but, after accepting the trophy from Australian legend Ken Rosewall, paid tribute to his beaten opponent. "You had a really good and tough two weeks," he said. "I watched you the past two weeks and, you know, I never watch tennis. You were great against [Rafael] Nadal, you were great against [David] Nalbandian. You have a great God-given talent to fight and get the ball."
Hewitt had started the match nervelessly, continually fetching the few balls Safin got over the net and, it seemed at the time, exposing his opponent's brittle psyche. In that lop-sided opening set, Safin committed 13 unforced errors and what had been billed as a match for the ages seemed like becoming a one-sided procession.
Indeed, so flat was the contest that Hewitt did not utter his customary cry of "Come on!" until early in the second set, and that was only a timid imitation of his usual roars. Yet, just as the Australian seemed to have one hand on the trophy, Safin's heart started to beat.
In the first set, the memories of two previous defeats in Australian Open finals crossed the Russian's mind.
"I was thinking about the two finals I had played and I wasn't successful then," he said. "But in the second set more or less I got it together. I played a little bit and found the rhythm of the game and it was easier."
The turning point came when Safin made what was to prove a conclusive break of serve at 1-2 in the second set. Typically, Hewitt was not shaken by Safin levelling the match. He broke serve himself early in the third set and led 3-0 when Safin went to his chair for treatment - something that seemed more like a delaying tactic than a medical necessity. Safin then turned the match again, breaking Hewitt twice to gain what would prove a decisive two-sets-to-one lead.
But, as might have been expected, Hewitt went down screaming. After being foot-faulted facing a break point at 4-2 in the third set, he won the point with a brilliant winner, then screamed at the linesman who had faulted him. The replay showed the call was correct, but Hewitt's agitation earned him a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Had Hewitt won that game, he would have led 5-2. Instead, Safin got back to 4-4. "If I could have had an opportunity at 5-3 to serve out the set, it could have been my way," Hewitt said. "But, to his credit, he raised his momentum and got it back his way."
Although Hewitt's performance in the final will disappoint him, his fight to reach the final only enhanced his reputation as one of the game's great warriors. Since going a set down in his second-round match against James Blake, he battled with incredible heart and nerve to push himself into a fourth grand-slam final.
The Hewitt camp may continue to bemoan the supposedly slow pace of the Rebound Ace and wonder how badly such a tortuous fortnight had affected a player already inconvenienced by a hip injury. But, in the end, they will have to swallow a cliche: Hewitt was simply beaten by the better man on the night.
As always, it had been Safin's attitude as much as his execution that had been studied throughout the tournament. While he had performed the feat of beating Pete Sampras in a US Open final aged 20, in recent years his inability to win another significant title had him compared to Goran Ivanisevic - not for his big serve, but for his potential waste of talent.
Since losing the final here last year, Safin has taken on Roger Federer's former coach, Peter Lundgren and, by his own hedonistic standards, adopted a monastic lifestyle. The results are now on the board. Lundgren, said Safin, had taught him a lot of things about the game. "And I have taught him a lot of things off the court," he added.
Safin had come from match point down in his semi-final against Federer and from a set down in the final. It takes nerves, class and endurance to rally from such predicaments. At long last, Safin has shown he has the heart of a champion.
THE MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
FIRST SET: 6-1 HEWITT
Safin shows nervous signs early in the first game when he misses the opportunity to go up 30-0 on Hewitt's serve by hitting an easy volley long.
Hewitt breaks Safin's serve to lead 2-0. Hewitt then has two service games in which Safin does not win a point. Safin's game is riddled with unforced errors.
At 4-1, Hewitt breaks Safin's serve again and then serves out the set.
SECOND SET: 6-3 SAFIN
Hewitt's unforced error rate rises as Safin lifts. He breaks Hewitt's serve to go 3-1 up. Safin holds serve to lead 4-1 but still appears shaky.
Hewitt survives a set point to hold his serve, but trails Safin 5-3. Safin serves out the set.
THIRD SET: 6-4 SAFIN
Safin starts strongly and has two break points on Hewitt's first service game, but the Australian survives. In the following game, Hewitt breaks Safin. Hewitt holds serve to go 3-0 up. Safin throws his racquet.
Hewitt is given a code-violation warning after intimidating a linesman who called a foot fault against him. Safin breaks back in the same game.
Hewitt double-faults on break point.
FOURTH SET: 6-4 SAFIN
After losing the previous seven games in succession, Hewitt finally wins his serve to trail 1-2.
Down 0-30 on his serve, Hewitt survives a break point and stays in touch at 2-3.
Safin's serve is blistering and he delivers three aces to lead 4-2.
Hewitt can't answer Safin's serves and the Russian closes out the match.
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January 31, 2005
Sydney Morning Herald
Controversy. Epic matches. A local hero in the men's final. Richard Hinds looks at eight things that made the 100th Australian Open not just one of the best, but one of the greats.
1 THE COURAGE OF HEWITT
The line was written half a dozen times during the tournament, "Love Hewitt or hate him ..." Yes, you know the rest. Regardless of what you thought of his on-court theatrics, Hewitt's incredible willpower became the talking point of a nation.
It seemed he had done quite well to come from a set down in his second-round match against James Blake. But when it became apparent he had carried an injury - possibly of the hip - into the tournament, his feats in winning five-set thrillers against Rafael Nadal and David Nalbandian, before withstanding the early bombardment of Andy Roddick in their semi-final, assured his place among the ranks of Australia's greatest athlete/warriors.
But should we have been so surprised? This is a man who had won Davis Cup ties off his own racquet in hostile territory and battled all sorts of other disadvantages, not least his lack of size in the gargantuan world of modern tennis. Rather than an exception, Hewitt's passage to the final was merely the latest instalment in an incredible against-the-odds career.
2 REBOUND ACE
Two weeks before the tournament, Hewitt started his campaign against the supposedly slower-than-usual Rebound Ace courts at Melbourne Park. It was "green clay", wrote his propagandists. Yet, by beating in successive matches three brilliant claycourters in Juan Ignacio Chela, Nadal and Nalbandian, the Australian debunked his own theory.
In the media-driven controversy that surrounded the surface, various players and observers weighed in. But by the final, tournament director Paul McNamee stood vindicated. If the surface can create a tournament like this, don't change a thing.
3 MOLIK'S ATTITUDE
Moment of the tournament? You could pick through all the Hewitt film, push for Federer's winner around the net post or Safin's moment of triumph against the Swiss. But, for mine, it was Alicia Molik knocking a backhand winner past Lindsay Davenport, then turning to her eclectic group of court-side supporters and pumping her fist with a beaming smile on her face.
Molik's powerful, late-blooming game alone is enough to gladden the hearts of those who had dismissed the thought of Australia again producing a top-flight female player. The added bonus is Molik's joyful, no-nonsense approach on the court and her confident, yet self-effacing attitude off it.
As determined as she is to be the best, she seems equally unaffected by her fame. The sight of Molik wandering outside Melbourne Park by herself - no minders, no hangers-on - nodding her head to well-wishers was, in its own way, another great moment.
4 SHARAPOVA'S ... TENNIS
The new Anna Kournikova? Nuh-uh. What we have on our hands here is the first Maria Sharapova. When the 17-year-old won Wimbledon last year, it seemed like a postscript to her performance in the more important part of the tournament - getting her picture in the tabloids. At Melbourne Park, however, she proved a far more substantial athlete than reports from the All-England Club had suggested.
Perhaps the only valid comparison with the far-less-resilient game of Kournikova was that, when she had a stranglehold on her semi-final against Serena Williams, she was unable to finish the job. However, the quality of her play in that match, and in the tournament as a whole, suggested the arrival of a new star who will spend far more time on the court than the catwalk.
5 SAFIN AND THE MEN'S TOP FOUR
For the first time since 1988, when Ivan Lendl, Stefan Edberg, Mats Wilander and Pat Cash reached the semi-finals, the four top seeds were left to slug it out. The resulting matches - particularly Safin's brilliant victory - were vindication for those who hate major upsets in the first week, knowing they usually lead to flat mismatches at the business end of the tournament.
Hewitt's great performances are heralded above. But, of the Big Four, the greatest achievement went to Safin. Throughout the tournament, there had been talk the flaky Russian was more focused, that he was not only getting to bed on time, he was getting to his own bed on time. But it took a big-hearted five-set victory over the seemingly unstoppable Federer in which the Russian saved one match point and finally converted the seventh he had created himself to convince us Safin was the real deal.
6 A BIT OF ARGIE-BARGY
Did Lleyton put his shoulder into Nalbandian at the change of ends as the Argentinian seemed to suggest or did Hewitt give his opponent a bit of a nudge? In the scale of sporting collisions - Danny Williams's hit on Mark O'Neill being a 9.5 out of 10 - it did not even register. But in a sport where the only contact is with the eye, the reaction of both players was interesting. Less edifying was Chela, whose torrent of spittle was memorable for two reasons - that it was directed at Hewitt and its remarkable volume. The Chela spit raised the question of whether Hewitt's triumphal shouts should be made after an opponent's error. But the real poser was that if spitting toward an opponent is worth only a $US2000 fine ($2580), what are you allowed to do for $US10,000?
7 SERENA WILLIAMS'S RETURN
She bit back hard when it was suggested the Williams sisters were in decline. She said, after beating Sharapova, she was one of the bravest fighters in the game. She said she was still the player the others feared. And observers cupped their hands and whispered: "Who is Serena kidding?"
Yet, after 18 months sidelined by serious knee and abdominal injuries, Serena finally talked with something that could not be contradicted: her racquet. She proved herself a fighter by overcoming a rib injury and a one-set deficit to beat Lindsay Davenport in the final. She proved that at least one half of the Williams-sisters franchise was in working order by winning her second Australian Open and seventh grand slam title. She moved from No.7 to No.2 in the rankings and, with relatively few points to defend this year, could well reclaim the No.1 spot soon. Modesty and self-effacement will never be Williams's game. Tennis is.
8 LOW-SCALE ENTOURAGE ACTION
Over the past decade, as the era of the celebrity athletes has taken hold, the tennis world particularly has become more obsessed by who is watching matches rather than who is playing them. So it was a refreshing change that the inhabitants of the court-side boxes mostly took second billing to the real stars.
Hewitt's celebrity squeeze Bec Cartwright was the major exception, one tabloid going to the extreme lengths of reporting the contents of the meal they had shared at a Mexican restaurant. (They had nachos for entree and Lleyts had a burrito "washed down with a Coke.") Otherwise, with Marat Safin hosting just one female companion, Andy Roddick without a partner and Steffi Graf and the Williams clan now old hat, the tournament was refreshingly entourage-free
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By Emma Quayle
Sydney Morning Herald
January 31, 2005
Marat Safin has charm, and he knows how to use it. Never one to snub a blonde, the Russian smiled invitingly at Olivia Newton-John after the singer tossed the coin at the start of last night's final and insisted that she stand between he and Lleyton Hewitt and pose for a pre-match photograph.
Having watched a Hewitt forehand fly wide and raised his hands in almost subdued celebration of his second grand slam title, Safin then used the first part of his thank-you speech to praise his opponent's support crew, before thinking to speak of his own.
Striding onto centre court almost three hours earlier, Safin's head had been filled with two simple, if entirely opposite, strategies. To beat the local hope, he needed to be patient; equally, when opportunity arrived, he had to play with risk.
That happened. There was a confidence and calm in Safin's banishing of his Australian Open demons, like he really did know that this was how it would happen for him. He started slowly, he got a little bit better, he got lots better, and then he got to hold up a big trophy.
But this win was not as simple as it might have been. Runner-up in Melbourne twice before, and with those losses running like repeats through his mind, Safin made a tired and nervous, almost shy start.
From the first ball, he was sluggish, almost a half-second behind Hewitt, as if playing on delay. "I thought the first set wasn't really tennis," Safin said later, and he was right. Often, the ball reached his racquet before he had seemed to see it coming, and he could not even run or hit himself into rhythm.
Rallies ran, but the longer they went, the more inevitable it was that Safin would smack a forehand long, or roll a half-paced backhand into the bottom half of the net. The first three games were gone in nine minutes, although Safin found time to make at least five big mistakes; the opening set lasted only 14 more minutes and was lost 6-1.
This was not something the Hewitt camp seemed keen to celebrate, though, and with reason, because while things started to turn for Safin almost before he seemed ready for it, the swing gained quick speed once he saw it, and he had climbed aboard.
It was as if Safin started to make moments his, rather than wait for the match to happen. Having raced to a 40-0 lead at the start of the second set, he looked grateful that life was finally letting him breathe easy. Then Hewitt made him scramble some more. Then he pushed another easy shot wide.
Back at deuce, Safin's match might have been lost here. Instead, he found a way out, broke Hewitt in the next game and, before he had completely found range or got his legs moving like they should, served the set out and levelled things.
Safin next let Hewitt get away to a three-game lead at the start of the third set, but it was when he was trailing that the Russian began to play like a leader, to take the risks he had promised to and to guide points rather than just tag along.
The first serves fell in, more regularly and much faster. Safin's eyes opened wider, and his legs woke up with them. The forehands began to fall in, the backhands tore over the net instead of into it, and having come back to standard size, Safin's court shrunk even smaller, and turned into his toy.
This time, Safin had worked it out. Mind you, half an hour after the match he still felt he would somehow lose it. "It is really difficult to believe this," Safin said.
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By Andy Schooler
sportinglife.com
January 30, 2005
Lleyton Hewitt took to the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne looking to become the first home winner of the Australian Open since 1976.
The local hero was taking on Marat Safin, the man who ended world number one Roger Federer's unbeaten run in the semi-finals.
Spurred on by an impromptu crowd version of Advance Australia Fair, the Australian national anthem, prior to the match, Hewitt made the most of some early errors from Safin to hold serve in the opening game.
And the errors off the ground continued from the Russian in his first service game as he handed Hewitt an early break.
It was nervous stuff from the fourth seed who quickly found himself 3-0 down.
Safin got on the scoreboard in the fourth game as he began to find his range with his booming serve.
However, Hewitt was looking rock solid and a second successive love service game from him kept him in early control.
Safin really was all over the place with his groundstrokes - several more in game six brought his unforced error count into double figures.
He fought back from 0-40 to deuce but Hewitt pounced again when he got a fourth break chance and was left serving for a one-set lead.
The way he was serving, that was never in any doubt and he clinched the set 6-1 in just 23 minutes having dropped only two points on his own delivery.
Safin gained a crucial hold in the opening game of the second set.
He produced his first ace of the match in game three which he eventually won, but what he really needed was to up his first-serve percentage which was stuck below 40.
Few cheap points meant Hewitt was forcing a rally on nearly every point and once into them, he always looked the more likely winner.
For the first time Safin, a two-time runner-up in Melbourne, found a string of winners in the following game to put Hewitt's serve under pressure.
And when the Australian cracked, Safin was very much back into the match with a 3-1 second-set lead.
The Russian's game had certainly improved and serve continued to hold sway to 5-2 at which point Hewitt found himself serving to stay in the set.
With Safin much more consistent off the ground now, Hewitt was forced to save set point in that game before holding.
But Safin was not to be denied, levelling the match at one set all with a hold to 30.
The pendulum appeared to have swung back in the pre-match favourite's favour and Hewitt had to face further break points in the opening game of the third set.
But he dug deep to hang on to his serve, letting cry with his trademark 'come on' call as Safin sent a shot wide.
You sensed this was a key period and the following game was arguably the best of the match so far.
Both men battled away in the long rallies but Hewitt, angered by an overrule from the umpire at one stage, came up with some superb shots to gain the first break of the set.
That proved too much for Safin whose fiery temper showed itself for the first time as he slammed his racket into the Rebound Ace surface.
The Russian repeated his actions to earn a code violation from the umpire when Hewitt held for 3-0.
He then called for the trainer for work on his thighs.
It appeared little more than tiredness - his match with Federer had lasted four and a half hours - which must have boosted Hewitt as he sat and waited.
Admirably Safin managed to refocus and with Hewitt serving at 4-2, a series of winners took him to break point.
Hewitt, who picked up a warning for berating a line judge during the game, came up with a sensational winner of his own to save the first, but another winner from Safin soon afterwards saw him get the set back on serve.
A major turnaround appeared to be taking place as, when Hewitt stepped up to serve again at 4-4, Safin forced break points again.
The home hope saved one but a tense double fault on the second handed Safin the game and left him serving for the set.
And despite being taken to deuce, Safin served it out to leave Hewitt's title dream hanging by a thread.
At that point it was Hewitt's turn to receive treatment on his thighs.
The delay was not enough to knock Safin out of his groove though.
He has getting stuck into the Aussie's serve with relish now and did so again in the first game of the fourth set.
A superb forehand winner on the run helped him to break point and then a brilliant rally saw Hewitt pulled to the net before Safin picked him off with a backhand cross-court pass.
That left Hewitt with a mountain to climb. Safin's first serve was now finding its target more than 70 per cent of the time and he enjoyed another simple hold to make it seven games on the spin to move to 2-0.
That run was snapped in the third game with a hold to 30.
A love game from Safin made it 3-1 and the 25-year-old knew three more games like that would secure him the title.
Safin felt he could finish it quicker though and he forced yet another break point in the following game only for Hewitt to hold and stay alive.
The crowd favourite was determined to fight on and that he did, but at 4-3 to Safin time was running out.
Another comfortable hold left Hewitt serving to stay in the match.
He forced Safin to serve it out, but there was never any hint of nerves from the two-time runner-up who clinched a 1-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 victory when Hewitt sent a forehand wide.
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Sunday, 30 January, 2005
by Luke Buttigieg
australianopen.com
Russian Marat Safin has crashed local hope Lleyton Hewitt's party, recovering from a set down to claim the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup as Australian Open men's singles champion at his third attempt.
Beaten by Thomas Johansson in 2002 and Roger Federer 12 months ago in the decider at Melbourne Park, Safin looked set for more heartbreak when he surrendered the opening set to a fired-up Hewitt in just 23 minutes.
But the No.4 seed lifted his output and squared the match with the only break of the second set, before then rallying from a break down in the third to run away with the match and prevail 1-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 in two hours and 45 minutes.
Safin was worn out and simply couldn't stay with Federer in 2004, having endured several long matches coming in, but after those two heartbreaking losses, he is now a Grand Slam champion for a second time, following his 2000 US Open victory.
Having taken a hip flexor injury into the tournament, and then been forced to endure two five-set matches and a quartet of four-setters, fatigue appeared to play a big part in No.3 seed Hewitt's performance as the match wore on.
And having won the 2001 US Open title and Wimbledon the following year, he will have to wait at least another year to achieve his dream of a home Grand Slam triumph, when it will also be 30 years since Australian Mark Edmondson's 1976 victory.
After holding serve in the first game of the match No.3 seed Hewitt then broke in the second game and held again for a 3-0 lead, and his patient tactics of going to the Safin backhand paid dividends again in the sixth game with another break.
That allowed him to serve for the set and with 26 points to only 11, six winners to Safin's five and just one unforced error to his opponent's 13, as it was plain to see what made the difference early.
After Safin held serve in the first game of the second set Hewitt was forced to dig deep to do likewise, but it was a sign of things to come as Safin then broke in the fourth to lead 3-1 and staved off two break points in the ninth game to level the contest after 66 minutes.
Safin was starting to find the lines with his forehand, but some superb returns from Hewitt allowed him to break in the second game and race 3-0 clear, at which point Safin called for treatment on his upper legs.
The next two games went with serve but, after being down 1-4 midway through the set, Safin suddenly began to find his rhythm with his backhand as well and broke back with his third opportunity.
The set was quickly over as Safin also won the next three games to suddenly lead by a set, and Hewitt called for treatment on his hip injury, using the full three-minute injury time-out he was allowed.
Having won the final five games of the third set, Safin extended his run to seven games by breaking a third time in succession in the first game of the fourth set, and though he had further chances to break, Hewitt held on to force him to serve it out.
But Safin was not to be denied, and held brilliantly to love in the 10th game to secure a famous victory, while Hewitt has now lost his past two Grand Slam finals, having also been defeated by Federer in the US Open final last September.
• The sets lasted 23, 42, 58 and 42 minutes, respectively
• Safin served 18 aces, Hewitt 7
• Safin hit 54 winners, Hewitt 3
• Safin won 122 points, Hewitt 113
• Safin made 36 unforced errors, Hewitt 22
• Safin converted 4 of 11 break point chances, Hewitt 3 of 8
• Safin put 60% of his first serves into play, Hewitt 49%
• Safin won 73% of points on his first serve, Hewitt 70%
• Safin won 25 of 42 points (60%) when he came to the net, Hewitt 10 of 17 (59%)
• Safin's fastest serve was clocked at 215 km/h, Hewitt's 202 km/h
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Marat Safin vs Lleyton Hewitt
Australian Open final
January 30, 2005
(read from the bottom up)
13:00 Thank you for joining eurosport.com/co.uk for live scoring and comments of Australian Open 2005. It was a fantastic championships for men's and women's tennis and we look forward to you returning to the website for further coverage of the 2005 season! Have a good day!
13:00 MARAT SAFIN: "Lleyton had a great start to the year, I watched you on TV, you were great against [Rafael] Nadal and [David] Nalbandian. You have such a will to win. It's been good to see our careers progress, from our first meeting in Brisbane in 1999 to now. Well done coach, girlfriend, everybody... thank you for the sponsors. The lines people, without you I wouldn't win a point. Thank you for your support, I know 90% of you were behind Lleyton, but thanks. Until next year, thank you!"
12:56 Marat Safin walks up to Ken Rosewall to receive the Norman Brookes Challenge Trophy for the centenary championships...
12:55 LLEYTON HEWITT: "Congratulations to Marat, what a great tournament. You're one of the best players in the world, you knocked out the best player the other day and you thoroughly deserve the victory. I want to thank my family, my coach Roger [Rasheed], I love you mate. Thank you for putting in such a great effort. I'll try to go one step further next year!"
12:52 Lleyton Hewitt, the runner-up, receives his shield from Ken Rosewall, the youngest and oldest winner of the Australian Open...
12:50 In the whole Australian Open fortnight, 543,000 spectators came through the Melbourne Park gates...
12:45 The players are applauded into the centre of the court as the master of ceremonies introduces Paul McNamara, the Tennis Australia president, for his centenatry championship speech...
12:42 The Rod Laver Arena centre court is being prepared for the trophy presentation now, Safin returns to the court and Hewitt sits in his chair taking in what has just happened...
12:39 Marat Safin ends any hope of a first Australian since Mark Edmondson, in 1976, at least for now... the players go off court to change clothes in preparation for the on-court ceremony!
12:39 Safin serving... 128mph ACE 15-0; Safin drop-volleys to clean the tramline 30-0; ACE 40-0; TRIPLE CHAMPIONSHIP POINT for SAFIN... first serve just long, second delivery is shanked out by Hewitt... GAME SET MATCH CHAMPIONSHIP MARAT SAFIN 1-6 6-3 6-4 6-4! A pump of the fist but no more, these two players have a great deal of respect for one another... at the net Hewitt says: "Well played mate, you deserve it."
12:36 Safin comes off his chair to serve for the Australian Open title...
12:35 Hewitt his having to every shot that much finer as Safin continues to anticpate well; the Australian gives himself a life-line with a successive first serve ACES, one timed at a match-best 126mph... 4-5
12:32 Hewitt hits a brave second serve into the corner at 30-30 leaving Safin to shank a backhand wide of the right tramline 40-30... Safins nails a backhand winner down the line, DEUCE!
12:29 Another brutal service game for Marat Safin, closing out to 15 with successive backhand drive winners... one game away now from ending the Australian dream...
12:25 Hewitt team are on their feet following a service hold to 30 for 3-4... Safin two games away from the match now...
12:22 After two hours and 29 minutes Safin hits his first double fault, but closes out to 15 with a 17th ACE for the match... 4-2!
12:20 Peter Lundgren must be given the credit for one almighty scramble from Safin for 15-0; the Russian's physical conditioning has improved beyond belief and he slices a forehand to force Hewitt to miss a dive volley...
12:18 A great comeback for Hewitt, staying in contact with a deep groundstrokes in a hold to advantage... coming close to crunch time in the set, Safin leads 3-2
12:16 BREAK POINT for SAFIN, completely relxad and making holes in the Hewitt defence... Hewitt (30-40) hits his first serve down the middle and comes into the net for a forehand putaway... DEUCE!
12:13 It must have been nerves in the first set, because Safin is now firing on all cyclinders with a first serve percentage of 74; he closes out to love to maintain the two game cushion... 3-1
12:10 A fan shouts out as Safin plays a backhand, distracting the Russian into netting the groundstroke drive; Hewitt closes out to 30 for 1-2...
12:07 THREE ACES in a service hold to 15 for Safin, confirming the break of serve for a 2-0 lead...
12:05 BREAK POINT for SAFIN... the Russian has the belief now, but Hewitt won't give up... second serve backhand-to-backhand rally; Safin drop-shots Hewitt then hits a crosscourt backhand winner to BREAK in the opening game of the fourth set...
12:03 Safin's turn to scramble a running forehand past Hewitt at the net... Hewitt serving at DEUCE now...
11:59 Lleyton Hewitt begins the fourth set after a few hamstring stretches...
11:58 The Hewitt camp, including golfer Greg Norman, don't look happy!
11:57 Hewitt's turn for a thigh massage now, the Australian had played 17 hours 27 minutes of tennis prior to this final, so it's no surprise he is receiving the same treatment as Safin at the start of the third set...
11:56 Safin starts with a 138mph ACE 15-0; Hewitt lobs an net-rushing Safin to perfection 15-15; Safin cracks another ACE wide 30-15; Hewitt guesses the direction of Safin's 77mph second serve and hits a big forehand return 30-30; unreturned delivery 40-30; SET POINT for SAFIN... DOUBLE FAULT; against Federer, Safin got tight; DEUCE; Hewitt returns into the net. SECOND SET POINT for SAFIN... first delivery long, Hewitt hits a backhand wide; THIRD SET SAFIN 6-4 in 58 minutes! What a turnaround after a poor start to the set!
11:51 Safin gets out a freshly strung racket for his service game for the third set... play!
11:50 Two calls of foot fault have broken Hewitt mentally...
11:50 HEWITT FALLING APART: the 23-year-old is called for a foot fault once more, while Safin hits a forehand winner down the line to set up DOUBLE BREAK POINT at 15-40... Hewitt hits an ureturned serve 30-40; the Australian then misses a forehand, netting tamely... SAFIN BREAKS for 5-4
11:46 BACK ON LEVEL TERMS: Safin closes out to 15 with TWO ACES for 4-4 in the third set...
11:42 BREAK POINT #3 for SAFIN... Hewitt's temper is getting the better of him... first serve into the net, second delivery ends with Safin nailing a double-fisted backhand down the line... Lundgren is on his feet... SAFIN BREAKS BACK for 3-4! On serve once again...
11:41 SECOND BREAK POINT for SAFIN... Hewitt serving at advantage point down does just enough with a lob to see the Russian nets a smash/volley... DEUCE!
11:37 Two forehand land on the lines helping SAFIN to BREAK POINT... Hewitt serving at 30-40... first delivery foot fault... second serve and a long backhand-to-backhand rally... ended by Hewitt with a forehand winner down the line, then points a finger at the linejudge who he feels missed a call... DEUCE, but unsporting behaviour! The chair umpire warns the Australian and rightly so...
11:34 A no-nonsense forehand crosscourt winner, amongst three unreturned deliveries gives Safin hope as he trails Hewitt at 2-4...
11:32 Tiring dramtically now, Safin nets two returns without any fuss; Hewitt closes out to 30 with a fourth first serve in the game for a 4-1 lead... the balance of power has shifted in the Australian's favour now... Safin is in a mental battle now...
11:27 Safin trails 1-3, with a series of quick points and TWO ACES in a hold to 15...
11:24 Safin begins to serve at 0-3. Hewitt will have recognised the problem and feed on it...
11:21 The trainer massages some cream into Safin's thighs now...
11:20 A trainer comes onto court, to attend to Safin's thighs... Peter Lundgren, his coach, is on his feet in the stands...
11:19 The first snapped racket of the night: Safin returns a forehand long to give Hewitt a 3-0 lead...
11:19 Just to stay in the points, Safin is having to match Hewitt's scrambling... 30-30 on the Aussie's serve now...
11:16 Hewitt gets a netcord with Safin stranded at the net... THIRD BREAK POINT for HEWITT... Safin shanks a forehand long of the baseline then slams his racket onto the Rebound Ace court as HEWITT breaks for a 2-0 lead...
11:15 BREAK POINT for HEWITT... Safin slows himself down going to his towel at the back of the court; he hits a first serve wide then comes to the net for a forehand drop-shot winner... DEUCE!
11:12 The first over-rule of the match: Hewitt is argues with the chair umpire as a Safin forehand clips the basline, the Aussie doesn't think so though...
11:11 Hewitt is putting Safin under pressure now, scrambling every single ball back and making the Russian hit closer to the lines... deuce #3
11:10 Defensive brilliance from Hewitt, scrambling alongside the linejudges at the back of the court helps the third seed set up BREAK POINT... Safin comes to the net on the back of a deep first serve and pounds a forehand winner away; DEUCE!
11:06 Hewitt comes through the opening game of the third set as Safin nets a backhand return; the 'Fanatics' dressed in yellow 'Superman' tee-shirts begin to chant once again...
11:05 A SECOND BREAK POINT for SAFIN... Hewitt rifles a first delivery wide and Safin returns well long of the baseline... a fist pump and "C'mon" and Hewitt will serve once again at DEUCE!
11:02 BREAK POINT for SAFIN... Hewitt serving at 30-40... the Aussie nets his first serve, the second delivery is deep to the Safin backhand, short rally ended with a Russian backhand into the net... DEUCE!
11:00 The first few games of the third set will be very interesting... Lleyton Hewitt begins to serve...
10:58 Safin serving now at 30-30... first serve into the net, second delivery is returned out by Hewitt, who then swipes his racket in disgust 40-30; SET POINT for SAFIN... big one-two, serve out wide finished with a forehand approach winner behind Hewitt... SECOND SET SAFIN 6-3 in 42 minutes, hitting ten winners and seven unforced errors... Hewitt in comparison is 8-10...
10:54 Hewitt takes his service game with a backhand netcord that bounces Safin's side and doesn't give the Russian any chance to play it... 3-5...
10:53 Safin's backhand getting better with every game, piercing the Hewitt defences now...
10:52 A third forehand error for Hewitt and SAFIN has SET POINT... Hewitt nets a first serve, the second is to the Safin forehand the rally continues, but the Russian's forehand is called long about three seconds after it bounced! DEUCE!
10:49 SLAP THAT THIGH... Safin is annoyed with himself after two lame returns give Hewitt a 30-15 lead...
10:47 Safin is using his towel as a way to slow himself down between points; at 30-30 the Russian out with a deep serve, then holds for a 5-2 lead with a Hewitt forehand error...
10:43 Hewitt cuts the lead to stay in touch at 2-4... Safin over-stretching on a couple of forehands when a safer drive would have been the better option...
10:39 Hewitt is the one trying too hard now, as Safin plays within himself with groundstrokes within the lines of the court... he holds to 15 for 4-1 as Hewitt misses a forehand...
10:37 Safin is measuring his attacks a lot better now, hitting the right shot at the right time...
10:35 DOUBLE BREAK POINT for SAFIN... pinning Hewitt now four yards behind the baseline, the Aussie serves at 15-40... Safin nails a forehand return drive down the line, Hewitt is too slow to scramble... SAFIN leads 3-1... GAME ON!
10:30 Safin is getting a foothold in the final for the first time... he closes out on advantage point, surviving the test Hewitt set him... 2-1
10:30 THE SHOT OF THE DAY: Safin slices to Hewitt's backhand wing, but the 23-year-old responds, the Russian then hits a slice to the backhand, Hewitt hits a forehand winner clean down the line for 40-30...
10:26 Hewitt closes the door on Safin as the fourth seed's confidence begins to grow... the Australian closes out on game point #2 at advantage for 1-1, having to hit close to the lines for the first time!
10:21 Safin closes out to 30 for the opening game of the second set; Hewitt returning two first deliveries long... 1-0
10:20 Hewitt's serve and forehand have improved out of sight during the championships; Safin, on the otherhand, can't hit a first serve for toffee...
10:17 Marat Safin serves to start the second set, he must forget about the first 25 minutes of this final...
10:16 Peter Lundgren, Safin's coach, looks nervous in the stands, Hewitt is completely dominant hitting 6 winners to the Russian's 5; one unforced error to 13; and a winner of 26 points to Safin's 11
10:15 Hewitt continues to run over Safin and sets up DOUBLE SET POINT with a forehand winner down the line... first serve down the T and Safin can't return... FIRST SET HEWITT 6-1 in 24 minutes!
10:13 Hewitt lobs Safin at the net with great disguise; BREAK POINT for HEWITT... Safin goes for his towel... he hits a first serve down the middle and comes to the net, Hewitt pasess with a crosscourt forehand... HEWITT BREAKS for 5-1
10:11 TRIPLE BREAK POINT for HEWITT... Safin serving at 0-40... Safin drop-shots but Hewitt scrambles back, Safin then lobs and punches a forehand volley winner 15-40; Safin nails a backhand down the line onto the line 30-40; Hewitt nets a backhand off a powerful Safin forehand; DEUCE!
10:07 The first ACE of the game goes to Hewitt and he rounds out a love service hold to love with a backhand approach winner into space... 4-1
10:07 No confidence on the grounstroke so far... Safin has made nine unforced errors to Hewitt's one!
10:05 Safin gets his a name on the scoreboard with a hold to 15, testing Hewitt with some wide first deliveries... 1-3
10:01 A love service hold for Hewitt... Safin continues to rush groundstrokes as his error count increases... 3-0!
09:59 Safin in a spot of trouble, serving at 15-30, as Hewitt rallies to the Russian's backhand... but the fourth seed comes to the net and volleys a forehand winner for 30-30; forehand error long of the baseline 30-40; BREAK POINT for HEWITT... Safin hits his first serve long, the second produces a long rally, ended with a Safin backhand drive into the net... HEWITT breaks for 2-0... nervous start for Safin!
09:54 Thrre unforced errors - one volley and two forehands - by Safin help Hewitt to an opening service hold to 15 in the match... 1-0
09:52 Thousands of people sit outside Rod Laver Arena watching on the big screen...
09:51 Third seed Lleyton Hewitt gets the first evening final at the Australian Open underway, play!
09:50 Hewitt and Safin head to their chairs at the end of the warm-up, both going for a drink in the freezers beside their chairs...
09:49 As the pair hit their serves towards the end of the warm-up, the crowd strike up "Waltzing Matilda"...
09:43 Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt begin their five-minute warm-up in their 11th career meeting as the sun begins to set on Melbourne... local time: 19:43...
09:42 Olivia Newton John shakes Safin and Hewitt's hand prior to tossing the coin to decide who serves and from which end
09:41 Lleyton Hewitt, who will rank second in the world standings on Monday, gets a standing ovation from the capacity crowd...
09:41 Fourth seed Marat Safin comes out onto court, getting a good ovation...
09:39 Paul McNamee, the tournament director, leads out Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt past the photos of the former champions and down the steps to Rod Laver Arena centre court...
09:33 Olivia Newton John comes onto court, walking along the red carpet to warm up the crowd with a couple of songs prior to the final...
09:30 The players are expected on court inside ten minutes... perfect conditions for the final, little wind and a court temperature of 26°C...
09:25 JIM COURIER ON THE MEN'S FINAL: "All the momentum has to be on [Lleyton Hewitt's] side and that's pretty tough to say to Marat Safin who's created some amazing momentum of his own, but this isin't in Russia. This match is being played in Australia so I think it's clear who the favourite's going to be."
09:20 In the absence of the 'Rockhampton Rocket' Rod Laver, Ken 'Muscles' Rosewall will present the Norman Brookes trophy to the men's singles champion...
09:15 The Rod Laver Arena is beginning to fill near it's 16,000 seater capacity with thousands of Australian fans wearing green 'n gold...
07:30 AUSTRALIAN OPEN MIXED DOUBLES FINAL RESULT: Unseeded Australians Scott Draper and Samantha Stosur beat Zimbabwean Kevin Ullyett and Liezel Huber of South Africa 6-2 2-6 7-6 (10-8)!
07:25 GIRLS SINGLES FINAL RESULT: First seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus defeats Hungary's Agnes Szavay, the 12th seed, 6-32 6-2 for the Australian Open title!
07:20 BOYS SINGLES FINAL RESULT: American 15-year-old Donald Young defeated Sun-Yong Kim of Korea 6-2 6-4 for the Australian Open title!
07:15 HEAD-TO-HEAD: Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin have met on ten occasions with their career series tied 5-5. The pair met first in a Davis Cup semi-final at Brisbane in 1999. Last season, Hewitt defeated Safin at the Cincinnati Masters 6-4 6-4, but the Russian gained revenge indoors at the Paris Masters in November, en route to the title with a 6-4 7-6 quarter-final win. Five meetings on hard courts: with Hewitt winning last three. Safin last win on hard at Masters Cup in 2000.
07:00 MARAT SAFIN BIOGRAPHY: The Russian celebrated his 25th birthday with a semi-final victory over Roger Federer on Thursday. The two-time finalist (2002 and 2004) enjoys the slow pace of the Rebound Ace at Melbourne Park. Safin defeated Pete Sampras for the 2000 U.S. Open crown, but since then his performances have been erratic. Third time lucky? A winner of 14 career titles and $10.9 million in prize money.
07:00 LLEYTON HEWITT: First Australian in final since Pat Cash in 1988. Hewitt won four titles in 2004 and reached the U.S. Open final, only to lose to Roger Federer. The 23-year-old has added several pounds of muscles as a result of gym workouts during the off-season and is hoping to become the first Australian man to win since Mark Edmondson in 1976. The Adelaide-born finished 2001 and 2002 as world champion on the back of two Masters Cup successes and 2001 U.S. Open and 2002 Wimbledon crowns.
06:45 SAFIN'S ROAD TO THE FINAL: First round - Novak Djokovic (Serbia and Montenegro) 6-0 6-2 6-1; Second round - Bohdan Ulihrach (Czech Republic) 6-4 6-1 6-3; Third round – 28 Mario Ancic (Croatia) 6-4 3-6 6-3 6-4; Fourth round - Olivier Rochus (Belgium) 4-6 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-2); Quarter-finals – 20 Dominik Hrbaty (Slovakia) 6-2 6-4 6-2; Semi-finals – 1 Roger Federer (Switzerland) 5-7 6-4 5-7 7-6 (8-6) 9-7
06:45 HEWITT'S ROAD TO THE FINAL: First round - Arnaud Clement (France) 6-3 6-4 6-1; Second round - James Blake (USA) 4-6 7-6 (10-8) 6-0 6-3; Third round – 25 Juan Ignacio Chela (Argentina) 6-2 4-6 6-1 6-4; Fourth round - Rafael Nadal (Spain) 7-5 3-6 1-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-2; Quarter-finals - 9 David Nalbandian (Argentina) 6-3 6-2 1-6 3-6 10-8; Semi-finals – 2 Andy Roddick (U.S.) 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-4) 6-1
06:30 Join eurosport.com/co.uk for live scoring and comments of the Australian Open men's singles final, between Australian Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin of Russia from 09:30cet! You can also watch the final on Eurosport TV network, but don't panic if you don't have access to the TV network, by clicking on the live audio link on the website's homepage, you can listen to Simon Reed and Frew McMillan!
Hewitt and Rasheed a perfect match
Leo Schlink
31jan05
Herald Sun
ROGER Rasheed was on a hiding to nothing in June 2003.
Lleyton Hewitt had just lost to Spaniard Tommy Robredo in the third round of the French Open, failing to cash in on a two-sets-to-love lead.
Hewitt's coach Jason Stoltenberg resigned. The amiable New South Welshman had been on the road for 16 seasons and Melbourne and a young family beckoned.
Hewitt's management quickly launched the search for Stoltenberg's replacement. There was a push -- albeit short-lived -- for a former champion Swede to take over.
By comparison, Rasheed was a far less decorated player. An outstanding junior who won grand slam singles matches, his career was stopped by a back problem.
Already in Hewitt's employ as a fitness trainer, Rasheed was promoted to the role of coach.
The sceptics had a field day.
This was the same Roger Rasheed who had been verbally assailed by Collingwood president Eddie McGuire for his urgings as ground announcer at Football Park during Port Adelaide matches.
There was no reference to Rasheed's background as a SANFL footballer with Sturt, nor that he had a successful fitness business or that he had played Ivan Lendl at the Australian Open.
He was nothing more than a cheerleader, his detractors sneered.
Unlike John McEnroe, then captaining the US Davis Cup team, the critics claimed Rasheed did not have the playing pedigree to enhance world No. 1 Hewitt.
And it hardly helped when, at the first tournament Hewitt played with Rasheed as his mentor, the world champion was beaten in the first round of Wimbledon by Croat qualifier Ivo Karlovic.
Two years later, McEnroe's captaincy will be remembered as one of the worst Davis Cup failures, while Rasheed has built a fine reputation as a motivator and coach.
Australian Davis Cup coach Wally Masur has enjoyed an insider's view of the Rasheed-Hewitt dynamic and understands why the partnership has been successful.
"Roger has been very good for Lleyton for a lot of different reasons," Masur said. "There is that whole football-style passion for everything they do.
" 'Rash' loves the pre-season style of preparation and he is very analytical with the ins and outs of Lleyton's game.
"He studies videos, he watches other players. His day does not start and finish with Lleyton's matches.
"It's nothing for Roger to call either me or 'Fitzy' (Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald) up and ask us to jot down 10 things about Lleyton's game.
"He's always bouncing things around, trying to find an edge."
Masur said Rasheed's confidence in the wake of the Wimbledon loss to Karlovic did not shake the South Australian's belief of how Hewitt's game needed to be modified.
"It was a big thing," Masur said. "He had taken over the No. 1 player in the world and he could have sat there and cruised a bit with it.
"But he didn't. He decided there were things in Lleyton's game he could improve and he wanted to make him bigger and stronger. He's also added a more attacking dimension.
"Look, the foundations had been laid by Peter Smith, who was the perfect coach for Lleyton as a junior, and then Darren Cahill, who was also very good for Lleyton. The same with 'Stolts'.
"Then Rash came along and he gets a bagging. Now I think everybody can see that he's perfect for Lleyton.
"Lleyton's getting older and it's true to say Roger's personality is drawing Lleyton's personality out a bit more. He's more extroverted and appears to be enjoying the tour more.
"In many ways, Roger is the perfect package for Lleyton because he's got a football background, understands exercise physiology very well and knows what it's like to be a grand slam player."
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How Hewitt invests his millions
Shaun Phillips
31jan05
Herald Sun
THINGS have always come quickly to Lleyton Hewitt.
Not necessarily easily -- you don't win your first men's title at 16 by cruising -- but certainly swiftly.
At 20, Hewitt won his first Grand Slam -- the US Open.
He then became the youngest season-ending world No. 1.
At 21, Hewitt was a Wimbledon champion.
Now, a month shy of his 24th birthday, Hewitt is president of one of the biggest one-man enterprises going round.
His drive as a young boy, famously first harnessed by his parents, Glynn and Cherilyn, has paid big dividends.
Hewitt remains loyal to his Adelaide roots -- and the Australian tax man -- and still calls the South Australian capital home.
For the one month each year he does not spend travelling the world, Hewitt throws his racquet bag in the laundry of his mansion in exclusive West Lakes.
He bought the five-bedroom, two-storey, one-cinema shack a couple of years ago for $3.2 million.
Hewitt shares his digs with his best mate, Adelaide Crows magician Andrew McLeod.
His property portfolio extends to three adjoining beachfront blocks in his home town, plus at least one major investment in Melbourne.
During future Australian Opens, Hewitt will be able to move out of his regular Crown suite and into his own penthouse on St Kilda Rd.
Hewitt reportedly paid nearly $4 million for a four-bedroom pad in the Yve tower, now being built.
True to form, Hewitt found love early as well.
Belgian ace Kim Clijsters ended her engagement to the Australian in October, but the boy has bounced back.
He's now happily squiring Home and Away starlet Bec Cartwright.
The union even survived an early road trip from Adelaide to Sydney.
It would have been a quick ride, however, given it was done in Lleyton's $420,000 Ferrari.
Hewitt pays for his lifestyle by winning tennis tournaments -- 24 of them before last night's Open final.
On-court earnings in eight years are nudging $19 million, but these days tournament cheques are dwarfed by those coming in from sponsors.
His biggest deal is with sporting goods giant Nike.
That contract alone is said to be worth $10 million a year.
Hewitt wields a Yonex racquet, and is paid up to $4 million a year to do so.
He doesn't get involved in many advertising deals outside tennis, the Sorbent TV ads a memorable exception proving the rule.
His manager, Tom Ross, from the worldwide Octagon group, says there is a simple reason for this.
"Basically, Lleyton's earnings are at a level where his time is too valuable to be doing a lot of small things," Mr Ross said yesterday.
"Lleyton has video game deals with Xbox and a Japanese company, Namco, which are ongoing.
"He's done ads for a noodle company, Nissin, in Japan; but really, we take a more long-term view with his deals."
Ross said Hewitt had much to offer commercial backers. "He's youthful, he's fit, he's attractive, and he's had some high-profile relationships on top of everything else. And the fact is, he lives a very wholesome life," he said.
"He's a loyal friend and proud Australian.
"He wears it on his sleeve on court, but I wouldn't swap him for anyone."
Hewitt frequently takes a large entourage on his travels, which of course eats into his earnings.
Cherilyn and Glynn must be the most recognisable mum and dad in Australian sport, while Glynn doubles as Lleyton's investment manager.
Coach Roger Rasheed is a close companion on court and off.
And Melbourne chiropractor and physio Andrea Bisaz is on hand when needed.
This summer, Hewitt has taken his Crows connection even further, engaging Adelaide's fitness man Matt Norris to keep his body going.
Sister Jaslyn, and now Cartwright, add glamour to the players' box.
Hewitt is generous to friends, and has regularly had a friend travel the circuit with him.
Another mate, Hayden Eckermann, has been a regular companion and has been courtside again this fortnight.
Ross is a regular at the Grand Slam events.
But for all the material rewards, Hewitt has always played down mammon as a motivation.
"You throw five bucks out there in a tie-break and I want to win it," he said in 2002.
"It's not how much money I'm playing for.
"I'm playing because I love the game.
"I love competing."
Herald Sun
30jan05
THE nation has jumped on the Lleyton Hewitt juggernaut, with record numbers of TV viewers watching.
Armchair tennis fans are tuning into his centre court battles with Rafael Nadal, David Nalbandian and Andy Roddick at Melbourne Park.
TV rating figures for the Hewitt vs Roddick semi-final match on Friday night peaked with 2,997,000 viewers nationwide -- the highest number ever in the history of the Australian Open.
In Melbourne, the match averaged 856,750 TV viewers, peaking at more than 1 million about 10.30pm.
Channel Seven will capitalise on Hewitt's battle against Marat Safin tonight at 7.30pm. The Australian Open coverage starts at 6.30pm with a one-hour special on Hewitt's rise through the tennis ranks titled C'mon Hewitt.
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January 30, 2005
From: Sunday Mail (SA)
LLEYTON Hewitt's date with destiny arrives tonight when he strives to realise a boyhood dream by winning the historic centenary Australian Open in Melbourne.
The feisty champ will set alight a nation of patriotic tennis fans if he can become the first Aussie to wear the men's crown since 1976.Tonight's final against Russian ace Marat Safin marks the climax of a tough march to glory for the South Australian, which began when he started a brutal fitness regime nine months ago.
A gallery of A-list celebrities inside Rod Laver Arena – as well as five million Australians watching at home – will tonight urge Lleyton Hewitt to victory in the Australian Open.
An array of stars from the sports and showbusiness worlds, political heavyweights and business leaders will be in the stands to see him play Russian Marat Safin in the men's final.
Hewitt won his berth with a four-set semi-final win over American Andy Roddick on Friday night.
The arena will be transformed into a who's who of Hollywood with director Baz Luhrmann, Geoffrey Rush, Eric Bana and Olivia Newton-John among the big names willing Hewitt on.
Others will include golf great Greg Norman, a close friend who allowed the 23-year-old to train at his Florida base last year, Mark Edmondson, the last Australian to win the Open in 1976, and previous champions John Newcombe, Ken Rosewall and Frank Sedgman.
Fashion designer Collette Dinnigan, singer Kate Ceberano and TV show host Eddie McGuire are also joining the Aussie cheer squad in the stadium.
Hewitt's new girlfriend, Home and Away star Bec Cartwright, said she couldn't wait for the game.
"Like the rest of Australia I was extremely proud on Friday night when Lleyton succeeded against Roddick," she said.
"He has worked so hard and deserves to be in the final and I'm really looking forward to the match. I'll be cheering him on every step of the way."
Wimbledon champion Pat Cash, who will be commentating for the BBC, said the clash would go to at least four sets but Hewitt would emerge the winner.
"He's mentally tougher," Cash said. "It's cut and dried."
Premier Mike Rann said all of South Australia was behind Hewitt.
"Good luck, and have a great day . . . C'Mon Lleyton," he said.
Adelaide 36ers coach Phil Smyth said critics of Hewitt's playing style "would have to eat their words".
"He is going to have to play his best tennis to beat Safin who is playing really well but, hopefully, he can pull through," he said.
Adelaide Crows' captain Mark Ricciuto wished Hewitt, the club's No 1 ticket holder, the best of luck.
"It would be great for him to realise his dream of winning the Australian Open and I think everyone in the club and the whole state are behind him," he said.
Olivia Stratton, winner of last year's Miss World People's Choice Award, hoped Hewitt would turn his dreams to reality. "From one international title winner to another, our dreams have become winning realities and tomorrow will be no different – remember your dream and go for it," she said.
Fashion designer Harry Watt was another in no doubt Hewitt would win.
"It's more than great for SA in the sense of the international coverage," he said.
"It's obviously putting SA on the map. His explosive shots are fantastic and I just love his infectious `C'mons'."
Treasurer Peter Costello> said it was "a proud day for all Australians to have an Aussie in the final".
"Lleyton has shown remarkable determination to get this far and we will all be right behind him," he said.
The Seaside Tennis Club at Henley Beach, where both Hewitt and Australian Open quarter-finalist Alicia Molik played as juniors, has experienced an increase in membership inquiries.
"The club is abuzz with talk about Lleyton and his chances and we're getting calls from parents wanting to arrange coaching for their kids," club secretary Margaret Nash said.
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Eurosport - fp & Bertrand Dumont in Melbourne
January 29, 2005
"It's impossible now to go against [Lleyton] Hewitt," according to legend Jim Courier ahead of Sunday's Australian Open final. The American - who's commentating for Australian television - told Eurosport why Hewitt will be the first homegrown player to win in Melbourne since Mark Edmonson in 1976.
After the 23-year old from Adelaide overcame a season of injury to defeat Andy Roddick in four sets on Friday, Courier points to home court advantage in what should be "an amazing final":
"All the momentum has to be on [Hewitt's] side and that's pretty tough to say to Marat Safin who's created some amazing momentum of his own, but this isin't in Russia. This match is being played in Australia so I think it's clear who the favourite's going to be," said former world number one Courier.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
The two-time winner at Melbourne Park understands the significance of the moment:
"It's not often that you get homegrown players in the final of a major tournament outside of the U.S. Open final. It's very important for this tournament," said Courier who already pictures Hewitt's entrance on court.
"It's going to be an amazing field of energy around the stadium when he steps into the arena."
HEWITT STILL HURT
For Courier, the turning point for Hewitt came in his 6/3 6/2 1/6 3/6 10/8 quarter-final win over David Nalbandian:
"When he was up two sets to love and then he lost his way and had to dig deep, that's the one I would point to."
Hewitt's run is all the more remarkable that Courier can see that the Australian is still not 100% physically:
"Lesser men would have walked away from this tournament, but Lleyton Hewitt finds a way to get through, and he's found a way into the final [of] a tournament he wants to win more than any for sure."
KEY FOR SAFIN: FOCUS
"Well I think the strengths for Marat are pretty clear. He's got a monster serve, he's got a monster groundstroke game and he moves beautifully.
"The weakness for him is the same as it's always been: it's emotionally, can he stay together? Will he be big enough for the moment or will the moment defeat him?
"We've seen him lose twice here in this tournament but he's coming in a lot fresher this year compared to last year's final."
KEY FOR HEWITT: SHAKE THOSE BUTTERFLIES
Early in the match, it will be a difficult test for Hewitt to overcome his emotions because he'll be so close to a lifelong dream [but] once he sort of gets through his first "come on" and his first really tough moment in the match, then he'll dig in, then he'll settle into it and he'll be fine. "
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By Leo Schlink
January 30, 2005
From: Sunday Mail (SA)
AUSTRALIAN Open contender Lleyton Hewitt yesterday enjoyed a day of rest in Melbourne with his soap-star girlfriend to ready himself for tonight's historic final.
Battling fatigue and a hip-flexor injury, the world No.3 slept in at his central Melbourne hotel before taking a stroll with Home And Away star Bec Cartwright.
Cartwright has been a courtside regular at Rod Laver Arena for the past fortnight, sitting with Hewitt's family and coach. "Like the rest of Australia, I was extremely proud when Lleyton won against Andy Roddick," she said .
"He has worked so hard and deserves to be in the Australian Open final. I'm really looking forward to it.
"I'll be cheering him on, every step of the way."
Friends said Hewitt had even watched an episode of Home And Away in his change room before Friday night's semi-final, which saw him travel further in a home-grown Grand Slam than any Australian in the past 29 years.
The pair's public romance - dining on Mexican food at Fiesta restaurant on Wednesday and Cartwright's appearances at training - has drawn almost as much attention as Hewitt's on-court performances.
Hewitt's coaches ordered the 23-year-old to rest after his four-set win over Roddick, the world number two, on Friday night.
Hewitt yesterday confirmed that - win or lose tonight - he would not defend his Rotterdam title in a fortnight, preferring to rest at home before resuming for the Davis Cup round in Sydney from March 4 to 6.
"I'm taking a month off after this next match," he said. "I've known that the whole time."
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By Chris Tinkler
January 30, 2005
From: Sunday Herald Sun
THE last Australian to win the Australian Open, Mark Edmondson, is confident Lleyton Hewitt, 23, will triumph tonight.
"He's tough, he's fast and he's gritty. He's a modern-day Jimmy Connors. He's a real street fighter," Edmondson said.
The 1976 unseeded champion's prediction for the Hewitt-Marat Safin Open final clash at Rod Laver Arena was echoed by celebrities, sports stars and political heavyweights.
Hewitt's new girlfriend, Home and Away star Bec Cartwright, said she could not wait.
"Like the rest of Australia, I was extremely proud on Friday night when Lleyton succeeded against (American) Andy Roddick," Cartwright said.
"He has worked so hard and deserves to be in the final."
A former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash said the clash would go to at least four sets, but Hewitt would emerge victorious.
"Hewitt will win because he's mentally tougher," Cash said.
"It's cut and dried."
Former Australian doubles champion Mark Woodforde said everyone in Australian tennis would be there for Hewitt.
"It is time for an Australian to win again," he said.
"Hewitt has performed like Superman in the past three rounds. The fact it is a night match and he has additional time to recover is going to be a benefit."
Roddick said Hewitt's toughness could be critical.
"I think you might as well flip a coin. It's going to be a battle," he said.
"Lleyton's tough."
John Newcombe, who was defeated by Edmondson in 1976 after winning the Open twice, also backed Hewitt.
The Australian great slammed Hewitt's 'C'mon' critics, saying the South Australian should not tone down his attitude.
Football legend Garry Lyon said: "Hewitt will win because he wants to more than anyone else."
Athens Olympian Tamsyn Lewis said: "Lleyton's a great sportsman and a great Australian. The critics should shut up.
"He's competitive, he gets fired up and he's got the momentum. He'll win because of that."
Football great Ron Barassi, said: "The Russian (Safin) beat Roger Federer, but how can you tip against a guy like Hewitt who's done what he has?
"He's such a fantastic fighter. Unbelievable. I think it's something we all warm to."
Melbourne Lord Mayor John So said the celebrations at the arena and around Federation Square would be special if Hewitt won.
"Hewitt's been training hard and this is the big one for him, so I think he'll win," he said.
Premier Steve Bracks said he was looking forward to a Hewitt victory. Federal Treasurer Peter Costello said: "It's a proud day to have an Aussie in the final.
"Lleyton has shown remarkable determination."
Among well-known names at the arena will be Baz Luhrmann, Geoffrey Rush, Eric Bana, Olivia Newton-John, Greg Norman, Ken Rosewall, Frank Sedgman, Governor John Landy and Federal Sports Minister Rod Kemp.
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By Karen Lyon
The Age
January 30, 2005
Australian Open chief executive Paul McNamee hopes to sit down with Lleyton Hewitt and his family in the next few days to heal the rift that threatened to overshadow the centenary tournament.
There has been tension between the different camps within Australian tennis over the summer and it appeared to come to a head in the build-up to the tournament when Hewitt voiced his criticism of McNamee over the court speed at Melbourne Park.
McNamee said yesterday he would wait until the tournament was over before trying to resolve the issue.
"I think when the time is right, it will be good to do that, but I think we have to let some water flow. I have just tried to do my job and let him do his, and he is doing it as well as you can do it," he said.
But with the tournament entering its final day, McNamee said the quality of the tennis this year had vindicated his choice of court.
"We always said we wanted to have a surface the top 20 in the world would come down to Australia, make the long trip and feel they have a chance to win," he said.
"That has always been the tournament's position to have a fair surface and also to have a surface that produces great tennis and for (Marat) Safin to say, 'We can't play any better than that in a tennis match', is saying something about the conditions of play. I think we are pretty comfortable for the surface that we have got."
McNamee saidthe recent political tension dissolved once it became public he would not apply for the position as chief executive of Tennis Australia, a role president Geoff Pollard is about to vacate when his current dual role is split.
There have been reports political pressure had stopped McNamee from applying for the position, but yesterday he said it was never his intention to seek the job.
"It just wasn't on my radar screen. I love being involved in the business and the global side of the business and it was just something that I wasn't attracted to and it's a personal decision and it's not my forte, I guess."
McNamee said he was conscious of the political issues overshadowing the tournament and had deliberately kept a low profile during the fortnight.
"It's the centenary of the Australian Open, celebrating 100 years of great tennis being played here, especially the Australians in the old days that helped this tournament become a grand slam," he said.
"You really don't want anything to detract from that and I think the tournament has, from a professional perspective, lived up to that and the efforts by the team to make it a special tournament for the centenary have been vindicated in a way."
McNamee believes the unpredictability of sport has been responsible for much of the success.
Massive crowds, which will top 500,000 by tonight's end - including a world record attendance of 60,669 on the middle Saturday - fuelled by epic clashes in the men's and women's draw and, of course, the performances of Hewitt and Alicia Molik, have combined to make this year's tournament one of the most successful ever .
"We didn't know when we were scheduling the first ever men's final in prime-time that it would be such an eagerly awaited clash with the best Australian against the best from the rest of the world as it has transpired this week," he said.
With controversy over line-calls making news last week, McNamee said technology to assist chair umpires was now "inevitable" and was likely to be introduced in 2006 with funds already allocated in next year's budget.
"I think it should be point-ending challenges as you get on a clay court; it's only on the last point of the rally otherwise you would end up with no linesmen at all and you would have machines calling the lines and that is not where the sport wants to go.
"That is not where the sport wants to head where you are removing the human element completely. What you want is a fair go and if the point ends, the player has the right to challenge that call - but only at the end of the point - and this happens on a clay court, where you can circle the mark and, actually, I read somewhere that we have a clay court, so maybe it's OK."
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By Richard Hinds
The Age
January 30, 2005
Lleyton Hewitt will not merely try to beat Marat Safin tonight. As he has done throughout his gruelling run to the final, he will try to put his opponent through a probing, perhaps even torturous, physical and psychological examination. He will not merely try to break Safin's serve, he will try to break him down.
And so, in the course of the night, we will find out if the Russian has the patience to keep pounding the ball deep, even when he seems to be hitting it against a brick wall. We will learn if Safin's once-fragile temperament can withstand the inevitable exasperation that Hewitt's relentless game can provoke. We will discover if he is mentally strong enough to cope with Hewitt's strangled exaltations and the chanting of a hostile crowd.
To the 16,000 fans who turn up hoping to see the first Australian win the men's championship here since Mark Edmondson in 1976, Hewitt is the local hero. But to those who have had the unfortunate experience of standing on the opposite side of the net in the past 14 days, he must at times seem like a dark force.
Not that Safin sees it that way. Not yet. There is no bad blood between the pair. And, unlike some, Safin says he is not concerned by Hewitt's screams.
"Between me and him, we have a great relationship," says Safin. "It is not going to change the match. I will not get pissed (off) at all if he screams and shouts and tries to be positive and tries to put a little pressure on me with 'Come on' and everything. We respect each other."
But Safin's words were uttered before he had been subjected to Hewitt's interrogative play.
Much has been made of Hewitt's courage this tournament, and his ability to haul a wounded body through five-set epics. But, particularly in his semi-final against Andy Roddick, it has been as much what Hewitt does to an opponent as how he plays himself that has been chillingly apparent.
Safin will not lack respect for his much smaller counterpart. "He's a huge fighter, he has unbelievable anticipation, he has unbelievable fitness," he says. "He knows the game very well. He reads really good the players. Psychologically, he's very stable. So he has more talents than many other players."
Since Hewitt received treatment for a hip injury during his fourth-round victory over Rafael Nadal, his fitness has been the source of intense speculation. His camp yesterday issued the predictable "She'll be right" statements and, while he hobbled again at times on Friday night, you can only assume that Hewitt's steely mind again will compensate for any weakness in his body.
Although Hewitt and Safin are locked at 5-5 in their career battles, in the back of the Russian's mind is the memory of two abject defeats in Australian Open finals - to Thomas Johansson (2002) and Roger Federer (2004).
"He loses it a bit out there," said Hewitt of Safin. "But he's a guy, like myself, we can switch it on and off very quickly. You can get your mind back on the job and I don't think he loses concentration because of that. That's part of Marat, that's why people like watching him play."
Safin says he lacked self-belief in the first of those finals and did not have a full-time coach to calm his nerves. In last year's final, he says he was simply overwhelmed by a superb opponent.
This year, he reversed his defeat by Federer in a superb semi-final.
The presence of coach Peter Lundgren means this time he will have the comfort and tactical advice he needs. The presence of his girlfriend, Sacha, also means that some other distractions may also be held at bay.
But, regardless of his preparation, still there will be Hewitt. Nagging. Probing. Exploiting weakness. "There's a lot of nerves involved," admits Safin. And, to withstand such an interrogation, a lot of nerve will be required.
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By Alan Atwood
At The Open
The Age
January 30, 2005
Hang on to your back-to-front hats. It's going to be a rough old ride inside Rod Laver Arena tonight. Two men with a strong sense of destiny, Lleyton Hewitt of Australia and Russia's Marat Safin, go head-to-head as the Centenary Open reaches its climax. For Hewitt, this is the one he wants. And it's been a long time coming.
Because he achieved so much so early - qualifying for the Open at 15, winning his first professional event at 16, playing in a Davis Cup final at 18 - the temptation is still to think of him as a gifted youngster. (His outfits enhance that impression. So, too, his ubiquitous parents.)
But he will turn 24 in less than a month, is older than the last three men he has defeated in this tournament, and is overdue for success at the event he can recall visiting as a star-struck kid.
Hewitt loves the Open. He speaks with reverence of historic matches such as the 1988 final between Pat Cash and Mats Wilander. He remembers the score: 8-6 to the Swede in the fifth. More than that, he remembers the buzz in the crowd. "That's what you dream of, playing those matches," he says. Tonight, he gets his chance.
For Hewitt, it will represent the end of his longest weekend. When he strides out on court for the first night final, some 45 hours will have crawled past since he kissed the court to celebrate his semi-final victory over Andy Roddick. Safin has had an even longer break, which has suited him just fine. He says that in last year's final he was spent before a ball was struck.
By his relentless standards, Hewitt planned to take it easy yesterday - perhaps go for a jog; have a gym session; ease some aches and pains. Watching the women's final was not on his agenda. "I'm not into women's tennis any more," he said, in an apparent reference to former flame Kim Clijsters. Skipping this final was a good call. In an all-American affair, Serena Williams won a lacklustre match 2-6 6-3 6-0 to claim her second Australian title.
Pat Cash, a similar figure to Hewitt in many ways, was fated never to win a single Australian crown. The closest he came was in that '88 clash, the first men's final at Melbourne Park - the last time a local was in contention for the title. Since then, Australians have won Wimbledon and the US Open, even got close at the French Open, but fell short in Melbourne year after year.
It's as if the controversial Rebound Ace surface has been like Kryptonite to home-grown Supermen and women. Either that, or the gods of tennis have punished the sport's administrators for turning their backs on the grass that nurtured Court and Goolagong, Emerson and Rosewall.
When he goes out to play Safin, Hewitt will walk past pictures of those champions. Especially this year, Open history is everywhere. If he wins, Hewitt will not only end a long drought - the last Australian winner was in 1976 - but add his name to an illustrious list.
Giants of the past will welcome him, albeit with some bemusement. Loud cries of "Come on!" were seldom heard at Kooyong. Asked about Hewitt the other day, Ken Rosewall smiled and said: "I don't think anybody from our era ever played like that. He's just added a new element to being a competitor, a scrambler, coming back almost from the death in some of those matches." Rosewall admires Hewitt's attention to detail, his on-court activity. And, he adds, "He's got a fantastic amount of desire to win this championship."
Desire can take a man a long way. Late last year, Hewitt and his coach, Roger Rasheed, set their sights on the Open, even treating the season-ending championship as glorified practice matches. Work continued throughout the so-called off-season. Those biceps shown off by his sleeveless shirts didn't get like that lifting books.
All that preparation had one goal. As Hewitt put it the other night: "I would have given anything to be in this position, to have an opportunity to play one match for the title here in Melbourne. Now part of that dream's come true. I know as well as anyone that I'm going to have to go out there and play one of my best matches to get up against Marat. But at least I've put myself in a position to have a crack at it."
Does he, and his supporters, want it too badly? Hewitt doesn't believe so. "I don't think expectation has ever worried me too much. I got thrown into the spotlight at a pretty young age and I think I've been able to handle it pretty well." Like Cash, he played in a Davis Cup final at 18.
But Roddick, who carried American hopes when he won the US Open two years ago, cautions: "It's definitely tough out there, because all eyes are on you. To have that kind of spotlight on you and perform, it's no small task."
Still, Roddick admires Hewitt's mental toughness. So does Safin, who says this of his rival for the Australian crown: "He's a huge fighter. He has unbelievable anticipation. He has unbelievable fitness. He knows the game very well . . . Psychologically, he's very stable." This last comment may surprise all those amateur analysts who have tried to interpret Hewitt's tics and cries and on-court carrying on. Safin and Roddick aren't fazed by it. They recognise it as manifestations of Hewitt's greatest weapon - his intensity. As the man himself says: "Every time I step on the court, I give a hundred per cent."
He will need every bit of it tonight. Maybe even a bit more. Safin is a formidable foe, especially if he can replicate the form that toppled defending champion Roger Federer.
Tonight, even the purists may forgive Hewitt his trespasses. Those pale, staring eyes are fixed firmly on the prize.
The crowd, to borrow one of Hewitt's favourite words, will be awesome. Perhaps Roddick, who pronounced himself "pissed off" not to be there, put it best: "It's going to be a battle."
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By Lucy Beaumont
The Age
January 30, 2005
Great white hope or pesky gesticulator?
On the eve of the Australian Open men's final, the feelings of tennis fans about li'l Lleyton were still mixed.
Seated by the soggy lawn before the big screen, Hobart belle Alice Carpenter, 27, answered the love-him-or-hate-him question emphatically.
"I love that he is an animal," she said with a barely perceptible lip curl.
"I love that he can be so far behind but he never gives up."
Her companion, Adam Direen, 26, agreed, lionising the player with the blond mane, albeit a fairly straggly one.
It seemed you didn't have to be one of the gold-shirted fanatics (who presumably took a day off yesterday) to love Lley Lley.
Behind the American Express juice bar, Trish Johnston wouldn't hear a bad word about the Aussie battler, warning The Sunday Age to "leave him be".
"If he had have spat the way that Spanish guy (Argentinian Juan Ignacio Chela) did at him, he would have been in front of a firing squad," she said.
"Had Lleyton Hewitt done that, the paper would have crucified him," she said, praising his charity work and role-model status.
"He's in the finals. That's what I love about him," said program seller Clare Condon, 16.
"He's very confident and exciting to watch."
Inside the media centre, even his opponent seemed enamoured with the Australian's form and personality.
"We have a lot of respect for each other," said Marat Safin, who was not bothered by Hewitt's on-court hand puppetry or shouting.
"I don't think it bothers anyone to be honest, but they have their own opinion - especially when they are losing.
"We have a great relationship. It's not gonna change actually the match.
"I will not get pissed at all if he will shout and scream."
Ball kids Sally Peers, 13, and Michael Wood, 14, were both fans.
"His personality is so out there and he loves the crowd getting into his match," Sally said.
But Michael felt that sometimes the "come ons" were a bit over the top.
"If someone misses a shot and he says, 'Come on', that's not good," he said.
"But if he says, 'Come on' when he wins a shot that's OK."
Fair enough, but where were all the reported Hewitt haters, or were they all reporters?
"I'd have to say I hate him," Gwen Robson, 27, said from behind the binocular hire counter.
"It's his annoying antics; you just kind of want to deck him. I want Safin to win."
Jan Farmer, 50, was begrudgingly patriotic. "You kind of have to go for him because he's Australian, but I would have rather Federer had won," she said.
While Belle Barro said she had "learnt to love" Lleyton as a result of his semi-final tenacity, Raymond Barro felt just the opposite.
"I learnt to love Andy Roddick," said the former Montrose under-16 tennis champion, whose ideal match would perhaps be a love-all love-in.
"He was such a good sport. At the end he was saying, 'Good shot'. Hewitt doesn't appear to be as sportsmanlike. But it's great for the crowd to have an Australian in it."
Leave it to the taxi driver to have the last word. "It doesn't matter. It's the country behind him," said the man behind the wheel. "Why would we want to give it to Russia?" Yes, he is annoying, but he's ours.
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By Jake Niall
The Age
January 30, 2005
Tom Ross, the head of Octagon sports marketing's tennis division, had not seen Lleyton Hewitt hit a ball. The kid, then 15, was supposed to have special qualities. Ross asked Darren Cahill, whom he knew slightly from Cahill's playing days, to describe his prospective client.
Cahill drew a comparison with two players: Mats Wilander and Michael Chang. Ross managed Chang, and knew his every quirk - Michael was a quick, feisty baseliner who fought for every ball and was short by modern tennis standards.
The Chang brand stuck with many within tennis. Like the teenage Chang, Hewitt would be an early developer, whose lack of point-killing size and power would eventually count him out as the bigger boys caught up. At least, that was the market expectation.
But Hewitt has progressed well beyond the Chang standard, and in the course of this stirring Australian Open, it became increasingly obvious to Ross that there was another gut-busting American, this one a great, whom Hewitt truly resembled: Jimmy Connors.
Connors had the best return of serve in tennis before Andre Agassi, while Hewitt is the premier returner of the Agassi twilight. Hewitt had the Connors aggression and pit-bull propensity for controversy; and, as others in the tennis community noted, Jimmy and his mother Gloria were an inseparable unit, not averse to confrontation, with mother Connors fostering an us-and-them mindset.
"He's tough, he's fast. He's gritty. He is a modern-day Jimmy Connors," said Mark Edmondson, the last Australian man to win the Open. "He is a street fighter."
Wally Masur, the Australian Davis Cup coach and de facto member of the Hewitt camp during the Open, yesterday said Hewitt's hands were "as good as anyone in the game."
The statement was surprising. What it reminded us was that, as a smaller man without colossal power, Hewitt is apt to be underestimated, time and again.
Marat Safin, who defeated world No. 1 Roger Federer this week, yesterday suggested that it was the media, not the players, who sold Hewitt short. "The journalists underestimate him probably because none of the players underestimate him at all because everyone has so much respect for him, even though you guys write that he doesn't have the power, he doesn't have so much talent as others, like compare to Federer.
"I'm sorry, he been two years in a row No. 1 in the world. He's a huge fighter. He has unbelievable anticipation. He has unbelievable fitness. He knows the game very well. He reads really good the players. Psychologically, he's very stable. So he has more talents than many other players."
Masur said Hewitt's deft touch, the part of his game that often went unnoticed, would be significant tonight, since it could blunt the immense Safin power.
"He can play a chip and a volley and a drop shot and all those things are very important against a guy like Safin."
Masur, describing Hewitt as physically "very good" despite his hours on court, said it was crucial for Hewitt to concentrate on his own game, however, rather than adjusting to Safin. "The really important part is to manage your own game and match.
"You can't go overboard about worrying about your opponent, you have to manage your own game. Within your abilities, you have to find something to take them out of the comfort zone."
Masur said Hewitt wouldn't be at all distracted by the enormity of playing in his home grand slam tournament final. "He loves all that."
Hewitt will play world No. 4 Safin at 7.30pm tonight, in the Open's first night final.
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By Emma Quayle
January 30, 2005 - 12:02AM
The Age
Hewitt's family has sat alongside a primary school mate, some celebrity friends, members of Hewitt's coaching and management teams and his two Davis Cup bosses in the 12-seat section set aside for his entourage.
They have helped Hewitt celebrate points won or recover after lost ones, enduring all 17 hours and 32 minutes the 23-year-old has spent on centre court during his six-win journey to today's first night final. Victory in it over Russian Marat Safin would make him the first local champion since Mark Edmondson in 1976.
Hewitt's parents, Glynn and Cherilyn, have notched up the most courtside hours, having followed their son around the world circuit since he won his first title as a teenager. They have seen all his 103 grand slam matches.
They sat beside Hewitt's international manager, Octagon vice-president Tom Ross, and their younger daughter, Jaslyn - who had her wrist in plaster after a bathroom fall - for Hewitt's Friday night semi-final.
Before them sat Matt Norris, the Adelaide Crows trainer who has helped Hewitt manage his hip injury this week, and Hayden Eckermann, Hewitt's best friend from primary school.
Champion Crows midfielder Andrew McLeod, Hewitt's AFL hero and housemate, sat beside Home and Away star Bec Cartwright, Hewitt's first girlfriend since he split with his fiancee, the injured Belgian player Kim Clijsters, last year.
Hewitt's Australian manager, Justin Cohen, and his assistant Kelly Wolf, coach Roger Rasheed's fiancee Jo Altman, Eckermann's younger brother Jarrod and friend Brett Smith, whose father Peter first coached a six-year-old Hewitt, have also watched him play.
Davis Cup coach Wally Masur, who sat beside Cup captain John Fitzgerald in the front row on Friday night, said that while some players looked to their support crew for encouragement, Hewitt had enough energy for himself and everyone watching him.
"It doesn't matter whether you're sitting in the player's box or in row 58. He's the sort of player who draws you in and drags you through," Masur said.
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By JOHN THIRSK
30jan05
Sunday Times
THREE-TIME Wimbledon champion John Newcombe has hit back at Lleyton Hewitt's "C'mon" critics, saying the feisty Australian should not tone down his on-court attitude.
"When Lleyton goes on court it's like a world war," Newcombe said. "It's not a place for sissies out there.
"You back off and you're going to get your head taken off. What Lleyton does is not that bad or unfair."
Hewitt also found another ally in Australian Olympic Games sports psychologist Phil Jauncey.
"Watch Lleyton and his `C'mon' has nothing to do with distracting his opponent," Jauncey said.
"He respects every opponent and is not trying to humiliate them. He doesn't look at his opponent and looks at his hand.
"When you hear the `Hewitt howl' it's to himself and he is challenging himself to lift his game to another level.
"The `C'mon' always comes after a tough point and Lleyton is looking inside himself that he has achieved the challenge."
Jauncey said Hewitt's shout would have no effect on Roger Federer or Andre Agassi.
"They see it as a Hewitt peculiarity and personality aspect. Lleyton is not trying to make Hewitt, the person, look better. He adds electricity, atmosphere and is good for the game," he added.
"I don't think he is insecure when he looks at `Team Hewitt' in the stands, either. All of us look for support at times. It makes him feel good knowing they are there."
Jauncey also said the Maria Sharapova shriek and Serena Williams wail should not upset opponents.
Referring to an opponent failing to deal with a howl, shriek or wail, Jauncey said: "It's a player not knowing what to do, not knowing how to do it, not having the ability to do it and not wanting to because of over-reaction.
"Don't worry about feelings, only what you act on. The brain will filter the noise (such as `C'mon', or a grunt) out and it will become irrelevant. It doesn't matter if you are anxious or not, as long as you don't act anxiously, the body will not respond.
"If a player is insecure with the shouting and grunting there will be a bad reaction. A player who thinks, `I can play better if there was no grunt or C'mon', then the noise will only increase for them. What is important is how a player chooses to execute how they perform."
As a triumphant Davis Cup captain with Hewitt a team member, Newcombe makes no secret he has advised the world No. 3 at times and remains a fierce supporter, when the chips are down.
"I think its un-Australian the way Lleyton is being criticised," he said.
"He has finished end-of-year No. 1 in two consecutive seasons, won two Grand Slam titles, won more Davis Cup matches than any other Australian and he is only 23.
"I know Lleyton loves nothing better than representing his country. Why would you criticise Lleyton when he leaves his heart and guts on the court?"
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Comments by Marat Safin on Lleyton Hewitt
Excerpts from interview www.australianopen.com
January 29, 2005
Q. Last night before the match did you have any preference as to who you'd like to see win?
MARAT SAFIN: Not really, because they kind of different style of games, and both are tough ones, too, because with Hewitt you have to be really careful when you attacking him, and you would have to attack if you want to beat him.
Against Roddick, you will have to wait for your opportunities. So basically it's both sides are tough ones.
Q. Hewitt has annoyed some of his opponents with the stuff he does on court. Does that kind of stuff bother you?
MARAT SAFIN: Not really because we have a lot of respect to each other ‑ at least from my part. We know each other for very long times. Basically we came into the tour same age, same year. Just respect.
I guess -- it doesn't really bother me. I don't think it's really had to bother other people, to be honest. Like some people probably just felt it was a little bit too much what he's doing on the court. I guess everybody has their own opinions, especially when people are losing.
Between me and him, we have a great relationship. I mean, it's not gonna change actually the match. I will not get pissed at all if he will shout and scream. Just try to be positive. And try to, you know, put a little bit of pressure on me even with "c'mon" and everything, but we respect each other. I don't think it's a problem.
Q. Do you think he's underestimated? Do you think people in general underestimate Lleyton because he's not overpowering?
MARAT SAFIN: Probably I don't think so, but some people really think that ‑‑ the journalists underestimate him probably, because none of the players underestimate him at all because everybody has so much respect for him, even though you guys write that he doesn't have the power, he doesn't have so much talent as others, for example, like compare to Federer.
I'm sorry, he been two years in a row No. 1 in the world. He's a huge fighter. He has unbelievable anticipation. He has unbelievable fitness. He knows the game very well. He reads really good the players. Psychologically, he's very stable. So he has more talents than many other players.
Q. You've obviously going to go in tomorrow believing you will win. What do you think you need to do to win?
MARAT SAFIN: Just try to stick to the game, stick to the game from the first point, because Lleyton is really good at what he does. He tries to put you in -- he tries to make you play the same game he wants you to play. And it just doesn't suit me. I have to go with my tactics, you know, just go for it sometimes, risk it, and be aggressive - be really aggressive.
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Chip Le Grand
January 29, 2005
The Australian
IT has been the story of Lleyton Hewitt's life. Almost every time he walks on to a tennis court, he sees a bigger, more powerful opponent standing on the other side of the net. And almost without fail, Hewitt finds a way.
Where in previous nights it was the precocious talents of Spaniard Rafael Nadal and muscle-aching endurance of Argentinian David Nalbandian - not to mention his own private battles with injury and exhaustion - last night it was the supersonic serve of Andy Roddick.
The script was not as dramatic as in previous episodes of Hewitt. Hewitt lost the first set, then Roddick his nerve, and then Hewitt slowly but surely took control.
Roddick laughed at Hewitt's now infamous chainsaw routine, but otherwise was given little reason to smile, as Hewitt dismantled the remnants of his game (3-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-1).
And so the amazing Australian Open adventures of Lleyton Hewitt continues. In this, the centenary year of the Open, Hewitt will become the first Australian to play in a men's final since Pat Cash in 1988 when he takes on Marat Safin tomorrow night.
"Nine months ago I started preparing for this tournament," a relieved Hewitt said. "I always said that I would do anything to have an opportunity to play in the first night final in the Australian Open men's history and I have got my chance."
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By Martin Flanagan
January 29, 2005
The Age
Recently, a lover of the track with a shrewd eye for sport said to me: "What is it about tennis crowds that makes them laugh when an insect goes on the court?" Judging from his autobiography Serious, a seriously funny book, John McEnroe would say it's about manners.
The highly mannered nature of the game, particularly at Wimbledon, offended his Irish-American instincts and he acted in what was then deemed an offensive way.
Our Lleyton has similar problems. He walks on the court kicking up his feet like a footballer awaiting the first bounce in a grand final. Give him one in the ribs now and he would push you away, too good a player to have his eyes diverted from the ball.
Later, when you had forgotten it, he would even up. Right between the eyes and you would realise the little bastard was a lot more powerful than you thought. In every way.
Lleyton's seriousness is his greatest asset. It also makes him comic. He's like a character out of a cartoon. My award for the best verbal passing shot of the tournament goes to sportswriter Richard Hinds for his description of the moment when Argentinian Juan Ignacio Chela appeared to spit in Lleyton's direction after Lleyton had performed the whole "C'mon" thing, working up the crowd.
In photographs of the incident, even Lleyton looks surprised. Not only did Chela thereby lose control of the match, wrote Hinds, "he took the Australian to a previously unknown location - the high moral ground".
What you have to love about Lleyton is his courage. He knows no surrender. That's about it, really. He does nothing else in an exceptional way, except get around the court quickly and believe in himself in a way that is soaringly at odds with appearances.
For God's sake, he's up against players such as Federer. Lleyton's a Volkswagen (a yellow one, I think). They might have fitted him with a bigger engine and wider tyres, but at the end of the day a Volkswagen is what he is. Federer is a Ferrari.
My award for the best moment of commentary in the tournament (although the more I listened to Martina Navratilova, the more I got out of her) came from our own John Alexander.
Federer had just served the first game of the opening set against Agassi. Serves had swished past the old champion to the right and the left, swinging arcs of about 200 km/h in speed, nipping the corners of the service box in passing.
Agassi looked like a morning commuter on a railway station with Very Quick Trains going past on either side of him. As the game came to its abrupt end, J.A. solemnly intoned: "A timid and uncertain start from a man unsure of his talent."
Notwithstanding his loss to Safin, Federer's the best thing in tennis for years and, please, no more comparisons with Sampras. Sampras had a large and fluid talent, which he chose to apply in a relatively methodical way.
I always preferred watching Agassi, even though Sampras was the more gifted. It's Agassi's deep centredness that has won him so many admirers. The game went off within him like a silent volcano but he kept doing the hard thing, the right thing, and with deadly flourish.
Of Federer, American commentator Jim Courier said, "Don't be blinded by the beauty." Elsewhere, he quoted the maxim that tennis is boxing without blood. Courier is a good commentator, astute and articulate, but I feel compelled to say this: tennis is not boxing without blood.
Boxing is spectacularly a sport of cause and effect. Tennis matches decided by who has better endurance over five sets are more like iron man contests with racquets. For me the charm of tennis is its grace, its beauty.
I watch Lleyton because he's a character. He has what is known in acting as emotional authenticity. The world of pro tennis is more than a little unreal. Lleyton's as real as a pie with sauce. Stand in any footy crowd and you will hear someone with his attitudes.
Federer I watch because he is one of those magic individuals, like Michael Voss, who takes a sport to a pinnacle you might not see again.
And as for Agassi - he was one who kept me watching during those years when tennis seemed too much the same.
Waltzing with the underdog
By Leanne Ortiz
When A. B. Patterson penned his legendary ballad Waltzing Matilda, he could not
have predicted it would become the unofficial anthem of a nation that champions
the underdog.
Waltzing Matilda tells the story of a suicidal swagman, with an appetite for
livestock, (other people’s livestock, that is) who drowned himself in a
billabong, rather than be captured by the authorities.
For decades Australians have embraced the story of the swagman’s fighting spirit
and larrikin cheek, and nowhere will it be more evident than on Rod Laver Arena
this Sunday.
Battle scarred and exhausted, Lleyton Hewitt will almost certainly start the
underdog in the Australian Open final against the powerful and talented Marat
Safin.
But this is where the Australian will gain the most support from the parochial
Melbourne tennis crowd, love him or loathe him, they’ll be with him at Rod Laver
Arena.
A nation that is unashamedly passionate about its sport, Australians love the
opportunity of a battle against the odds, of a fighting win for the underdog.
It was on a muggy September evening on Rod Laver Arena in 2003 that a seemingly
spent Hewitt stared down the barrel of a Davis Cup defeat in a 2 sets to love,
3-5 deficit against the brilliant Roger Federer.
In a desperate attempt to lift his spirits, the crowd, led by The Fanatics, rose
to its feet with a rendition of Waltzing Matilda that resonated throughout the
arena and sparked the fighting spirit of the Australian.
“It’s funny, I’ve seen the little fella do it so many times before, I had a
funny feeling he could do it,” said Warren Livingstone, founder and leader of
The Fanatics.
“The thing with Rusty is, you always hold out hope to the last point,”
Livingstone said. “He is amazing that way.”
Hewitt’s identification with the underdog bore testament to another of Banjo
Patterson’s legendary poems…
He was hard and tough and wiry,
Just the sort that won’t say die,
There was courage in his quick impatient tread
And he bore the badge of gameness in his bright and fiery eye
And the proud and lofty carriage of his head
Like the wiry beast of Patterson’s Snowy River fame, Hewitt sniffed the air of
battle and glared ominously in the direction of his formidable Swiss opponent.
Relishing the opportunity of fighting his way back to a 5 set, home soil
victory, Hewitt would famously describe the win as “beats the hell out of
winning Wimbledon or the US Open.”
Fittingly, only a few months later, an injured Mark Philippoussis would play
through searing pain to win the fourth rubber of the final against Spain’s Juan
Carlos Ferrero. The Davis Cup came home to Australia in a 6-0 fifth set that
even the most courageous of punters could not have wagered.
We love it, this stuff of fairytales!
There are some classic underdog victories in Australia’s sporting legend.
Who could forget Kieren Perkin’s hair raising 1500 metre gold medal swim from
the far outside lane at the Atlanta Olympics, or Cliff Young, the 61 year old
potato farmer from Colac who in 1983 shuffled his way into the hearts of
Australians, audaciously winning the grueling 875km Westfield Marathon.
On the surface, the odds are definitely in favour of the big Russian, but beware
the Aussie underdog.
Hewitt has said: “I’d play on cow dung to win it, if I have to.”
And if he does?
We'll be Waltzing
With Matilda till the cows come home.
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By Richard Hinds
January 29, 2005
Sydney Morning Herald
As Lleyton Hewitt's relentless, bruising, obsessive campaign reaches the Russian front - or at least the front of a Russian - he will tomorrow night become the first Australian since Pat Cash in 1988 to contest an Australian Open final.
And, after yet another extraordinary come-from-behind triumph, it now seems almost inconceivable that anything can stop him becoming the first local man to lift the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup since Mark Edmondson in 1976.
Before last night's 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 semi-final victory over Andy Roddick, Hewitt had battled and conquered the supposedly slow surface, a hip injury, talented and recalcitrant opponents over five exhaustive sets, and the enormous personal expectation he has created during his mission to break the local drought.
This time Hewitt added yet another page to what is becoming an almost preposterous story by absorbing Roddick's punishing game and somehow leaving the American crumpled on the canvas. Fighting outside his weight division yet again, Hewitt faced a man who can turn a tennis ball into a grenade - yet battled his way back from a set down and walked away a brilliant, deserving winner.
"It's awesome," Hewitt said. "This started six months ago, at least nine months ago. I started preparing for this tournament . . . I always said I'd do anything to play in the first night final in the Australian Open's history, and now I've got my chance."
That chance will come against Marat Safin, the conqueror of world No.1 Roger Federer and a two-time losing finalist here.
"That's going to be a tough battle, no doubt about that," Hewitt said. "I'll just give it my best shot."
The world has come to expect nothing less. In the early stages of last night's match, Hewitt was forced to endure a blitzkrieg, with Roddick's blistering serve and crushing forehand giving the Australian little to aim at but a yellow blur. As he had in his earlier matches, Hewitt called for a trainer to treat his aching hip. But when he lost the first set after Roddick served three consecutive aces, it seemed he might be better served calling for a helmet.
But that, of course, is to underestimate the courage, stamina and sheer willpower of Hewitt. After Roddick won first service game of the second with four straight aces - which meant he had then served seven aces in a row - it seemed the tennis insomniacs of Melbourne Park were in for a rare early night.
Yet, even as Roddick ploughed on, Hewitt had begun to emerge from his baseline trench. Given the Australian has always seemed to hold a psychological advantage over Roddick, the question before this match was whether he could get inside Roddick's head - and how he would get there. The answer turned out to be unnervingly simple: despite suffering a bombardment that would have flattened a small city, Hewitt just kept getting the ball back. Again and again.
Near the end of the second set, Roddick had already blasted 23 aces past Hewitt's groping racquet. However, the more Hewitt got the ball back, the colder Roddick's big forehand went. It was only the American's serve that kept him in the second set and, in both the second and third set tiebreakers, it deserted him completely. By the end the American seemed a disconsolate figure, his weapons diffused and his own willpower eroded.
"In the end I had to weather the storm out there and do anything I could to wear him down, and I felt I did that a little bit," Hewitt said.
Roddick had been distracted by line calls and some shouts from the crowd as he was about to serve but blamed neither for his defeat. Rather, he praised the mental toughness of his opponent.
"Lleyton's tough, he's up there," said Roddick when asked if the Australian was mentally the strongest player in the game. "I think when you get to that level of mental toughness, it's hard to decipher. But he's up there."
So Hewitt's dream of winning this title, which began with his family's annual holiday road trips to the tournament from Adelaide and taken in victorious detours to Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows, has come down to one match. The record between Hewitt and Safin is 5-5 and Hewitt's task will not be easy.
"They've played a lot of times and it's going to be close," Roddick said. "You may as well flip a coin."
Safin seems certain to be a tougher proposition than he was in losing the final here in 2002 to Thomas Johansson and last year to Roger Federer. On those occasions, according to the Russian, first nerves and then the sheer skill of Federer had led to his poor performances.
"I will be really careful and I will really take it seriously and try to be prepared as much as I can," he said of tomorrow night's match.
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Bruce Matthews
29jan05
WHEN Andy Roddick left court for a toilet break at the end of the third set, he took at least seven minutes to return to the battlefield.
Maybe it crossed his mind to keep walking, right through the locker-room, out the front doors and into a courtesy car.
Like a B52 bomber, the American had pounded Lleyton Hewitt with an aces blitz that would have buried most opponents.
He had lost his serve just once, already clocked up 30 aces . . . and yet couldn't fathom why he stared at a two sets to one deficit.
The second seed's racquet arm should have been fresh for another 30 after dropping just one set in the previous five matches, which had been a proverbial stroll along the Yarra banks compared with his opponent's sweat, toil and late night engagements.
But Hewitt refused to be intimidated by the power plays, instead withstanding the bombardment with his trademark defiance that eventually reduced Roddick to mental rubble.
Even when Roddick preserved the lone service break in the opening set by sizzling six aces past the little Australian and sealed it with a 225km/h bomb, there was a sense that this contest was very much alive.
And Hewitt refused to be rattled when he didn't get a racquet to a single ball on Roddick's thunderbolts in the second game of the second set.
The response to the Roddick rampage was to concentrate so fiercely that it's a wonder he didn't give himself a headache. Telling himself to hang in there, that nothing lasts forever.
Hewitt's basic tactic was to ensure he preserved his own improved serve, cut down on unforced errors and tried to survive to the tiebreak. After all, you only need to latch on to a couple of serves there instead of the four to gain a conventional break.
It worked like a charm when the home favourite sneaked away to a 5-3 lead before ripping a rare ace himself for three set points.
By now, Hewitt had found range on the return as he bunted back a 206km/h Roddick serve and watched the American dump an easy backhand into the net to concede the tiebreak.
The match followed a similar pattern in the third set, despite Hewitt playing a loose game containing three double faults to fall behind 0-3.
But Roddick's most lethal weapon was starting to misfire and two double faults handed a grateful Hewitt his first service break of the match.
The Aussie had laboured for a couple of minutes short of two hours to finally breach that serve and his opponent was psychologically wounded by it.
Still, the 200km/h-plus aces from Roddick rained down in the second tiebreak, but they might as well have landed in Melbourne Park's Garden Square.
Hewitt's laser-like groundstrokes and returns found the corners and lines as a crumbling Roddick cannoned a forehand volley and forehand drive over the baseline.
When the Australian rifled a backhand crosscourt past the advancing Roddick to seal the third set, the American generously applauded at the net. Typically, Hewitt didn't notice. He was bent over behind the baseline executing his now familiar start-the-lawnmower routine, the signal `I'm coming to mow you down'.
No wonder Roddick sought solace in the locker-room. There was certainly nowhere to hide on centre court.
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Trevor Grant
29jan05
ALL professional athletes have their own way of preparing in the dressingroom for the big occasion.
Some prefer a few hands of poker, others make last-minute appointments with their psychologists, while a few, mostly the jittery ones, head for the privacy of a toilet cubicle and pretend to read a newspaper.
But Lleyton Hewitt last night preferred to do the same thing as a few hundred thousand lounge lizards around Australia. He curled up and watched Home and Away.
t's not known whether this has always been his preference in TV soaps. But, as the world knows by now, there's a very special reason the show now figures on his timetable, even 30 minutes before he's due on centre court for his first Australian Open semi-final.
She's cute, she's blonde and she now adorns his arm and his support team, when she's not on set in the serious business of playing the recently widowed Hayley Smith of Summer Bay.
Having critiqued the performance of the latest love in his life, Bec Cartwright, it was time to take over the starring role in their new partnership, and, as usual, she was there in support in the players' box on Rod Laver Arena.
All this paints a picture of a competitor in full control of the nervous energy that should have been coursing through his body as he launched into the biggest match of his career.
Yet after the first set went past in a blur of service bombs from his American opponent Andy Roddick, it was pretty obvious that no matter how controlled he might have felt and looked, it was going to amount to as much as a ball boy's wage in the initial joust for the high ground.
Hewitt had done everything humanly possible to get himself to a peak for his big night. From the time-honoured dip in the sea water at Port Melbourne to all manner of marvellous medical machinery, he'd been meticulous in trying to soothe his aching body.
But he could make no provision for the near-perfect fusion between intent and execution in Roddick's early game. Indeed it's doubtful any player could.
What Hewitt did, though, was accept it as a passing storm and look to the horizon for the clear skies.
As the missiles kept coming, Hewitt kept digging, and waiting. Sure enough, the opening came and the Australian was through it before Roddick could take stock of this sudden reversal of fortune.
Through the desperately fought second and third sets, both decided by tiebreaks, both players were visited by their own, very different demons.
By the third, Hewitt, with the pain predictably returning in his hip, was calling for the trainer and Roddick for security to eject the fans he claimed were yelling during his serves. Tellingly, Hewitt brushed aside his niggle, but Roddick seemed to let the crowd get to him.
Soon enough Hewitt was rubbing it in, by sprinting to his chair at the changeover and leaving Roddick to shuffle off like the beaten man he obviously believed he was.
It was one of many exchanges that revealed so much about these two who are set to maintain a compelling rivalry for years to come.
One thing we know for sure is that while people may drool about Roddick's powerful serve and his shuddering forehand, he'd kill to have Hewitt's heart.
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Hewitt Now One Step Away
Friday, 28 January, 2005
by Damian Glass
www.australianopen.com
Lleyton Hewitt has rallied from one set down to beat Andy Roddick and become the first local since Pat Cash at the inaugural Melbourne Park tournament in 1988 to qualify for the Australian Open final in the event's Centenary.
In another gutsy performance from the Australian, Hewitt weathered the storm of an awesome serving display from Roddick to wear down the American and win in four sets, 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-4) 6-1, in just under three hours on Rod Laver Arena.
Waiting for Hewitt in Sunday night's final will be Russian No.4 seed and two-time finalist Marat Safin - who ended the campaign of defending champion Roger Federer in five pulsating sets on Thursday night - with the pair's head-to-head career record standing at 5-5.
In all of the pre-match talk before this semi-final, Hewitt was the player who, having spent twice as much time on court as Roddick to reach the semis, was supposed to struggle physically.
The grueling five-set encounters that Hewitt had to play in the fourth-round and the quarter-finals to reach the last four were supposed to take their toll, but the Australian played low-error tennis to give him every chance of negating Roddick's power game.
In the end, the irony was that Hewitt - having worn down the American by winning the second and third set tie-breaks - went from strength-to-strength while Roddick appeared to capitulate in the fourth set.
Roddick's serve was always going to be his best friend and the most influential factor in the match.
After breaking Hewitt's first service game of the match, the American did not concede a point on his own serve until his fourth service game.
Eventually, Roddick did come under pressure on serve but he always had the answers.
Remarkably, Roddick served six aces in the final game of the opening set to take it 6-3 and, if that wasn't enough, he then won his first service game of the second set to love with four aces in a row.
Roddick had gained the ascendancy in the match on the back of his thunderbolt serve and by being patient from the baseline, but midway through the second set Hewitt began to show the first signs of getting back into the match.
While Roddick continued to have success with his serve, the rallies were getting longer and he was equally less successful in the baseline exchanges.
There was only one break point in the second set - Hewitt's eighth for the match with the Australian leading 3-2 but, as had been the norm, Roddick turned to his most potent weapon to get out of trouble.
At times, Roddick clocked more than 220km/h on his first serve and as much as 211km/h on his second, but Hewitt's serve had also been broken only once in the match and at 6-6, there was a critical deadlock.
Under the pressure, Roddick's serve showed signs of faltering during the tie-break.
Roddick could only win one point with five serves in the tie-break and, after Hewitt had fallen 1-2 behind, he won five of the next six points to bring up three set points and then duly closed out the set to level the match.
As he did in the first set, Roddick broke Hewitt's opening serve of the third set to race to a 3-0 lead.
Games then went with serve until Hewitt, trailing 2-4, finally converted a break point - his ninth of the match - courtesy of a Roddick double fault to break back. Hewitt then held serve in the next game to level the set at 4-4.
At 6-6, a tie-break was again needed and just as the earlier tie-break was telling, this one proved decisive.
The match was on a knife edge with the tie-break score at 4-4 and Roddick serving.
Significantly, the American changed tact, attempting to serve volley and he was passed down the line by Hewitt who gained the mini-break and converted his next two serves to take a two-sets-to-one lead in the match.
Bit-by-bit, Hewitt had dragged himself back into the contest and having survived Roddick's early onslaught, he now had all the momentum going into the fourth set.
After holding serve, Hewitt broke Roddick to take a 2-0 lead. Staring down the barrel of defeat at 1-4, Roddick, who had served just six double faults in five matches in the tournament, served his ninth double fault of the semi-final to hand Hewitt a double break and an unassailable 5-1 lead.
At 40-15, Hewitt brought up two match points on serve but only needed one to become the first Australian player in 17 years to reach an Australian Open Final.
• Roddick had 50 unforced errors, Hewitt 21
• The American served 31 aces, Hewitt 14
• Roddick had 12 aces and 12 unforced errors in the 2nd set
• The American's average 1st serve speed was 205 km/h
• Hewitt won 142 points, Roddick 127
January 28, 2005
Lleyton Hewitt today beat Andy Roddick in four sets to reach his first Australian Open final in Melbourne.
Hewitt recovered from a set down to beat the second seed 3-6 7-6 7-6 6-1 and will face Russia's Marat Safin in Sunday's first evening final in the championships' 100-year history.
"It's awesome," said Hewitt, who also overtakes Roddick as world number two following the win.
"This started six or nine months ago we started preparing for this tournament. I always said I would do anything to have the opportunity to play in the first night final and I've got my chance.
"Andy has so much firepower I had to try and weather the storm and wear him down and I think I was able to do that."
Hewitt had never been past the fourth round here before but is the first home finalist since Pat Cash in 1988 and could become the first Australian winner since Mark Edmondson in 1976.
"Marat's beaten the best player going around (Roger Federer) so he's obviously playing extremely well," added Hewitt. "He always plays well and been to two finals before.
"I'll have to raise the level of my game again, go out there and give everything I've got and see what happens."
Roddick had dropped just one set on his way to the semi-finals, spending just seven hours 42 minutes on court.
In contrast Hewitt had been on court for 14 hours 38 minutes and needed treatment for a hip injury during his five-set victories over Rafael Nadal and David Nalbandian in the last two rounds.
But after Roddick took the opening set it was the Australian who looked to be improving as the match went on, Roddick too reliant on his powerful serve as the second set headed for a tie-break.
Five of the first six points went against the serve, Roddick losing four of his five service points as Hewitt took it 7-3 to level the match, celebrating with his trademark cry of 'Come on'.
Roddick went a break up early in the third set when Hewitt served three double faults, but returned the favour in the fifth game with two double faults in a row.
Another tie-break was required and again it was the quality of Hewitt's returning and groundstrokes which proved the difference.
Roddick threw everything he had at his opponent but after a second thumping forehand into the corner he could only stand and applaud as a backhand winner fizzed past to give Hewitt the set.
Roddick took a lengthy break to change clothes after the third set but Hewitt held on to the momentum, gaining an early break of serve and 3-0 lead.
The third seed then saved a break point to maintain his advantage at 4-1 and with that Roddick's slim hopes disappeared.
Another break of serve gave Hewitt the chance to serve out for the match and he did so to seal victory in just under three hours.
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Sportinglife.com
January 28, 2005
Home hope Lleyton Hewitt will face Marat Safin in the final of the Australian Open after a four-set victory over Andy Roddick in Melbourne.
Hewitt fought back from a set down against the big-serving American to keep alive his dream of becoming the first Australian to win the title since Mark Edmondson in 1976.
The third seed recovered from an opening barrage from Roddick, winning two tie-breaks before running out a 3-6 7-6 (7/3) 7-6 (7/4) 6-1 winner - much to the Rod Laver Arena crowd's delight.
Roddick came out of the traps the fastest and broke Hewitt in his opening service game, although Hewitt was rightly aggrieved with a line call on the winning point.
The American's awesome serve and powerful forehand were both in good working order, but Hewitt began to find his own game as the set wore on.
He forced his first break points in game seven but both were saved.
And he turned on the pressure again when Roddick came to serve for the set at 5-3.
Five times he moved to break point but Roddick played each immaculately, regularly producing unreturnable serves and when he did force a set point he made sure he took it, slamming down a 140mph ace out wide.
Roddick's impressive serving continued at the start of the second set - four unreturnables seeing the 22-year-old level at 1-1.
However, Hewitt wrested the initiative as the set wore on.
He was regularly playing to Roddick's weaker backhand side, but the second seed was using the slice well to combat that attack from the home-crowd favourite.
Hewitt forced the only break point of the set in the sixth game, but Roddick saved it and took the set to a tie-break.
The third seed was the better player in it though and deservedly took the breaker by seven points to three to level the match at one set apiece.
The Aussie star was pumped up, letting on his trademark cry of 'come on' as he levelled up.
However, Hewitt suffered a lapse of concentration at the start if the third set.
Three double faults in his first service game saw Hewitt lose his serve for the first time since the second game of the match to give Roddick a 2-0 lead.
However, Roddick had double trouble of his own soon after and two in a row allowed Hewitt to break for the first time in the match to get the set back on serve at 3-4.
Another tie-break resulted and again it was Hewitt who took it, coming from a break down to win it 7-4, the crucial mini-break coming when Roddick pushed a half-volley long.
Despite Hewitt have been pushed to five sets in his previous two matches, it was Roddick looking the more weary as the fourth set began.
Tiredness may well have been to blame for another double fault which allowed Hewitt to open up to 2-0 lead early in the set.
With his forehand now producing far more errors than winners, Roddick missed a chance to break back in the fifth game.
It was to prove his last.
Hewitt raced through the remaining games to clinch his place in Sunday night's final.
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Hewitt downs Roddick
Fri Jan 28, 2005 11:53 AM GMT
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Lleyton Hewitt blunted the world's fastest serve and kept a nation's hopes alive for a home Australian Open champion by beating American Andy Roddick 3-6 7-6 7-6 6-1 to reach Sunday's men's singles final.
Hewitt will face twice runner-up Marat Safin for the silverware in the tournament's centenary year after Safin beat Roger Federer on Thursday.
Riding a wave of patriotism, former Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion Hewitt absorbed a total of 31 aces before mowing down Roddick and becoming the first local man to reach the final since Pat Cash lost to Mats Wilander in 1988.
The last Australian to win the men's singles was Mark Edmondson in 1976.
Second seed Hewitt fell to his knees when Roddick floated a shot long on match point and now stands one match away from fulfilling his greatest dream.
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Eurosport Live Commentary
January 28, 2005
(read from the bottom up)
12:44 HEWITT-RODDICK MATCH STATISTICS: Hewitt hit 14 ACES to Roddick's 31; seven double faults to nine; 48 winners to 66; 21 unforced errors to 50; 142 points to 127; match time two hours 54 minutes!
12:43 In centenary year, Australian have their first player in the final since Pat Cash in 1988. Roddick leaves the court without waving to the crowd, something was wrong in the fourth set. Hewitt sits on his chair in disbelief... can the 23-year-old become the first Australian to win the singles championship since farmer Mark Edmondson in 1976! You'll have to find out on Sunday, when he meets Marat Safin at 09:30cet!
12:42 Hewitt stands on the brink of his first AO final... never before in seven attempts had the 2001 and 2002 world champion advanced past round four... first serve unreturned 15-0; Hewitt hits a forehand out of court 15-15; ACE number 14 for 30-15; ACE #15 for 40-15; DOUBLE MATCH POINT for HEWITT... Roddick returns a first delivery out... hEWITT FALS TO THE GROUND HIS ARMS ALOFT... GAME SET MATCH LLEYTON HEWITT 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-4) 6-1!
12:40 Roddick makes a backhand error 0-15; DOUBLE FAULTS for a ninth time 0-30; Hewitt returns a gettable forehand into the net for 15-30; Roddick nets a backhand volley on approach 15-40; DOUBLE BREAK POINT for HEWITT... Roddick hits a 135mph ACE 30-40; ONE POINT... a first serve lands JUST out... second serve... Roddick shanks a forehand long... HEWITT looks to the roof on Rod Laver Arena court, screaming to himself... ONE GAME AWAY at 5-1...
12:38 The crowd is silenced once more by the chair umpire prior to the start of Roddick's service game...
12:36 Roddick returns a forehand into the net to give Hewitt a three-game cushion once again with a 4-1 lead... the prospect of an Australian singles finalist draws closer...
12:34 BREAK POINT for RODDICK... Hewitt serving at 30-40... set up throw a backhand return winner; Hewitt kicks his first serve into court, Roddick gives too much air to a backhand drive, landing long of the baseline... DEUCE!
12:32 Hewitt is hitting 63% of his first serves into court now, n 2004 it was as low as 52%
12:30 Has Roddick got the fight for a five-setter? He closes out to love to trail 1-3...
12:27 Roddick has been subdued since returning to the court for the start of the fourth set; for those who believe he was reading a coaching manuel while taking a comfort break think again... something is definately wrong and Eurosport are aiming to find out...
12:26 The legs are pumping, the Australian fans sense Hewitt is in the ascendency now of becoming potentially the first national since Pat Cash to reach the Australian Open final... Hewitt finishes with a forehand fizzer in a hold to 15 for 3-0!
12:23 Roddick on the rocks... serving at 0-30 after two well-played points by Hewitt; the Australian nets a forehand scrambling well behind the baseline 15-30; Hewitt cleans the line with a forehand 15-40; DOUBLE BREAK POINT for HEWITT... Roddick DOUBLE FAULTS... HEWITT BREAKS for 2-0
12:19 Hewitt closes out a service hold to love with a forehand winner that clips the net cord... the world number three apologises to Roddick... a fifth love service game in the match for Hewitt, who leads 1-0
12:18 Lleyton Hewitt to begin the FOURTH SET... play!
12:17 NINE MINUTES AFTER THE END OF THE THIRD SET, Roddick returns to the court, he gets booed... there ISN'T a warning from the chair umpire, unbelievably!
12:16 Hewitt waits at the baseline to serve... STILL NO SIGN of RODDICK...! Dean Goldfine sits and waits... this is ridiculous... the Rod Laver Arena starts a slow hand clap...
12:14 RODDICK has yet to return to his chair; Hewitt waits with a towel around his legs for his opponent to return...
12:09 Roddick heads off the court for a comfort break quickly followed by a lines judge, a mandatory rule in professional matches
12:08 THIRD SET TIE-BREAK 3-3: Hewitt to serve, a "C'mon" after a Roddick forehand long of the baseline 4-3; Roddick to serve, unreturned 4-4; Roddick to serve, half-volley forehand out off a super Hewitt return 4-5; Hewitt to serve, Roddick returns a forehand long 6-4; DOUBLE SET POINT for HEWITT... first serve long, some parts of the crowd cheer, then boo when they realise it has been called out... a long second serve rally ended by a Hewitt backhand crosscourt winner... THIRD SET HEWITT 7-6 (7-4) in 51 minutes! The Australian takes a two sets to one lead!
12:04 THIRD SET TIE-BREAK: Roddick to serve, ACE at 217km/h 1-0; Hewitt to serve, backhand approach into the net 0-2; Hewitt to serve, this time he gets it right hitting over the height of the net into space 1-2; Roddick to serve, ACE down the middle 3-1; Roddick to serve, forehand into the net 3-2, back on serve; Hewitt to serve, Roddick returns a backhand long 3-3; the pair change ends...
12:01 Hewitt closes out to love, it'll go to a breaker... the Australian has yet to lose a tie-break at the Open... Roddick is 2-1...
11:59 Roddick with another routine service hold to love for 6-5...
11:56 The third set continues on serve after Hewitt holds to 15... the prospect of a second breaker is very likely... 5-5
11:53 Roddick hits ACES #26 and 27, apologises to Hewitt for a poor thorw-up with "sorry mate" à la Rafter, then closes out with ACE #28 in a service hold to 15... 5-4
11:50 BACK ON LEVEL TERMS... the 'Fanatics' start to chant Lleyton Hewitt's name as Roddick gives the third seed some worries with some deep returns and thunderous forehands... Hewitt closes out to 30 for 4-4
11:45 BREAK POINT for HEWITT... Roddick serving at 30-40... first serve into the net, the crowd is asked to be quiet by the chair umpire... the second delivery goes into the net, DOUBLE FAULT... HEWITT BREAKS BACK for 3-4... back on serve in set three
11:41 A smash, two unreturned deliveries and an ACE provide Hewitt with a service hold to love for 2-4...
11:39 In the blink of an eye, Roddick closes out to love, gestures to a ball boy for his towel and like a dog walks to his chair with the towel in his mouth... 4-1
11:37 Roddick returns a forehand lobbed return long of the baseline to give Hewitt a service hold to 15 for 1-3... the crowd have been quietened in the third set, both players aren't playing great tennis...
11:34 At the change of ends Hewitt doesn't call for a trainer, but does change his shirt. His parents in the players box look worried, Hewitt himself shakes his head...
11:34 Roddick confirms the break of serve to 15 and leads, as he did in the first set, 3-0!
11:31 The match continues, but Hewitt is shaking his head, going for his towel as the ball team sends the balls down to Roddick's end the third seed holds his back... surely he'll ask for treatment at the change of ends...
11:30 A fourth DOUBLE FAULT for the match and Hewitt is going off the boil... a SECOND BREAK POINT for HEWITT... Roddick nets a forehand and grimaces at missing a good opportunity; DEUCE... Hewitt nets a forehand... RODDICK with a THIRD POINT... the Australian is holding his back... Roddick hits a forehand winner to BREAK for a 2-0 lead...
11:27 Hewitt hits his first double fault since the first set and RODDICK finds himself at BREAK POINT... Roddick returns a forehand and comes to the net, but his backhand volley flys wide... Hewitt pumps his fist, it's DEUCE on the Australian's serve
11:23 Roddick completes an opening service hold to 30, with Hewitt guessing correctly on four of the six serves... 1-0
11:18 SECOND SET TIE-BREAK - Hewitt 4-2: Roddick to serve, Hewitt nets a forehand return 3-4; Hewitt to serve, forehand half volley cruncher on approach to the net 5-3; Hewitt to serve, first serve ACE down the middle 6-3; TRIPLE SET POINT for HEWITT... Roddick to serve, the American nets a backhand approach... SECOND SET HEWITT 7-6 (7-3)... a "C'mon" and this match has sparked into life!
11:15 SECOND SET TIE-BREAK: Hewitt to serve, forehand into the net 0-1; Roddick to serve, Hewitt split-steps into a forehand return hitting a winner down the line 1-1; Roddick to serve, forehand into the net off a long rally 1-2; Hewitt to serve, forehand winner 3-1; Hewitt to serve, Roddick forehand winner to get back on serve in the breaker 3-2; Roddick to serve, in-out forehand into the net protecting his backhand 2-4; the pair change ends...
11:11 The second set will be decided on a tie-break at Andy Roddick closes out to love for 6-6...
11:08 "Lleyton Hewitt's Barmy Army" emanates from one section of the Rod Laver Arena, as Hewitt closes out to love for a 6-5 lead... Roddick shakes his head on the final point, a Hewitt forehand winner cleaning a tramline...
11:06 A mighty comfortable service game for Roddick, closing out to love for 5-5...
11:03 Roddick's mind is elsewhere as he wastes the opening two returns of Hewitt's service game; the Australian closes out to 30 for a 5-4 lead... the semi-final has yet to come to light just yet...
11:00 The arm of Roddick pounds another couple of ACES down, but his first serve isn't as working as well any more... the hold for 4-4 is finished with a 126mph second delivery...
10:56 Hundreds of Australians rise to their feet, as Hewitt rounds out a hold to 15 in a forceful service game for a 4-3 lead... the 23-year-old even allows himself a "C'mon" as the balance of power shifts slightly...
10:53 BREAK POINT for HEWITT... the Australian 0-7 so far though... Roddick ACES to get out of trouble once more, DEUCE; ACE ADV; Roddick hits an in-out forehand crosscourt to wrap up a tense service hold... 3-3
10:52 Roddick has a little wry smile after a 131mph second serve ACE at DEUCE... Hewitt returns the game to equal parity with a return winner leaving Roddick standing...
10:48 Hewitt is upping the level of his game now, hoping to break Roddick's serve for the first time in the match...
10:45 No "C'mons" just yet, but Hewitt fist pumps to his supporters following a service hold to 30 for 3-2...
10:41 Hewitt makes Roddick work once again for his service hold; despite ACES flying down (16 thus far), the Australian is hitting the second seeds backhand more and more now... Roddick holds to 30 for 2-2
10:37 The Australian support start to sign "Waltzing Matilda" as Hewitt closes out to 30 for a 2-1 lead... Roddick caught snatching at two high backhands there... good tactic by Hewitt as it's the American's weakest shot!
10:33 A lightening service hold to love, with two ACES for 1-1... if Roddick continues to serve like this, it's going to be over in straight sets!
10:32 Hewitt hits his second ACE in a service hold to love for the opening game of the second set... family, girlfriend and coaching team - totalling 10 - are on their feet applauding him on to greater deeds...
10:30 Hewitt begins to serve in the second set, play!
10:28 BREAK POINT #5 for HEWITT... Roddick hits an ACE, DEUCE; ACE down the middle ADV; SET POINT for RODDICK... ACE, clocking 142mph! FIRST SET RODDICK 6-3 in 23 minutes! Roddick hit 11 ACEs, two double faults, 17 winners, 14 unforced errrors, and won 39 points to Hewitt's 31!
10:27 Roddick hits his first DOUBLE FAULT... a FOURTH BREAK POINT for HEWITT... Roddick out of trouble with an eighth ACE in the match, this time down the T; DEUCE!
10:26 Roddick overcooks a forehand long of the baseline, called in, but over-ruled by the chair umpire, HEWITT has a THIRD BREAK POINT... Roddick serve-volleys and hits a drive volley forehand winner behind the Australian... DEUCE!
10:23 DOUBLE BREAK POINT for HEWITT... Roddick serving at 15-40... another ACE out wide 30-40; two-time Roddick's first serve hits the net, but it's third time lucky for a 140mph ACE to return his game to DEUCE!
10:20 Hewitt closes out to 15 wit a confidence service hold, but trails 3-5...
10:17 To advantage with a 124mph ACE down the middle; Roddick hits another ACE (this time 142mph) down the middle for 5-2!
10:16 DOUBLE BREAK POINT for HEWITT... Roddick, inexplicably comes in to serve-volley, he hits a backhand half-volley long... 15-40... Roddick hits a forehand approach winner 30-40; Roddick forehand winner down the line, DEUCE!
10:12 Having to find the lines, just to hold serve... Hewitt closes out to advantage for 2-4, as Roddick misses two forehands from the baseline... a subdued start, but the 'Fanatics' will ensure Hewitt has support throughout the tussle...
10:07 Roddick starts with a 141mph first ACE down the middle... he rounds out a love hold with a 143mph fizzer... Hewitt is being over-run in the first set... RODDICK 4-1
10:06 Hewitt closes out to advantage hitting his first forehand winner from the baseline... 1-3
10:01 Roddick at the races, closing out to love for a 3-0 lead... 16 points won to Hewitt's seven so far...
10:00 VERY CONTENTIOUS! Roddick smacks a forehand winner that looks to clean the baseline on a FOURTH BREAK POINT, but Hewitt doesn't agree and argues with the chair umpire... it looked very close but television monitors indicate the ball clipped the line... RODDICK BREAKS for 2-0
09:57 Hewitt hits a 134mph ACE to get his service game back to DEUCE after a THIRD BREAK POINT for RODDICK...
09:55 Hewitt is happy to rally with Roddick from the baseline and gets the error when the American hooks a forehand wide ADV; Roddick lucky with a mis-timed returned that Hewitt is slow to reach, DEUCE!
09:54 DOUBLE BREAK POINT for RODDICK... Hewitt serving at 15-40... the crowd begin to urge the Australian on... first serve deep and wide of an outstretched Roddick, unreturned 30-40; first serve ACE at 186km/h DEUCE!
09:50 Lleyton Hewitt, looking to become the first Australian Open finalist since Pat Cash in 1988, begins his first service game...
09:50 Not a great deal of American supporters in the arena, but Roddick gets warm applause for an opening service hold to 15... 1-0
09:48 Andy Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open champion in his second Melbourne semi-final, gets the second semi-final underway... play!
09:45 Roddick may have painful memories of their last meeting at the Masters Cup in November... Hewitt thrashed him with the American completely off his game... the pair are hitting their serves now at the end of the warm up...
09:41 The pair begin their five-minute warm-up in their sixth career meeting... temperatures remain high, around 25°C...
09:39 Lleyton Hewitt walks out onto court ahead of Andy Roddick, both players look subdued following a warm reception onto court...
09:38 Andy Roddick leads Lleyton Hewitt out of the locker-room down the corridor past pictures of the former champions and down the tunnel onto centre court...
09:36 Evonne Goolagong, John Newcombe and Ken Rosewall watch in the VIP section of the arena... the players are on their way...
09:30 The stage is set for the second men's semi-final; the last few seats on Rod Laver Arena are being taken up now as the Melbourne crowd wait for the arrival of Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick... the players should be on court inside ten minutes!
08:45 HEAD-TO-HEAD: Lleyton Hewitt leads Andy Roddick 4-1 in their career series. The pair met three times in 2001 (Miami Masters, French Open, U.S. Open) with Hewitt winning all of them. Last season the pair split their two matches: Roddick defeated Hewitt in the semi-finals of Queen's Club 7-6 6-3, but Hewitt took revenge at the Tennis Masters Cup in Houston two months ago with a 6-3 6-2 semi-final win.
08:35 Under one hour away from the second men's semi-final and a couple hundred spectators have already taken their seats on Rod Laver Arena...
08:35 ANDY RODDICK ON HIS OPEN SO FAR: "The only other time I got this far at the Australian Open, I felt like I was about to fall over walking out to my semi-final match. It's been pretty smooth sailing so far. That could end up being a good thing. I don't have many miles on me. I'm playing pretty well and I'm putting a high percentage of first serves in, which makes my life a lot easier."
08:30 ANDY RODDICK BIOGRAPHY: The 2003 world champion Andy Roddick shocked the tennis world when he parted company with Brad Gilbert (partnership since June 2002) last month. The world number two has seen teamed up with Dean Goldfine and reached his second Australian Open semi-final. The 22-year-old has won 15 career singles titles, including the 2003 U.S. Open and amassed $7.7 million in prize money. A professional since 2000, the Boca Raton resident is playing his first tournament of 2005.
08:30 LLEYTON HEWITT BIOGRAPHY: Two-time former world champion (2001-2002) Lleyton Hewitt has won 24 career singles titles and $14.5 million in prize money. The 23-year-old won his third Syndey International title in the build-up to the Australian Open and will use the support of his home nation against semi-final opponent Andy Roddick. A winner of the 2001 U.S. Open and 2002 Wimbledon, Hewitt has been a professional since 1998. The right-handers is currently ranked world number three.
08:20 RODDICK ON HEWITT: "He picks the ball up so well. When it's in his groove zone he's not going to miss."
08:15 HEAD-TO-HEAD: Hewitt has beaten Roddick in four of the previous five meetings including the semi-finals of last year's Masters Cup. "I'm sure it's going to be in the back of his mind as well, " Hewitt said. "It's not easy playing Andy in America. He loves the hype of playing in his home country. I played a pretty good match that time... but I'm sure he's going to learn a lot from that match and he's going to come out and want revenge."
08:10 LLEYTON HEWITT ON TIME ON COURT THIS FORTNIGHT: "He [Andy Roddick] has got an advantage there but come Friday I'll be ready to go. I'm just going to prepare like any other match."
08:00 MARAT SAFIN'S VIEW: "Roddick is in great shape. Hewitt, he's going to play with his home crowd, so it's not going to be easy at all."
06:30 Join eurosport.com/co.uk for live scoring and commentary of the second men's semi-final at the Australian Open, between second seed Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, the world number three, at 09:30cet on Rod Laver Arena! After the theatrics of Roger Federer and Marat Safin on Thursday, this one is not to be missed!
Diversions hit Hewitt on the road to victory
From Neil Harman, Tennis Correspondent in Melbourne
Times Online
FIREWORKS and thunder in the city; fireworks and thunder on Rod Laver Arena, where the only missing element was the legend after whom the stadium was named, who has been unable to leave his California home for the Australian Open’s centenary celebrations because he is tending to his wife, Mary, who is seriously ill.
What a tonic it would have been for the Lavers on this, Australia Day, as Alicia Molik, a player of whom we will hear a lot more, came of age as a grand-slam championship contender before bowing out to Lindsay Davenport, the world No 1, 9-7 in the third set of her quarter-final and Lleyton Hewitt demonstrated once more that no one in the sport has a pit of resilience as bottomless as his.
Quite where Hewitt dredged the resources to defeat David Nalbandian, of Argentina, 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 3-6, 10-8 even he might not be able to tell. But what a spirit, what a soul who symbolises a country characterised by its harsh, beautiful landscape. There is both harshness and beauty in Hewitt’s tennis; it is played on the edge, neutral does not exist, defeat is something that does not enter the equation. Nalbandian fell just short in 4hr 5min because he did not quite possess his opponent’s instinct for the kill. He is not alone in that.
Nor is he the first to walk off the court defeated and not exactly eager to embrace the Australian as a bosom buddy. He would not divulge what passed for a brief conversation at the net. “He is not a gentleman,” he said. [n.b. is this quote out of context?]
This was a repeat of the 2002 Wimbledon final in name only. Two and a half years ago, the pair had short, cropped hair, there was not a back-to-front cap or orange bandanna in sight, it was a final without significant incident or controversy, Hewitt won at a canter, there was a cup at the end of the trail and it ended in handshakes and smiles. The first 76 minutes yesterday did not foreshadow what was to come. Nalbandian was not at the races, barely able to keep a ball in the court, Hewitt was swinging away and the after-effects of his previous round’s travails against Rafael Nadal, of Spain, had dissipated.
Then, the wind picked up as storms approached and someone let off a few Australia Day fireworks down by the River Yarra. Hewitt lost his focus, five of six service games, Nalbandian eradicated his errors and the match was tied at two sets all. Amid all this confusion, Mohamad Lahyani, the umpire, was having a devil of a time with his line judges, none of whom could be relied upon to make a decent call. Nerves frayed, Hewitt got into Nalbandian’s face, angry words were exchanged, the intensity was building.
The rallies grew in fierceness and quality, Nalbandian saved break points in the third and eleventh games, the latter including a fantastic “get” around a net post, and, despite stunning court coverage, a missed forehand drive volley by Hewitt with his opponent defenceless. The seventeenth game swung the match, small consolation for the Argentinian that he should win one rally with a through-the-legs shot as he chased a lob — a shot of such spectacular brilliance that Hewitt could not make his volley — only to miss a couple of routine backhands and lose his serve. Hewitt, urged on by a full house, did not disappoint.
He will now play Andy Roddick, who has reached the last four with barely a headline to his name and eight hours less activity. Nikolay Davydenko had not dropped a set — as Tim Henman, among others, recalls all too heart-breakingly — until he ran out of puff on a sultry afternoon and retired on his stool. When you are two sets and a break down to Roddick and you can hardly summon any breath, it is better to be safe than sorry.
The Russian required check-ups during each change of ends from midway through the second set of his quarter-final, he was prompted to use an inhaler and draw a flak jacket-like contraption over his shoulders to keep his body temperature down. None of this, or more break points — five in two sets — than most players collect from the Roddick serve, was security enough for the No 26 seed.
As big and boisterous as Roddick is, he has gone through to the semi-finals in a manner of understated excellence. One set dropped, in the serve-fest against Greg Rusedski, he has been a picture of mature self-possession. The world No 2 reached his first grand-slam semi-final here two years ago after a quarter-final against Younes El Aynaoui, of Morocco, that ranks as one of the best men’s matches of this century.
Roddick won 21-19 in the fifth set and did not have enough juice in the tank when he met Rainer Schüttler, of Germany, less than 48 hours later. That will not be the case this time around.
The previous time they met, in the semi-finals of the Masters Cup in Houston in November, Hewitt won the last 20 points and delivered a hiding. He said that he will stay out there tomorrow as long as it takes to get the job done. Another long night beckons.
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Australian No1 battles through five more sets to face Roddick
Stephen Bierley in Melbourne
Thursday January 27, 2005
The Guardian
It has taken Lleyton Hewitt almost eight hours to win his past two matches in the Australian Open and, although he joked about going for a 10km run today before his semi-final against Andy Roddick tomorrow, it will be remarkable if the man they variously call "Rusty" and the "Rock" has much more than vapour left in his tank when he squares up to the American.
Roddick has hardly needed to break sweat to get this far, having reached the last four after his opponent Nikolay Davydenko, who beat Tim Henman in the third round, retired at 6-3, 7-5, 4-1 down when experiencing prolonged breathing difficulties in the high heat. "Not quite as dramatic as it normally is," agreed Roddick, who two years ago defeated Morocco's Younes El Aynaoui 21-19 in the fifth set of their marathon quarter-final.
Any drama this year has been at the city's blackjack tables where the American, prior to last night, was up £2,300. He has also had the satisfaction of seeing Hewitt taken to five sets by Spain's brilliant teenager Rafael Nadal in the fourth round and then again by David Nalbandián of Argentina last night, the Australian winning 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 3-6, 10-8 just before midnight.
Roddick will lose his No2 spot in the world to the Australian if he is beaten. The two have met five times, with Hewitt holding a 4-1 advantage. The last time they played was in the semi-finals of the Tennis Masters Cup last November, when Roddick was humiliated in front of his home crowd and later parted company with his coach Brad Gilbert.
"Obviously that's in the back of my mind and I'm sure it's going to be in the back of his as well," said Hewitt. "It's not easy playing Andy in America. He loves the hype of playing in his home country, so I'll be trying to emulate a very similar situation. But I'm sure he's going to learn a lot from that match and he's going to come out and want revenge."
Roddick would dearly love to turn the tables and this time it is unlikely he will be trying to force the issue at the net as he attempted in Houston.
Despite the physical battering Hewitt has incurred this week he can never be underestimated. He has a remarkable capacity for recovery and a heart so huge that at any moment you might expect it to burst free of his chest. Nevertheless he entered the Open with a right hip flexor injury and, against Nalbandián, at the end of the fourth set, had treatment on his left thigh.
Advance Australia Fair had been sung throughout the land on Australia Day, although by 11.30pm here there seemed a good chance, in tennis terms, that the country would finish on its knees, raging with bitter frustration. Never let anyone kid you it is the poms who whinge; Aussies are worse losers by far.
Alicia Molik had gone down 9-7 in the third set of her quarter-final against Lindsay Davenport, the world No1, and it appeared Hewitt was going the same way. On this day last year Hewitt and Mark Philippoussis had lost in the fourth round, giving rise to suggestions that the event be moved to avoid Australia Day. "Thank Christ I came away with a win tonight," said Hewitt.
There was a good deal of ill feeling between Hewitt and Nalbandián, who had previously criticised the Australian's behaviour on court, especially his stentorian cries of "Come on" when an opponent has missed a shot. The two brushed shoulders at a change-over and exchanged words and after the match Nalbandián reiterated his earlier criticisms in Spanish.
Hewitt, in his early days, upset Spain's Alex Corretja, the former French Open champion, with his on-court outbursts, which were considered disrespectful. Over the years he has toned things down but he was noticeably vociferous during the Open's first week and his combative attitude splits Australian opinion.
Hewitt has to be admired for his fighting spirit. There is a good deal of hypocrisy here from a sporting public that has turned a blind eye to the way its cricket team sledges opponents. Hewitt is not guilty of that. It is 29 years since an Australian won the men's title here and Hewitt, who has never before got beyond the fourth round, is two wins away. A few more "Come ons" will surely hurt nobody.
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BBC Sport
January 27, 2005
Lleyton Hewitt continues his epic quest to win his home Grand Slam against Andy Roddick in Friday's Australian Open semi-final.
The Australian needed five sets to beat Rafael Nadal and David Nalbandian in his last two matches.
"I'll be ready to go," insisted Hewitt, who has spent almost 15 hours on court.
"I'm definitely giving the crowds their money's worth. It's a long way from holding up that trophy yet but I'm hanging in there."
Hewitt had never been past the fourth round in seven attempts before this year but, despite an uneasy relationship with the Australian press, he has the home fans on his side.
And the world number three believes he has been playing well enough over the last year to be considered the main rival to Roger Federer.
He has an impressive 4-1 record against Roddick, which includes a thrashing at the Masters Cup in November that will be fresh in the American's mind.
Within days of that defeat, Roddick had sacked his coach Brad Gilbert at the end of a year that left him without a Grand Slam title.
He might have been expected to need some time to settle with new coach Dean Goldfine, but Roddick has been in blistering form in Melbourne.
He has dropped just one set in less than eight hours of play - in marked contrast to his last semi-final appearance in 2003 when he went into the match against Rainer Schuettler on the back of a 21-19 fifth-set win over Younes El Ayanoui
"The only other time I got this far at the Australian Open, I felt like I was about to fall over walking out to my semi-final match," said Roddick.
"It's been pretty smooth sailing so far. That could end up being a good thing. I don't have many miles on me.
"I feel like I'm playing pretty well.
"I'm putting a high percentage of first serves in, which makes my life a lot easier, when I know I'm getting through service games pretty handily."
HEWITT (3) v RODDICK (2)
23------------Age-------------22
Australian----Nat------American
2------------Slams-------------1
24-------Career titles-------15
$14.6m---Earnings-----$7.7m
4-------Head-to-head--------1
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27 January 2005
stuff.co.nz
MELBOURNE: Lleyton Hewitt believes mental toughness was the key to his stirring five-set win over David Nalbandian in the Australian Open quarterfinals last night.
"I just had to dig deep in the fifth set, and yet again the never-say-die attitude came out," Hewitt said.
The local favourite had looked in trouble when Nalbandian recovered from losing the first two sets to force the match into a fifth and deciding set.
The momentum was with the Argentine and Hewitt, who had gone the full distance in his previous match with Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal, was struggling with a hip injury.
But the number three seed overcame his tiredness to clinch a 6-3 6-2 1-6 3-6 10-8 victory that delighted the home fans.
"Yet again I was able to come through in the clutch situations, such as the match against Nadal the other day," said Hewitt, a former world number one.
"In the end I just played some of the bigger points a little bit better."
Hewitt said that although he was physically tired in the fifth set he was still able to draw on all his reserves of stamina and courage to wear down the Argentine.
"I think I'm as mentally tough as anyone out there and I think I've won a lot of matches in the past because of that."
"Whether I'm the best at that, I don't know. I'm sure there are a few other guys but I think mentally I go out there with a pretty good attitude," added Hewitt.
"If I lose and I know I've given a hundred per cent, there's not a whole heap I can do about it.
"I can at least walk off with my head held high. Even if I went down tonight, I gave everything I had out there."
Hewitt, who plays second seed Andy Roddick in Friday's semifinals, said he was frustrated by a series of poor line calls that marred the match but had managed to ignore them.
He also played down any hint of animosity between him and Nalbandian despite several on-court clashes.
Nalbandian appeared upset by something Hewitt said to him at the end of the match and Hewitt also seemed to brush Nalbandian with his shoulder at one change of ends in the second set.
"I think he brought it on himself a little bit," Hewitt said. "He sort of propped and waited for a bit of a shoulder."
Hewitt has spent almost 15 hours on court and faces an even tougher assignment next when he locks horns with American world number two Andy Roddick but he says he's not worried.
"I'll be ready to go," Hewitt said.
"I'm definitely giving the crowds their money's worth. I'm doing all the right things for the tournament. It was just a battle and I had to hang in there.
"It wasn't easy always being down in the fifth set. It was more a mental battle than anything. It (the victory) couldn't have come quick enough but I was going to be out there as long as it took."
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Wed Jan 26, 2005 03:02 PM GMT
By Simon Cambers
MELBOURNE, Jan 26 (Reuters) - David Nalbandian kicked himself over missed opportunities and complained about poor line calls after he was beaten by home favourite Lleyton Hewitt in an epic Australian Open quarter-final on Wednesday.
The Argentine fought back courageously from two sets down before Hewitt held on in the decider to win 6-3 6-2 1-6 3-6 10-8 and set up a semi-final with second seed Andy Roddick.
"I think I had the chance in the second set to win it," Nalbandian said.
"He was serving at 15-40, and I couldn't make it. Maybe if I win that game and then the set, maybe the match would change a little bit more.
"And then in the fifth also I had chances, but also he had some break points which I saved.
"In the fifth set, anything can happen - I think maybe he was maybe a little bit more lucky than me but it was just a few points."
Nalbandian's game dropped right off in a prickly second set after a series of poor line calls which marred the match throughout, and petulant behaviour by Hewitt.
The former world number one and third seed appeared to brush Nalbandian at one change of ends and had several altercations with officials including the umpire Mohamed Lahyani, whom he called an idiot.
Nalbandian, beaten by Hewitt in the 2002 Wimbledon final, had all the momentum going into the fifth set and got within two points of victory three times. Hewitt seized his chance when he broke in the 17th game and served out for victory.
Before the match, Nalbandian had criticised Hewitt for his on-court antics, saying his shouts of "C'mon", when his opponents made mistakes, were unfair.
On Wednesday, after shaking hands with Hewitt at the net, the Argentine said their exchanges had been friendly.
"No (it was) nothing," he said. "I congratulated him. I think he played very good and I congratulated him."
The succession of poor calls and overrules, however, did grate with the Argentine.
"It was strange," he said. "So many overrules, so many strange calls. But I think when the umpire is sitting on there, he feels the pressure also."
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Wed Jan 26, 2005 02:49 PM GMT
By Paul Tait
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Third seed Lleyton Hewitt has held off a late charge by Argentine David Nalbandian to win a drama-packed match 6-3 6-2 1-6 3-6 10-8 and reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the first time.
Hewitt, who needed treatment for a hip injury after the fourth set, held on grimly for victory in just over four hours to wild cheers from a Rod Laver Arena crowd on Australia Day on Wednesday. He now meets second seed Andy Roddick for a place in the final.
"I just told myself to hang in there and it paid off once again," Hewitt said after becoming the first Australian man to reach the semi-finals since Pat Rafter in 2001.
"It's a long way from holding up that trophy yet but I'm hanging in there."
Hewitt beat Nalbandian in the 2002 Wimbledon final but had never made it past the fourth round at his home grand slam since his first appearance in 1997.
Ninth-seeded Nalbandian's game dropped right off in a prickly second set after a series of poor line calls went against him.
Hewitt appeared to brush shoulders with Nalbandian at the change of ends after securing a service break in the fifth game of the second set and the Argentine said something to Hewitt at the end of the set.
It was Hewitt's second five-set match in a row after he overcame Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal in nearly four hours in the previous round.
The 23-year-old former Wimbledon and U.S. Open winner was again pushed to the limit in a match marred by bad calls by line judges, overrules and corrections by chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani.
Hewitt appeared to call Lahyani an idiot in the 16th game of the fifth set when the umpire failed to step in and overrule a Nalbandian shot that was clearly out, even though play continued and Hewitt won the point.
In the fourth game of the fourth set, Hewitt yelled "bull crap" at Lahyani when a Nalbandian chip sailed wide but was called in.
There were at least a dozen more poor calls, several of which were overruled, and both players made their dissatisfaction clear.
The poor calls reached a farcical level at 30-15 in the first game of the fifth set when a line judge corrected her own call while play was continuing and Lahyani failed to order the point replayed.
FEROCIOUS BATTLE
The players nevertheless engaged in a ferocious battle and both had their chances to win.
Baseliner Nalbandian, who made the quarter-finals the previous two years, was within two points of victory three times in the fifth set.
But each time his tenacious Australian opponent battled back and finally gained the decisive break of Nalbandian's serve in the 17th game of the fifth set.
Hewitt brought up three match points against a dispirited Nalbandian in the next game but needed only one of them as he whipped a forehand winner past the Argentine.
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By Mark Hodgkinson in Melbourne
(Filed: 27/01/2005)
telegraph.co.uk
There were only six minutes of Australia Day left for Lleyton Hewitt, who had worked himself into an extraordinary frenzy, when he reached the semi-finals of his home Grand Slam for the first time. It was an epic match, in all senses, Hewitt playing his patriot games to perfection to triumph 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 3-6, 10-8 against an opponent for whom he clearly has no great liking.
Hewitt and David Nalbandian were pure entertainment at the Rod Laver Arena last night, providing a fifth set of great confrontation and nervous tension that lasted for 1hr 40min, which the Australian eventually took. Hewitt needed all his competitive energies against the Argentine, who had earlier looked two sets down and out.
So Hewitt continues with his quest to become the first Australian man to win the Australian Open since Mark Edmondson in 1976. No one had the heart to tell him that Andy Roddick, his opponent tomorrow, has spent almost half the time on court that he has during this tournament, and is so relaxed that he yawned all the way from the locker-room to his own quarter-final. Some contrast.
There was a fractious atmosphere, even before the incident in the second set when the players bumped shoulders as they crossed in front of the net on the way back to their change-over chairs. Nalbandian glared at Hewitt, and they twice exchanged words. "He brought that on himself a bit. He waited for a bit of shoulder," Hewitt said.
The friction was caused by Nalbandian's pre-match comments that Hewitt's exuberant manner, which can occasionally border on narcissism, is "not very good for the sport". Nalbandian said that he took particular exception to Hewitt celebrating his opponent's mistakes with his battle cries of "C'mon", and claimed that most of the locker-room shared his views.
But Hewitt was hardly going to tone it down after hearing that, and when he felt it necessary, he marked Nalbandian's errors in his usual manner, perhaps even louder. Nalbandian responded with a few pumped fists of his own and a renewed determination in the final three sets. He was poor in the early stages, but was soon provoked into some high-quality stuff.
Hewitt was also thriving in this antagonistic quarter-final, his first at Melbourne Park. He is sure to have told himself that Nalbandian, being a South American clay-courter, would have had an advantage with the slower pace of the courts this year. Hewitt adores a situation in which his will to win assumes greater importance than the technical intricacies of a baseline rally.
Three times in the final set, Hewitt was two points from defeat. He said later that he never contemplated it, and you could believe him. Hewitt eventually broke in the 17th game, when Nalbandian hauled himself back to 30-all with a trick shot through his legs, but then followed that with two crass backhand errors. It was that kind of see-sawing evening.
Hewitt had several heated discussions with the umpire, whom he accused of being an idiot. Nalbandian said that he suffered with bad line-calls and wondered whether the officials might have been swayed by the partisan crowd, some 16,000 Australians desperate not to have their party pooped.
Though Hewitt called the trainer on court before that fifth set, his injury, a strain to his right hip flexor sustained in the previous round, did not affect his movement as much as it could have done. That was a tribute to the unusual way he had treated his injury, by wading through the ocean surf and jumping from alternate cold and hot baths in his hotel room.
Roddick, the second seed, will be delighted that Hewitt's match went the distance. The American will be much the fresher, having benefited from the easiest of draws, dropping just one set in a succession of one-sided matches. Russian Nikolay Davydenko, an asthmatic, was trailing 6-3, 7-5, 4-1 when he retired with breathing problems.
Roddick is also winning at the blackjack tables. He is feeling lucky and so he should. But perhaps there will also be a few doubts in his mind. His true form, which means how he deals with players of some consequence, is probably as much of an unknown quantity to him as it will be for the physically-frayed Hewitt, the third seed.
The four top seeds are through to the semi-finals, with Roger Federer and Marat Safin playing today. "I'm a long way from holding that trophy up, but I'm hanging in there," Hewitt said. "It was always tough serving second in the fifth set. I told myself to give everything and in the end it paid off once again."
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By Kathy Marks at Melbourne Park
27 January 2005
The Independent
You might not like Lleyton Hewitt, but you have to admire him. Sheer guts propelled him to victory last night in a gargantuan five-set match against David Nalbandian that finished just before midnight on Australia's national day.
The toughest fighter in the game will meet Andy Roddick in his first home Grand Slam semi-final after winning 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 3-6, 10-8. Asked by Jim Courier in an on-court interview if there was a moment during the four hours and five minutes of the match when he thought he might lose, Hewitt - who four times stood two points from defeat - replied: "No, mate."
Both men were physical wrecks at the end of a meeting peppered with high drama, controversial line calls, bad-tempered outbursts and injuries. The temperature dropped by 10C, a storm brewed but never struck, and Australia Day fireworks thundered overhead, changing the match's course.
The fifth set alone lasted one hour and 41 minutes, with one break of serve, by Hewitt. That came in the 17th game and prompted a standing ovation by the crowd, which had earlier seen the other local hero, Alicia Molik, beaten 6-4, 4-6, 9-7 by the No 1 seed, Lindsay Davenport.
The fireworks proved the turning point of the men's match, which began in bizarre fashion, with Nalbandian barely appearing to care as the Australian pocketed the first two sets. The outcome seemed predetermined: only once had Hewitt lost from such a position, and the Argentinian had never recovered from two sets down.
Then came the pyrotechnics; the two men played on, but the No 3 seed lost his concentration entirely. Already a break down in the third set, he lost his serve once again. And then again, and again. The No 9 seed walked away with the set.
The atmosphere got nasty. Hewitt brushed shoulders with Nalbandian during one change of ends, and the pair exchanged savage looks several times. Both challenged line calls and overrules. Hewitt kicked the back wall in frustration.
The crowd was most un-Australian, cheering errors by the former Wimbledon finalist and booing his winners. Undeterred, Nalbandian broke serve three times in the fourth set, to level the score. Both men took an injury time-out, Hewitt for treatment to his left thigh, the Argentinian for a blistered left foot.
The final set seemed to go on forever, with the exhausted pair tottering around the court. Hewitt was in pain, his movement impeded. It was a battle of pure will now, and the Australian - a former Wimbledon and US Open champion - never gives up. After converting the crucial break point, he served out the match.
"I just kept hanging in there, and in the end it paid off again," said Hewitt. But Roddick would have been heartened by the physical toll on his next opponent. The American won in 95 minutes yesterday after Nikolay Davydenko - who beat Tim Henman in the third round - retired injured while trailing 6-3, 7-5, 4-1.
Molik's dreams evaporated thanks partly to a contentious line call after she had saved a match point at 4-5 in the third set and then broken Davenport's serve to level in her first Grand Slam quarter-final.
Five games later, at 7-7, an ace by the No 10 seed was called out, although the television replay showed it clearly in. Davenport broke serve and then wrapped up the match.
Fittingly, Molik entered the world top 10 for the first time yesterday. But it is Davenport who advances and she is due to play Nathalie Dechy early today after the Frenchwoman surprisingly beat Patty Schnyder 5-7, 6-1, 7-5 in the quarter-finals.
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By Darren Walton
Thursday, 27 January 2005
Orange.yourguide.com.au
Lleyton Hewitt stands within one win of a coveted place in the Australian Open final after outlasting dogged Argentine David Nalbandian in another drama-charged five- set classic at Melbourne Park last night.
Hewitt again overcame injury and a mid- match lapse to post a fighting 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 3-6, 10-8 victory in a quarter-final war of attrition stretching four hours and five minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
The South Australian's heroic triumph set up a mouth-watering confrontation with world No2 Andy Roddick tomorrow.
For the second match in succession, Hewitt dropped two sets in a row in meek fashion before seeking a medical timeout for treatment for a hip flexor strain.
After dominating the first two sets with his most impressive serving of the championships, Hewitt's game began to unravel as the injury began to limit his movement and power.
Hewitt, the first Australian man since John Newcombe in 1970 to have reached the quarter-finals of four consecutive grand slam tournaments, had entered the match with a cloud over his fitness after battling the injury throughout his Open campaign.
ATP trainer Per Pastholt said on Tuesday the 23-year-old was suffering with muscle inflammation from over-use, after Hewitt played five matches in five days in Sydney the week before arriving in Melbourne.
In addition, Australia's world No3 was kept on court for almost 10 and a half hours before reaching the last eight of his home grand slam for the first time.
But neither player, clashing for the first time since Hewitt destroyed Nalbandian for the loss of just six games in the 2002 Wimbledon final, could boast an ideal preparation.
The South American had spent almost 13 hours toiling away for his quarter-final berth and also needed treatment, for blisters, after the fourth set.
But it was Hewitt whose stamina served him best this time as he hung on to record one of the most courageous wins of his illustrious career.
Hewitt's win also featured another controversial run-in with his opponent.
Heated clashes between Hewitt and Nalbandian at two separate changeovers earlier in the match again threatened to overshadow the Australian's performance.
The Argentine, having smashed a racquet in anger and then had his serve broken a point later, became further enraged when Hewitt brushed him as the two players approached their courtside chairs midway through the second set.
Hewitt seemed to be waiting for Nalbandian to pass first between the net post and umpire's chair before making slight contact with Nalbandian, who took exception and immediately turned back to express his displeasure.
At the next changeover, after Hewitt had established his two-sets-to-love lead, Nalbandian had further words with his combative foe. But, although Hewitt normally thrives in such battle zones, this time he began to falter as Nalbandian broke the Australian's serve four times in eight games to force the match into a fifth set.
Hewitt again rose to the occasion to advance to the semi-finals of the Open for the first time.
Nalbandian had set the scene for a fiery showdown on Monday night when he said that most players on tour were against Hewitt's animated on-court theatrics.
Hewitt refused to tone down his antics last night, continuing his fist-pumping celebrations whether he won a point through a Nalbandian error or not. - AAP
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27 Jan 2005
AusTV.info
Seven continues to trump the opposition with its coverage of the 2005 Australian Open tennis, soundly defeating Nine's telecast of the One Day cricket match between Australia and West Indies.
The network's ratings have been closely tied with the successes of local heroes Lleyton Hewitt and Alicia Molik.
Last night's epic battle between Hewitt and Argentina's David Nalbandian peaked at 2.77 million, and averaged 2.18 million viewers.
In contrast, the one-sided Australia Day cricket averaged 1.23 million for Nine.
Hewitt's successful move into the semi-finals will further help the Seven Network's chances of securing big figures for the remainder of the tournament.
For the evening Seven scored a 48.1% share, trouncing Nine (23.5), Ten (15.8), ABC (9.6) and SBS (3.1).
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By CHRISTOPHER CLAREY
Published: January 27, 2005
New York Times
MELBOURNE, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 27 - Australia Day was almost over, and all of the Australians who had remained in Melbourne Park as a torrid morning turned into a balmy late night were still waiting for something to celebrate.
They had seen plenty of figurative fireworks as a local resident, Alicia Molik, traded big shots with Lindsay Davenport and nearly pulled off an upset in their quarterfinal. They had seen plenty of real fireworks, which started exploding over Rod Laver Arena early in the third set of Lleyton Hewitt's and David Nalbandian's even more even match.
They had seen plenty of missed opportunities and missed line calls; plenty of world-class serves and world-class nerves; plenty of long, precise, exhausting rallies that left them wondering how the protagonists were going to catch their breath.
But it was not until four minutes to midnight local time that Hewitt finally gave them, and himself, the best emotional release that a tennis match can offer by finishing off the occasion and Nalbandian with a clean forehand winner that left him on his knees with delight and with a 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 3-6, 10-8 victory.
Winners had been hard to come by in the final round of this four-hour-and-five minute middleweight bout mistakenly labeled as an Australian Open quarterfinal, one that featured many more punch combinations than haymakers. But Hewitt won the fight on points, if not necessarily style points, as he whipped himself into the sort of lather he sadly seems to require by swearing, calling the chair umpire "an idiot," screaming "Come on!" after several Nalbandian errors and, at one point, snapping at a ball girl to "Wake up!"
It was the sort of unrefined entertainment that the earthy European settlers of this island continent would probably have appreciated. "I think, first of all, that he's a great player; I think about this there are no doubts," Nalbandian said. "But secondly, I don't think he is the best example to give for the sport."
There was even a light bump between the players on a change of ends in the second set, as Hewitt's shoulder brushed Nalbandian's shoulder, and Nalbandian twisted around to glare at Hewitt in protest.
"I think he brought it on himself a little bit, that," Hewitt said. "He sort of propped and waited for a bit of a shoulder, I think."
Nalbandian had a different take. "Those are things that happen in a match," he said. "Like I said the other day, he's not a gentleman."
Hewitt remains a yell-and-yang proposition, which helps explain the ambivalence that still greets his feats in Australia. Yet despite the contentiousness, it was still difficult down the stretch not to admire the desire that burns so fiercely in his no-longer-skinny frame. "It was tough to always serve second in the fifth, but I told myself to hang in and give everything I've got," Hewitt said.
For the first time since 1988 at the Australian Open, the top four men's seeded players have all come through. On Thursday night, No. 1 Roger Federer will face No. 4 Marat Safin; on Friday night, No. 2 Andy Roddick will face the third-seeded Hewitt, who is trying to give Australia a long-overdue singles victory in the 100th year of the tournament.
"I'm definitely giving the crowds their money's worth," Hewitt said.
That is an understatement. Hewitt has played one straight-set match thus far, flirting with a two-set deficit before beating James Blake in the second round, playing a grueling and contentious four-setter against Juan Ignacio Chela in the third round and then requiring five sets to snuff out a spirited challenge by the Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal in the fourth round.
Hewitt holds a 4-1 edge on Roddick, who likes to punch with his huge serve and forehand as much as Hewitt likes to counterpunch. And in the semifinals of the Tennis Masters Cup in Houston in November, Hewitt came close to humiliating Roddick as he won the last 20 points of their match.
But Roddick was carrying a minor leg injury that day, and he should have fresher legs than Hewitt on Friday, considering that the fifth set of Hewitt-Nalbandian, which lasted one hour and 41 minutes, lasted longer than any of Roddick's matches. Roddick has lost only one set so far, and he did not even have to play three in his quarterfinal. His opponent, Nikolay Davydenko, retired with breathing problems with Roddick ahead, 6-3, 7-5, 4-1.
"Not quite as dramatic as I normally am," Roddick said of his smooth ride to the semifinals.
The last time Roddick played a semifinal here was in 2003, when he lost to Rainer Schuettler after failing to recover from his five-set marathon with Younes el-Aynaoui, which Roddick won by 21-19 in the fifth set. "I felt like I was about to fall over walking out to my semifinal," he said.
The last time Hewitt faced Nalbandian, he crushed him in straight sets in the 2002 Wimbledon final. But Nalbandian, seeded ninth here, has developed into one of the handful of players who nobody wants to see in a draw. He has reached the semifinals at the United States Open and French Open and the quarterfinals in Melbourne three times in a row, and the final score on Wednesday night was a tribute to how evenly matched these players turned out to be.
There was a surplus of spectacular shots: around the post, through the legs and the narrowest of openings. There was also a surplus of overrules from the chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani, who was not well served by his line judges and struggled to keep the match under control. "So many strange calls," Nalbandian said. "But I think when the umpire is sitting there, he feels the pressure also."
Nalbandian, who had the luxury of serving first in the final set, was two points from victory on four occasions. But Hewitt kept hustling and going for big serves on big points and converting. He finally broke Nalbandian in the 17th game with a backhand swing volley. Contrary to all precedent, he then served out the victory at love, which was bad news for Nalbandian's Argentina, great news for Australia and perhaps even better news for those who could no longer stomach the mercilessly repetitive chants of Hewitt's personal cheerleading squad, the Fanatics.
But Roddick sounded unconcerned about the prospect of facing Hewitt and 15,000 Australians - not all of them firmly in his camp - on Friday night. That is because he just finished facing the Spanish Davis Cup team and 27,200 of their much less sedate fans in a losing effort in Seville in December.
"The way I see that now is that I've been through probably the worst crowd I'll ever be through with what we did in Spain," he said. "So I'm sure it will be rowdy. But it's not going to be surprising to me if it is rowdy. I don't expect anybody to be cheering for me."
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By Leo Schlink
27jan05
Townsville Bulletin
LLEYTON Hewitt's Australian Open dream lives on after the world No3 last night dramatically joined Melbourne Park's star cluster with a magnificent quarter-final victory over Argentine David Nalbandian.
Hewitt's 6-3 6-2 1-6 3-6 10-8 triumph over the South American means the Open has its four top seeds – Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Marat Safin and Hewitt – into the semi-finals for the first time since 1988.
"A year on this day, I lost on Australia Day," Hewitt said.
"Thank Christ I came away with a win tonight.
"I just kept hanging in there and it was always tough serving second in the fifth set.
"I just told myself to keep on hanging in there and it paid off.
"It's a long way from holding up the trophy yet and there's only four guys who can hold up the trophy and we're the four top-ranked guys in the world."
Hewitt, 23, will tomorrow attempt to build on his 4-1 record against No.2 seed Roddick after the American caned heat-stricken Russian Nikolay Davydenko 6-3 7-5 4-1.
"He's (Roddick) playing well and he's wasted very little energy, but it's going to be a tough match. I've got to go out and execute my game and do my best."
Aggressive and in irresistible touch early, Hewitt courageously overcame his 2002 Wimbledon final victim Nalbandian, but only after barely surviving a fierce mid-match counter-punch.
A brutal contest was marred by a verbal exchange between the pair in the second set and a rash of poor line calls, which infuriated both players deep into a tense deciding set.
Corrections littered the match, none more dramatic than the out call which would have given Hewitt a service break in the third game of the deciding set.
Hewitt and Nalbandian appeared to brush shoulders during the change of ends after the fifth game of the second set, trading words two games later.
Bidding to become the first Australian since Mark Edmondson in 1976 to triumph at home, Hewitt showed no sign of a strained right hip flexor as he weathered a grand mid-match Nalbandian revival.
Hewitt is the first Australian to reach the Open semi-finals since Pat Rafter lost an epic five-setter to Andre Agassi four years ago.
If he beats Roddick tomorrow night, Hewitt will face either defending champion and world No. 1 Federer in Sunday night's final or Russian fourth seed Safin.
The South Australian will be hoping to become Australia's first Melbourne Park finalist since Pat Cash in 1988 – the same season Ivan Lendl, Stefan Edberg, Mats Wilander and Cash justified their top-four seedings.
Hewitt controlled the contest for the first two sets, conceding just five games in the opening 76 minutes.
He then lost 12 of the following 16 games.
The Australian broke Nalbandian's serve in the sixth game of the first set as he out-performed the South American from the backcourt.
When the dogged Argentine butchered an ambitious backhand drive when Hewitt was struggling at 30-40 in the fourth game of the second set, the ninth seed's spirits sank.
Sensing his opponent's disappointment, Hewitt streaked through the following four games for the loss of just three points as the match threatened to dissolve into a rout.
But, after their shoulder clash, Nalbandian launched a trademark revival to punch out a 4-0 lead in the third set.
Suddenly more aggressive, Nalbandian quickly imposed himself on proceedings as Hewitt began to flounder.
Having ceded the third set in 30 minutes, Hewitt needed to consolidate. But a flurry of backhand errors cost him a service break in the first game of the fourth set.
Hewitt immediately salvaged the situation when Nalbandian fended a forehand wide to level at 1-1, but destroyed the gain completely with a pair of double faults to again lose serve in the sixth game.
Having levelled the match at two sets apiece, Nalbandian required treatment for blisters on his left foot as Hewitt had his thighs massaged.
Hewitt drew the first break-point opportunities in the decider, but could not capitalise on three openings in the third game as questionable officiating again surfaced.
A Nalbandian backhand was judged out on the second break point, only to be immediately corrected by the linesman.
The winner of only two career titles – compared to Hewitt's 24 – Nalbandian has struggled to do justice to his rich talents.
But last night, in oppressive humidity and heat, he matched Hewitt's famed resolve.
There was nothing between the pair as they pounded groundstrokes with intent.
Serving second in the fifth set, Hewitt was always under greater pressure not to lose serve but at 8-all, he finally found a way through.
A backhand drive gave the Australian a 9-8 lead and the chance to serve out the match.
Spent and sore, Hewitt finally triumphed in victory four and five minutes after the contest started.
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BBC Sport
January 26, 2005
Home favourite Lleyton Hewitt came through a dramatic five-set battle with Argentine David Nalbandian to reach the Australian Open semi-finals.
Hewitt looked to be cruising to victory after racing into a two-set lead.
But Nalbandian broke his serve three times in both of the next two sets to set up a nailbiting decider.
Hewitt eventually grabbed the vital break in the 17th game and served out to win 6-3 6-2 1-6 3-6 10-8 and set up a meeting with Andy Roddick.
The winner of that match will face either Roger Federer or Marat Safin in the final.
Ninth seed Nalbandian had never come back from two sets down to win a match, and there was no indication he would do so as Hewitt dominated the first two sets.
The Argentine had stoked up the temperature ahead of the match by saying Hewitt's exuberant on-court celebrations were "not very good for the sport".
And he had words with Hewitt during one change of ends in the second set when the Australian appeared to brush shoulders with him as they went to their chairs.
The balance of power changed completely in the third set as Hewitt allowed his level to dip, and he double-faulted twice as Nalbandian broke on the way to taking the fourth set.
But the tiring third seed showed incredible reserves of strength to force the break despite being outplayed for much of the final set and three times coming within two points of defeat.
He then produced a love service game to finish off the match in four hours and five minutes.
"I just kept hanging in there. It was always tough serving second in the fifth set," said Hewitt, who had never reached the last four at his home Grand Slam.
"I told myself to give everything and in the end it paid off once again.
"It's a long way from holding that trophy up there but I'm hanging in there.
"Only four guys left that can win and we're the top four in the world. It's set up for a pretty good showdown in the semis and finals."
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By Greg Baum
January 27, 2005
The Age
Met again by the unholy conspiracy of slow court, tenacious opponent, simmering controversy and - most formidable of all - injury that has transformed this Australian Open into a war for him, Lleyton Hewitt again triumphed at the Australian Open last night, over David Nalbandian, in five gripping sets.
The size of his heart won what was seemingly beyond the capacity of his weakened body and his besieged courtcraft. The match took four hours, the last set more than 90 minutes. It was the 11th hour on Australia Day.
"Even if my leg would have fell off, I would have kept playing," Hewitt had said after his conquest of Rafael Nadal in the round of 16. Last night, it nearly came to that. His zeal is nearly religious, his specialty resurrections.
Only one man will be more pleased than Hewitt. American Andy Roddick won his quarter-final earlier in the day when opponent Nikolay Davydenko retired injured, and it is inescapable that Roddick will be fresher and fitter than his opponent in tomorrow's semi-final. But he will also know that Hewitt is the player who is never beaten.
The match turned last night in an apocalyptic half-hour in which nearby Australia Day fireworks, a stormy change in the weather and Hewitt's injury all interfered fatefully. Hewitt had dominated the first two sets but his injury and Nalbandian's perseverance drastically changed the nature and course of the contest.
Improbably, both Hewitt and Nalbandian had medical treatment before the final set, Hewitt for an apparent thigh strain, Nalbandian for blisters. This was a case of last man standing.
The metaphorical cloud over last night's match was a series of errant line calls, corrections and overrules that will give strength to the growing clamour for electronic line-calling. They exacerbated the already high level of tension, but were too numerous to say that any one interfered with the result decisively. It was an eventful night for all.
There was also a confrontational moment in the second set when the players appeared to bump shoulders at a change of ends, prompting a caution from the umpire. At the next change of ends, Nalbandian gave Hewitt an exaggeratedly wide berth. Nalbandian's disapproval of Hewitt's court manners is well known, and he was irritated as Hewitt appeared to rejoice in a series of unforced errors that gave him the edge in the match.
But this momentary flashpoint was overtaken by epic events, for there was neither time nor energy for pettiness. The match was played mostly in decorous spirit, albeit intense, and at its end, the players embraced nobly.
Rod Laver Arena had the air of a political rally at the beginning of the match, characterised by regular renditions of the national anthem - formal and spontaneous - and by a palpable sense of expectation. The day of the partisans had come. The first hour belonged to the Australians. The Fanatics were as indefatigable of voice as their hero was of shotmaking, but let themselves down by their unoriginality as they mounted a Barmy Army chant. It is a long time since Australia has had to imitate England in the sporting arena.
The match took two more twists, both correlating bizarrely with extraneous happenings. As the fireworks exploded in Birrarung Marr, Nalbandian broke Hewitt's serve three times in a row for the loss of just four points. Then the weather interrupted as spectacularly as had the fireworks; as the change swept in, the wind rose, the temperature rose, lightning filled the skies and rain threatened.
Hewitt lost six of his eight service games in this stretch as he appeared to become restricted in his movements, and although he broke back twice, the tide had turned. Hewitt's frustration told as he caterwauled against linesman and umpire, but perhaps also himself. In an hour, the match was squared at two sets all. The cakewalk had become a dogfight.
Nalbandian's record in five-setters indicated a suspect nerve. But he is a highly regarded player who at 20 played a Wimbledon final against Hewitt and has been a habituee of the top 10 for the past two years. Moreover, he is conditioned to long matches, having spent more hours on court than any other player in this tournament. His round-of-16 match did not finish until after 2am.
Hewitt manoeuvred to play the points quickly, Nalbandian to protract them. The first rally of the final set lasted 52 shots. Hewitt winced and grimaced, but sometimes grinned, too. Nalbandian mostly kept poker-faced, for he could afford to give nothing away.
Hewitt sometimes berated the linesmen and umpire over line calls, but without profanity. A little fraying was inevitable in these charged circumstances. Desperation spawned inspiration; Nalbandian won one point with a shot through his legs.
Both players had their nerve, endurance and touch tested to the limit - there was no break of serve until the one that decided it. It was 11.55. In five more minutes, it would not have been Australia Day.
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Patrick Miles
January 27, 2005
The Australian
WONDERS never cease for Lleyton Hewitt, who survived another five-set encounter on Rod Laver Arena last night to take his place in the semi-finals.
His 6-3 6-2 1-6 3-6 10-8 win over David Nalbandian was a triumph for mind over matter as Hewitt overcame a thigh strain to book a date tomorrow night with the No.2 seed, Andy Roddick.
The majority of the crowd of 15,279 were pinning their hopes on Hewitt – it would have been 'un-Australian' to do otherwise.
Not since 1988 have the top four seeds taken their appointed places in the semi-finals of the men's singles in Melbourne. On that occasion, it was Pat Cash, Ivan Lendl, Mats Wilander and Stefan Edberg.
There were hints from Nalbandian before the match that he did not approve of Hewitt's histrionics, which had so far accounted for James Blake and Juan Ignacio Chela.
But the beefy, perspiration-soaked Argentine is made of sterner stuff and claimed he could not be moved by his opponent's wailing.
Nalbandian is the type you would not want to meet in a doubles alley at night.
It had, in fact, been two-and-a-half years since he had run into Hewitt, and it was a most unlikely occasion – Wimbledon 2002 on the second Sunday, when the South Australian took his second Grand Slam singles title and Nalbandian entered the consciousness of tennis followers.
He certainly stuck in the mind of Hewitt, who frequently mentions Nalbandian as a serious threat, even though the 23-year-old has won only two titles, one on clay and the other on indoor carpet.
In his fourth Grand Slam quarter-final in a row, Hewitt was ready for action from the opening bell.
He began with an ace in the first game, then created three chances to lead 2-0. Nalbandian saved two with service winners and the third when Hewitt planted a backhand over the baseline after a long rally.
Hewitt forged another break point at 2-3 and it was converted by a debated line call.
In the following game, it was Hewitt's turn to save two break points and he was helped to that end by a net cord that gave him an easy put-away and by sure hands at the net.
At 2-5, Nalbandian managed to save three set points on his serve but then Hewitt served it out with an ace in the next game.
The advantage continued in Hewitt's favour and after he saved two break points at 1-2, he broke again for a 3-2 lead in the second set.
At the changeover, Nalbandian reacted when Hewitt appeared to brush past him beneath the umpire's chair. If there had been contact, it was minimal; and if it was deliberate, then Hewitt was tempting fate.
At another changeover, Nalbandian had a chat with Hewitt after deliberately stepping aside to give his opponent room to pass.
At the beginning of the third set, Nalbandian regained some of the initiative, breaking Hewitt for a 2-0 lead.
As Nalbandian stepped up to serve at 30-all in the next game, a fireworks display erupted near Melbourne Park.
As the pyrotechnics continued outside the arena, Nalbandian turned up the wick inside, taking the set 6-1.
After the fireworks display, a storm was brewing outside, prompting officials to half-close the roof on Rod Laver Arena in readiness for rain as the temperature dropped almost 10 degrees.
The climate of the match changed, too, as Hewitt screamed at Swedish umpire Mohamed Layhani over a line call. The further the match progressed, the more Hewitt's injury was becoming a factor.
The trainer worked on his left thigh, as well as the right one which had troubled him in his previous match against the Spaniard Raphael Nadal.
At the same time, Nalbandian took the opportunity for treatment on his left big toe. One timeout spilled into another.
Tempers frayed over line calls in the first game of the deciding set. Nalbandian sensed the fragility of Hewitt's health and closed in for the kill.
Light rain began to fall at 3-all in the fifth set but play continued and the weather cleared.
At 5-all, with the match on a knife edge, Nalbandian saved a break point, then Hewitt struck against the tide at 8-all to gain a foothold in the semi-finals.
In the next game, he served it out to love, winning a thrilling encounter in four hours and five minutes.
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Eurosport Live Commentary
Australian Open 2005, Quarterfinals
(read from the bottom up)
13:55 The Rod Laver centre court arena are on their feet applauding an amazing four-hour five minute performance that keeps alive Australia's hope of a first male champion since Mark Edmondson in 1976... Hewitt hit 49 winners to Nalbandian's 36; 49 unforced errors to 59; and won 158 points to 153! Lleyton Hewitt moves on to face Andy Roddick in the semi-finals, a match to be played on Friday!
13:54 Hewitt hits an unreturned delivery 15-0; ACE 30-0; first serve out, second delivery is kicked in to the backhand, Nalbandian nets a backhand and bounces his racket on the Rebound Ace surface 40-0; TRIPLE MATCH POINT for HEWITT... forehand winner from the return across court... GAME SET MATCH HEWITT 6-3 6-2 1-6 3-6 10-8! Hewitt falls to the ground in celebration... at the net Nalbandian says "well done" but offers the Aussie a few choice words too...
13:52 Hewitt begins to serve for a place in the centenary Australian Open semi-finals...
13:51 At the change of ends, the ball teams sitting at the side of the court watching the match shout "C'mon Lleyton" and "C'mon mate!" to their hero...
13:50 The crowd are elevated by a Hewitt forehand winner on Nalbandian's serve 0-15; double fault 0-30; Nalbandian is precise with his groundstrokes and opens up a gap for a backhand down the line 15-30; first serve into the net, second deep to the Hewitt forehand... backhand-to-backhand rally... Nalbandian heads to the net and is lobbed, he scrambles a ball back, only for Hewitt to net a drop-shot 30-30; Nalbandian hits a backhand LONG; BREAK POINT for HEWITT, 30-40... first serve out, second kicked in... HEWII comes to the net and drive-volleys a backhand for a winner... HEWITT BREAKS 9-8
13:44 Hewitt takes his time to serve at DEUCE and heads to the net off a wide first serve... he hits a winning forehand into space ADV; Nalbandian goes for a drop-shot and it clips the top of the net, bouncing back to the Argentine's side... 8-8
13:43 Nalbandian gets off to a good start on the Hewitt serves with an Aussie error 0-15; Hewitt hits an unreturned serve 15-15; but makes a backhand error... dangerous time 15-30; out of trouble with an ACE 30-30; first serve long, second deep... long rally ended with a Nalbandian forehand long of the baseline... "C'mon!"... Nalbandian is complaining about the crowd noise 40-30; first serve long, second short and Nalbandian nails a backhand down the line, unreturned. DEUCE!
13:37 Pressure shifts to Nalbandian... Hewitt gives too much air to a backhand return 15-0; Nalbandian stretches Hewitt wide and the Aussie slices a backhand wide 30-0; Hewitt misses a backhand long of the baseline 40-0; the 23-year-old has lost his composure in 'discussions' with the chair umpire; Nalbandian closes out with an ace for 8-7... far too easy... Hewitt to serve for a fourth time to stay in the match
13:35 Hewitt takes his time to start his service game... first serve wide, Nalbandian returns a chipped forehand long 15-0; long rally with Nalbandian at the net ends with a Hewitt backhand into the net 15-15; first serve out... Nalbandian nets a forehand and knows he's missed a great opportunity, boucning on the spot 15-30; Hewitt nets a forehand 30-30; Hewitt drive-volleys a forehand for a winner 40-30; backhand-to-backhand rally ended by a Nalbandian error... 7-7
13:29 ANOTHER POOR LINE CALL... this time a Hewitt forehand lands on the baseline. This time the call goes in favour of Nalbandian, giving him game point... Hewitt is still annoyed and nets a backhand heading to the chair umpire to have a chat... 7-6
13:25 Hewitt, on his seventh shirt change now causes havoc for picture editor's everywhere who have formatted photos in red, yellow, black, blue, green and white designs
13:23 Hewitt giving heat on his second serve now, taking risks to stay ahead of Nalbandian... the Australian serves at 30-15... Hewitt overcooks a backhand long of the baseline 30-30... ACE at 126mph 40-30... and rounds out the hold with an unreturned delivery... 6-6
13:18 Hewitt nets successive backhands to give Nalbandian a 6-5 lead... the Australian must feel the world is on his back now... what pressure, what great tennis!
13:15 Nalbandian tenses up again at 30-30... first serve long, second kicked in short... Hewitt scrambles a drop-shot and Nalbandian hooks a forehand out of court... BREAK POINT HEWITT, Nalbandian serving at 30-40... Hewitt in control of the rally, as Nalbandian hits a backhand smash running back to the baseline... oh dear! Hewitt nets a forehand approach and mouths expletives to himself as he walks back to the DEUCE court!
13:13 THE POINT OF THE DAY: Nalbandian forces Hewitt to the net to scramble a drop-shot, Hewitt responds with one of his own as the Argentine is behind the baseline; Nalbandian scrambles the ball up and hits around the net post only to see Hewitt scramble again but out of court! Eurosport will have that point in their highlights show for sure!
13:11 Hewitt closes out to 15 for 5-5...
13:10 Just an observation: Hewitt grimaced after Nalbandian hit a backhand winner, he had a hip problem during the Nadal match...
13:08 Hewitt supporters will worry now, that without a tie-break in the fifth set, can the Australian's first serve hold up to some Nalbandian heat?
13:08 Nalbandian will simply not move, the Argentine races to 40-0 with some precision serving, but Hewitt reacts a nails a backhand return for a winner 40-15; Nalbandian closes out with one of the best backhand crosscourt winner that has been hit ALL FORTNIGHT! 5-4...
13:05 Hewitt closes out on game points #3 for 4-4, then runs around the back of the court just to prevent cramping... girlfriend Rebecca Cartwright and his family encourage him from the stands... this is turning into a classic...
13:03 Hewitt rocking at 15-30... Nalbandian rushes through a backhand slice and gives it too much air 30-30; Hewitt whips a forehand cross-court and Nalbandian nets a can-opener forehand 40-30; Nalbandian chip-charges and hits a backhand winner that speeds away from Hewitt... DEUCE!
12:57 Both players are now beginning to tire... Nalbandian throws in his first double fault for two sets, but holds serve to 15 with a forehand winner down the line as Hewitt was taken out of court... 4-3
12:54 Hewitt rounds out a hold to 30, heading to the net at every opportunity now to keep the points short... at the ball teams throw the balls to Nalbandian's court, Hewitt stretches his hamstrings and bounces on the spot... 3-3
12:48 Nalbandian goes to replace a fourth shirt at the changeover following a service hold to 15... the fifth set is becoming a game of who can return better, rather than serve... 3-2
12:46 Two sets all, 2-2, a minute shy of three hours, new balls are called for following a Hewitt hold to 30...
12:40 Hewitt shanks a forehand wide of court letting Nalbandian off the hook and into a 2-1 lead...
12:40 A THIRD BREAK POINT for HEWITT... Nalbandian serving at advantage point down... Hewitt guesses the direction of the serve and nails a backhand drive... OUT! Roger Rasheed, Hewitt's coach knows it was close, he's virtually on the line... DEUCE!
12:38 Nalbandian unable to close out his service game, for a second time Hewitt hits a backhand winner to return the game to deuce!
12:37 BREAK POINT for HEWITT... Nalbandian serving at 30-40... unreturned first delivery DEUCE; the crowd can barely keep quiet, the over-rule could knock Hewitt's concentration...
12:36 It's Nalbandian's turn to tense up now, missing his first serve at 15-30... Hewitt rallies long on the second delivery and gets the reward with a Nalbandian backhand long of the baseline... DOUBLE BREAK POINT for HEWITT... 15-40... Hewitt scrambles all over the court, but it is Nalbandian who drills a backhand down the line 30-40; long first rally backhand-to-backhand, Nalbandian hits a backhand it's called out... NO, says the chair umpire who over-rules a call on the far tramline... TV replays say it was in, but what a time to over-rule! 30-40...
12:28 Nalbandian continues to stalk the net, and the crowd know he has the upperhand in this battle... Hewitt continues to miss his first serves, but does just enough to close out to 30 for 1-1
12:25 David Nalbandian moves into the lead after almost two hours 45 minutes of action... the Argentine closes out to 30 and has done well to keep his composure after some terrible line calling... 1-0
12:21 It's official, the baseline linejudge on Nalbandian's side of the court is having a nightmare with two poor calls on the trot... both times the umpire has asked the players to replay the point... both, understandably aren't happy!
12:17 Hewitt is having his right thigh massaged, Nalbandian has his shoes a shocks off replacing old tape around his toes with new supplies...
12:14 Two trainers get to work on Hewitt and Nalbandian at the set interval...
12:12 IT'S GOING THE DISTANCE... NALBANDIAN takes a 38-minute FOURTH SET 6-3, BREAKING Hewitt to 15 with a backhand approach winner down the line from a terribly short backhand volley by Hewitt...
12:09 Playing a good three yards behind the baseline, Hewitt continues to limit the amount of court angle available to him... Nalbandian remains steady from the baseline and extends his lead to 5-3 with a hold to 30...
12:05 Hewitt stays in touch with Nalbandian with a hold to 15, but needs to come to the net - as he did in the first couple of the nets - to keep the Argentine from attacking... 3-4
12:02 Nalbandian thuds an ACE into the advertising boards at the back of the court to confirm the break to 30 for a 4-2 lead...
11:58 BREAK POINT for NALBANDIAN... Hewitt serving at 30-40... first serve into the net, second down the middle but clips the top of the net and falls the Australian's side... double fault... NALBANDIAN BREAKS it's 3-2
11:54 Nalbandian levels the score, but Hewitt is threatening to break once more... a hold to advantage for 2-2
11:48 Back in control of the situation, Hewitt closes out to 15 for 2-1... at the change of ends both players replaces their sweaty shirts with dry ones...
11:45 BREAK POINT for HEWITT... Nalbandian serving at 30-40... the Australian returns a forehand winner clean down the line and immediately shouts "C'mon!"... Hewitt breaks back for 1-1
11:40 Nalbandian is the one giving Hewitt the run-around now at the back of the court; the Australian is the tour's master scrambler but even he is getting annoyed with his lack of groundstroke firepower... NALBANDIAN BREAKS Hewitt to 30 as the former world number one nets a sliced backhand having run to the corners on four occasions... NALBANDIAN 1-0
11:35 Hewitt leaves the court during the set interval...
11:34 DOUBLE SET POINT for NALBANDIAN, serving at 40-15, the Argentine closes out a 30 minute THIRD SET 6-1as Hewitt misses a crosscourt forehand long of the baseline... Nalbandian hit 6 winners to Hewitt's 5; 2 unforced errors to 8; and converted three of five break points...
11:30 BAD TO WORSE FOR HEWITT... Nalbandian earns a third break of serve, this time to love, as Hewitt double faults... 5-1... who wants it?
11:26 TRIPLE BREAK POINT for HEWITT... Nalbandian serving at 0-40... Hewitt nails his third successive return winner to trail 1-4...
11:24 DOUBLE BREAK POINT for NALBANDIAN... Hewitt serving at 15-40, ACES with a first delivery 30-40; Nalbandian attacks a forehand return and gets enough heat on the ball to pass Hewitt... a second break in set three, NALBANDIAN 4-0
11:17 As fireworks explode over Melbourne to celebrate Australia Day, play is suspended momentarily, but it isn't enough to distract Nalbandian who closes out to 30 for 3-0
11:13 BREAK POINT for NALBANDIAN... Hewitt serving at 30-40... first serve wide to the Argentine's backhand, a sloppy backhand wide by Hewitt and NALBANDIAN BREAKS for 2-0, silencing the home support...
11:09 Nalbandian hasn't got any potency in his groundstrokes and Hewitt is exposing his lack of movement to the corners of the court... the Argentine holds to 15 in the opening game of the second set...
11:06 DOUBLE SET POINT for HEWITT... serving at 40-15, Nalbandian misses a forehand long of the baseline and HEWITT takes the SECOND SET 6-2 in 35 minutes! At the pair come to the net, Nalbandian mouths something at Hewitt... this certainly isn't a friendly battle!
11:01 DOUBLE BREAK POINT for HEWITT... Nalbandian serving at 15-40... a flashy forehand and Hewitt 'Visks', pumps his fist and shouts out "C'mon"! Hewitt gets the break and will serve for the set at 5-2...
10:58 Nalbandian concentration loss means Hewitt's task of holding serve to confirm the break is easy... he does so to 15 for a 4-2 lead...
10:55 Nalbandian continues to argue with the umpire from his chair at the change of ends...
10:54 DOUBLE BREAK POINT for HEWITT... Nalbandian serving at 15-40... long first rally, forehand-to-forehand, but it is Nalbandian who loses patience and hits long of the baseline... HEWITT BREAKS for 3-2!
10:49 It's fair to say that both players don't like one another; Nalbandian certainly isn't a fan of the Hewitt fist pumping and shouts of "C'mon"... Hewitt closes out on game point #4 after Nalbandian questioned a couple of close line calls... 2-2 in the second set
10:41 Hewitt goes close to breaking, but Nalbandian hits successive deliveries unreturned by Hewitt to level the score at 2-2... at the pair head to their chairs they start taking off their shirts for fresh new ones...
10:37 As Hewitt closes out to 15, certain sections of the Australian's fan club seem to have picked up on the behaviour of Tim Henman's "Barmy Army"... 1-1
10:34 Nalbandian with by far his easiest service hold of the match, closing out to 15 and hitting first deliveries wide of the Hewitt hitting zone... 1-0
10:30 DOUBLE SET POINT for HEWITT, but this time his fourth and fifth points are on serve... 40-15... the Australian drills a first serve ACE (number seven for the set) down the middle to take the FIRST SET 6-3 in 41 minutes, having converted one of seven break points. The third seed hit 15 winners and ten unforced errors
10:27 Nalbandian comes through another test of his serve... the Argentine simply isn't hitting enough first deliveries into court... 3-5
10:26 TRIPLE SET POINT for HEWITT... Nalbandian serving at 0-40... ACE 15-40; TWO POINTS... a long first serve rally ended by a shanked forehand from Hewitt 30-40; ONE POINT... 'The Fanatics' pipe up... Nalbandian serves down the middle and Hewitt nets a forehand return... DEUCE!
10:20 A forehand winning approach and then fifth ACE get Hewitt out of trouble and into a 5-2 first set lead...
10:20 BREAK POINT for NALBANDIAN, Hewitt has seen a 40-15 lead cut back to advantage Nalbandian... the Australian is forced into the net, but lunges for a volley and smashes a winner for DEUCE! A fist pump then back to the baseline...
10:13 BREAK POINT for HEWITT... Nalbandian serving at 30-40... serve to the Hewitt forehand, returned deep, the Argentine attempts a run-around forehand but strikes the ball just wide of the tramline crosscourt... HEWITT BREAKS for 4-2
10:06 The 23-year-old has no such problem on serve though and holds to 15... very little to speak of in the opening stages of the match... 3-2
10:03 Nalbandian throws in a double fault but does enough to hold to 15, as Hewitt continues to struggle with his return... 2-2
09:59 The Australian crowd have kept quiet in these opening stages; Hewitt is playing within himself right now figuring out a way to Nalbandian's weaknesses... Hewitt holds to 15 for 2-1
09:56 A second forehand groundstroke error by Hewitt hands Nalbandian his fifth point on the spin to level the score at 1-1
09:55 TRIPLE BREAK POINT for HEWITT... Nalbandian serves at 0-40... Hewitt returns a backhand long 15-40; serve down the T, Hewitt hits a backhand return into the net 30-40; Nalbandian targeting the middle on serve, first delivery into the net, second deep... long rally... Hewitt overcooks a forehand long of the baseline... DEUCE!
09:50 Hewitt opens the match with a hold to 15 for 1-0... the floodlights are on, but the roof is open...
09:49 Hewitt will be hoping for a safe passage into the semi-finals; after his five set victory over Rafael Nadal, the Australian complained of a bad hip... our sources can confirm he's fine now though...
09:47 Lleyton Hewitt, the two-time former world champion, gets the match underway with a 200km/h ACE...
09:45 "The warm-up is over, so how's about a rendition of the Australian national anthem?"... "Yeah, why not"... 17,000 stand in unison prior to the match getting underway...
09:40 Lleyton Hewitt and David Nalbandian begin their five-minute warm-up in their first meeting for two-and-a-half years...
09:39 David Nalbandian, the Argentine ninth seed, is announced onto court receving a warm welcome... Hewitt gets a standing ovation...
09:38 Paul McNamee, the championship director, is leading the players from the locker-room to the entrance to Rod Laver Arena...
09:33 Every spectator in the Rod Laver Arena stands for "Advance Australia Fare" played on Australia Day, prior to the quarter-final match...
09:31 HEWITT-NALBANDIAN HEAD-TO-HEAD: Lleyton Hewitt leads David Nalbandian 2-0 in their career series. Hewitt defeated the Argentine in Barcelona in 2002, 6-2 6-4, then in the Wimbledon final, the same year, 6-1 6-3 6-2!
09:30 The players are expected on Rod Laver Arena centre court within the next ten minutes
09:26 The 'Fanatics' sponsored by Tennis Australia, are seated in Rod Laver Arena now, in force and already chanting... with Lleyton Hewitt as the country's only hope of the title, their be plenty of support this evening... the temperature is dropping, but it need too after registering 36°C a couple of hours ago!
09:00 THURSDAY'S ORDER OF PLAY: ROD LAVER ARENA (Play starts at 03:30cet) - 4 Maria Sharapova (Russia) v 7 Serena Williams (USA); 1 Lindsay Davenport (USA) v 19 Nathalie Dechy (France); Night session starts 09:30cet - 1 Roger Federer (Switzerland) v 4 Marat Safin (Russia)
08:13 NEXT UP AT 09:30CET! The final match of the day, third seed Lleyton Hewitt against David Nalbandian, the player he beat in the 2002 Wimbledon final. The Australian holds a 2-0 career series record over Nalbandian, but anything can happen at a major championship. There'll be plenty of nail-biting and renditions of "Advance Australia Fare" on Australia Day! Please re-join the website for live scoring and comments of this marquee match! Don't miss it, log-on at work or home!
Lleyton Hewitt has been spat at by one opponent, gone shoulder-to-shoulder at the net with another, battled the youthful brilliance of a third challenger and, in two epic, five-set battles, been hobbled by injury.
Now, after a sometimes spiteful, sometimes painful 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 3-6, 10-8 victory over David Nalbandian last night, it is the ferocious serve of American Andy Roddick that Hewitt must overcome as he continues his obsessive march towards a first Australian Open final.
"A year ago on the day, I lost in the round of 16. Both Flip [Mark Philippoussis] and I lost, so thank Christ I came away with a win tonight," Hewitt said. "I just kept hanging in there. It's always tough serving second in the fifth set. It's a long way from holding that trophy up yet, but I'm hanging in there."
Hewitt's win was even more brave and gut-busting than his enervating fourth-round victory over Rafael Nadal. Limping between points and sometimes practically willing himself to the ball, Hewitt stared defeat in the face during the deciding set only to somehow haul himself across the line after more than four hours.
The telling blow was not struck until the 97th minute of an extraordinary fifth set when Hewitt finally forced a break point and hammered a volley past the Argentinian. He then clung to his own serve and celebrated one of his most remarkable and sweetest victories.
It was a match spiced with controversy after Hewitt and Nalbandian brushed shoulders as they walked around the net post to get to their chairs during the second set. Hewitt had just broken Nalbandian's serve to take a 3-2 lead and, after what was only a light touch of shoulders, the Argentinian turned first to Hewitt and then the chair umpire, upset by what had happened. At the next change of ends Nalbandian stood aside facetiously to let his opponent pass and then had words with Hewitt.
Shortly after their clash at the net, it was the fireworks off the court that caused a distraction. As they had in Hewitt's fourth -round defeat by Roger Federer last year, the Australia Day fireworks set off near Melbourne Park at 9.15pm seemed to take the sting out of the Australian, who suddenly found himself 0-4 down in the third set before the smoke had cleared.
Previously, he had not seemed to have been troubled by the hip injury that was apparent during his five-setter against Nadal. But, with Nalbandian rejuvenated, Hewitt's movement was clearly affected, and by the time he had lost his serve to concede the fourth set he was hobbling between points.
Both players received treatment before the fifth set, Hewitt on his left thigh, Nalbandian on his foot. But clearly it was the Australian who was inconvenienced the most and, in the circumstances, his performance joins the growing list of Hewitt's epic victories.
Hewitt's win meant the top four seeded men have reached the semi-finals at the open for the first time since 1988. The result will be two blockbuster semi-finals, starting with tonight's match between top seed Roger Federer and No.4 Marat Safin, followed by the No.3 Hewitt's clash with No.2 Roddick on Friday night.
The Roddick-Hewitt semi-final is sure to be the most keenly anticipated. Hewitt has now spent a total of 14 hours and 38 minutes on court this campaign, compared to Roddick's 7hr 42min. "He's playing well and has wasted very little energy in this tournament," Hewitt said of Roddick. "[But] I believe I'm in with a good shot."
Hewitt and Molik make it a day to remember
By Gerard Whateley
ABC Sport, www.abc.net.au
January 25, 2005
Rod Laver Arena hasn't known too
many days like Monday, and since it left Kooyong neither has the Australian Open
for that matter.
Over seven white-knuckle hours
parochial emotions fluctuated wildly and national pride swelled.
The main course was served before
the entrée.
After 48 hours as the hottest topic
in newspaper columns and talkback radio, Lleyton Hewitt stared down the task of
becoming the first Australian man to reach the quarter-finals at our home Grand
Slam tournament since Pat Rafter in 2001.
In the early stages it looked a
formality. Hewitt broke the serve of Rafael Nadal to claim a tight first set and
then broke for a 2-love lead at the start of the second.
You could sense the capacity centre
court crowd relax.
It was short lived. In a stunning
twist, unlike just about anything in Hewitt's career, he conceded 11 of the next
12 games, including five breaks of serve. It contained a run of nine straight
games for Nadal.
The crowd fell eerily quiet and
eulogies were being prepared.
When Hewitt lost the third set 6-1
he called for an injury time-out and the end was surely nigh.
What followed was Hewitt's finest
moment at his nine Australian Opens.
Without creating any expectation he
hung in the fourth set. He even created the odd opportunity to take a lead. Yet
after each point he hobbled near the baseline.
As it turned out this was
rope-a-dope. Nadal expended his energies while Hewitt stayed in points.
And just before the tie break was
to be contested the 18-year-old Spaniard showed signs of weariness.
Pounced
The Australian pounced from the
rooftop at the conclusion of the fourth with a convincing tie break win, and
before you'd blinked he had a double break in the deciding set.
It's possible to read too much into
these things, but Hewitt appeared a humble figure.
When things turned sour there were
no histrionics. When things turned rosy he was all-inclusive.
His displays of emotion weren't
directed solely at his supporters box or the pocket of Fanatics. He courted the
hearts and minds of all corners of the arena and channelled the energy he got in
return.
He had spoken with admiration of
the emerging Nadal in the build-up and was acknowledging of the firebrand's
spectacular forehand winners.
During that all-important fourth
set he did what a famous wrestler used to term "Hulking up"- subtle fist pumps
and quiet "come ons" that steadily built in intensity.
By the time Hewitt fell to his
knees in victory it felt like the sort of day when he'd won some people over.
A well-satisfied day session crowd
made way for the eager night watchers.
The promise of Alicia Molik has
loomed since the middle days of the Athens Olympics, but this night we'd learn
so much.
If you thought the men had endured
a drought, an Australian female hadn't been to the quarter-finals in 17 years.
In the way was Venus Williams.
Molik now possesses that commodity
Hewitt oozes. It's called self-belief.
She's been taught to play a game of
numbers. She liked the look of 6-5 in the first set.
Molik went for broke to achieve the
break and succeeded.
With the first set in her keeping
she looked the better player. Six months of preparation for this kind of big
stage had Molik well prepared. It was borne out in the second set tie break.
Molik kept her feet in the
aftermath of match point. Her celebration entailed skipping to the net. Not one
spectator in the stand remained in their seat.
Whether this is the beginning for
Molik and Hewitt or the end didn't really matter on the night.
Australia Day on Wednesday will
have a double billing to remember.
Boxing champ Kostya Tszyu reckons Lleyton's a knockout
Kelly Ryan
25jan05
Melbourne Herald Sun
WORLD No. 3 Lleyton Hewitt must continue to court the crowds, ignore controversy and stick to his unique style if he is to become the world's best.
Fighting words to Australia's most dominant male tennis player from another ace Australian sporting champion -- boxer Kostya Tszyu.
The world's super lightweight boxing champion stepped from ringside to courtside in Melbourne and mimicked Hewitt's trademark "C'mon".
"He is the young fighter coming through and is one of the young ones beating the old fellows and impressing a new generation," Tszyu said.
The super-fit boxer said he loved the fighter in Hewitt and had been a huge fan since Hewitt joined the ranks of the world's top tennis talent.
"He is a fighter from the start of his career and that is what people love most about him," Tszyu said.
"He has always given 110 per cent and the Australian people love that fighting spirit."
Tszyu sympathised with Hewitt over the controversy his play and personality sometimes attracted on and off court.
"It is a big responsibility not to make mistakes when you are in the public eye," he said. "He is a young person and it is not easy to be in the public eye, to be such a star at such a young age."
Tszyu could not understand the hype often surrounding Hewitt's trademark vocal support for himself on court. "I think it is a very funny thing in tennis that fans can't talk during a game," he said.
"Imagine in boxing what would happen if you said shoosh, you do not talk. I mean -- C'mon!"
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by Bren O'Brien
Tuesday, 25 January, 2005
www.australianopen.com
Australia's last finalist at its home Grand Slam, Pat Cash, believes Lleyton Hewitt is tough enough to rebound from a brutal fourth-round match against Rafael Nadal in time for an Australia Day quarter-final showdown with David Nalbandian on Day Ten.
Cash has come closest to breaking a famous drought for the Aussie men which extends back to Mark Edmondson's victory in 1976, when he was beaten by Mats Wilander in a classic five-set final in 1988. He believes that Hewitt has the toughness to recover from his five-setter against Nadal but that the 23-year-old still has a mountain to climb to surpass his feats in the tournament's debut year at Melbourne Park.
"I think that match must have taken some sting out of him, Nadal was always going to be a tough one," Cash said. "It was a brutal match. Lleyton's fit enough to come back, what he'd very much like is a comfortable match in this next round and he can freshen up from that."
"The last thing he wants is to play Nalbandian in a real, tough four or five-setter, I think that would probably take the sting out of him. He needs a lot to match up with Roddick and then you've got Federer, Agassi or Safin on the other side," he said.
"There's a long way to go in the tournament and he's certainly had a very tough draw, and if he can get through and win this tournament, it would really be a phenomenal effort. It's tough work but if anyone can do it, Lleyton can."
Cash believes Hewitt has benefited greatly from a more self-critical approach to his preparation, and the result has been a more rounded player, who is capable of winning matches from two-sets-to-one down as he did against Nadal.
"I think he's had a bit of a look at his game and realised he needs to pick it up. That's what you need to do," Cash said. "I was very impressed by the way he played in the fourth and fifth set against Nadal, he played much more attacking tennis, particularly with the ground strokes, and you need to adapt like that if you are going to beat blokes like Federer."
The 1987 Wimbledon champion believes Federer has lifted the bar significantly over the past 12 months, meaning Hewitt's quest to ascend to the top of the sport will be significantly more difficult the second time around.
He said the current Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open champion is at such a high level, the current crop of challengers may have to wait for him to come back to the pack.
"Federer is the clearly the best player in the world. But he can't stay up there forever and he has got to have a flat patch and the guys have got to work out how to beat him. It's not that easy of course, but that can't go on forever and Lleyton's gotta keep improving."
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By Leo Schlink
25jan05
The Advertiser
LLEYTON Hewitt is confident he can defy a chronic hip injury and push towards Australian Open glory after yesterday posting one of the best wins of his career.
The world No. 3 will receive intensive treatment for a strained right hip flexor after conjuring a remarkable 7-5 3-6 1-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 fourth-round triumph against Spanish gun Rafael Nadal.
Earning the right to advance to the last eight for the first time in nine Open campaigns, Hewitt smashed his Melbourne Park hoodoo with an incredible display of mental strength and skill against the best young player in the world.
Inspired by a capacity Melbourne Park crowd, Hewitt set up an Australia Day confrontation with either sixth seed Guillermo Coria or ninth seed David Nalbandian, both of Argentina.
Relieved and elated, Hewitt said he was swept to victory by a torrent of home-town support.
"This crowd, they're great for me. It's second to none," he beamed as a gallant Nadal trudged from the court, shattered by what he had let slip after three hours, 52 minutes.
"During the match a lot of my thoughts went back to Davis Cup when I was down two sets to love against Roger Federer in the semi-final and two sets to one against Juan Carlos Ferrero on this very court.
"I was hurting out there in the third set, but you try and get all the negative thoughts out of your mind.
"I've got a little bit of a hip flexor problem, but I'll be fine."
Hewitt took a three-minute injury timeout at the end of the third set before wearing down a wilting Nadal.
Hewitt is desperate to become Australia's first male grand slam singles champion at home since Mark Edmondson in 1976.
He showed as much yesterday as he clawed his way back from the abyss to down 56th-ranked Nadal in an epic, with the pivotal fourth set stretching 67 minutes alone.
Hewitt was joined in the last eight by prospective semi-final opponent and world No. 2 Andy Roddick, who thrashed German Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3 7-6 (8-6) 6-1.
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By Leo Schlink and Karl deKroo
26jan05
The Advertiser
ARGENTINA'S David Nalbandian yesterday forecast an explosive Davis Cup-style atmosphere for tonight's quarter-final showdown with Lleyton Hewitt – then fuelled the fire by questioning the Aussie streetfighter's on-court antics.
In their first meeting since the 2002 Wimbledon final, ninth seed Nalbandian said he would not be bullied by Hewitt's aggressive approach which angered his second-round opponent James Blake and infuriated third-round rival Juan-Ignacio Chela to the extent that he twice hit balls at Hewitt and then spat in his direction.
"It's not easy when you have one guy behind the net doing that all the time," Nalbandian said of Hewitt's gesturing and "c'mon" cry. "It's not very good for the sport. If he does it when he wins a point, it's OK. But not when you make a mistake or something like that, that's the worst thing."
Nalbandian was a virtual unknown when he made the Wimbledon final and Hewitt ran away with a commanding straight-sets win.
They have not met since and Nalbandian said he had been waiting for another shot at the world No 3.
"Last time I played him, I was 20 years old," Nalbandian said. "Right now I feel more confident with my game. I'm older and of course I have more experience in five-set matches and grand slams."
Hewitt credited the parochial Rod Laver Arena crowd with lifting him in his five-set battle with Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal on Monday and Nalbandian said he expected a similar atmosphere tonight, with the pressure of expectation building on Hewitt after every round.
"It's going to be tough for him," Nalbandian said.
An unorthodox course of treatment and constant injury management has Hewitt approaching complete fitness ahead of the clash.
Hewitt's coach Roger Rasheed last night declared Hewitt was "in great shape" despite being inconvenienced by a strained right hip flexor since his title success in Sydney 11 days ago.
"Lleyton's as strong as ever," Rasheed said. "He's in the same condition now as when he came into the tournament. The conditioning work done over the pre-season has paid off – he's fine."
Hewitt, 23, was treated on court by Swedish trainer Per Bastholt during his fourth-round victory over Nadal. He has since continued to receive treatment for the injury.
Hewitt has regularly waded at the beach and after his win over Nadal he returned to his hotel room for alternating hot and cold baths.
He has also acquired two interferential units – one sent from Brisbane – which use electronic impulses to stimulate blood flow in the hip area.
Hewitt has consulted Davis Cup chiropractor Andrea Bizas, who believes Hewitt's relatively light frame will help aid recovery.
Rasheed has reshaped Hewitt's physique since succeeding Jason Stoltenberg as the former world champion's coach in May, 2003.
The former SANFL footballer and fitness expert has added 6kg to Hewitt over 18 months, much of it with cross-training.
Aside from daily hitting sessions, Hewitt spent time in a variety of activities, including weightlifting, beach sprinting, swimming, kayaking and distance running.
He believes confidence in his fitness helped in his calm acceptance of a two sets-to-one deficit against Nadal and his ability to ease out of the jam.
Hewitt has played Nalbandian twice. He won on clay in Barcelona in straight sets in 2002 before thumping the underdog baseliner at Wimbledon two months later.
But he now rates Nalbandian's game as one of the most dangerous on tour behind Roger Federer, Marat Safin and Andre Agassi.
Nalbandian won two ATP titles last season, both on clay.
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By Jim Courier
January 26, 2005
The Age
Lleyton Hewitt's lungs have been busy the past 10 days as he has raised the decibel level, along with the ire of his opponents, to match his desire to win his home championship.
Much has been written and said about the third-round ugliness with Argentinian Juan Ignacio Chela. Suffice to say, Hewitt got the only thing he wanted out of that match - a win. Lleyton always has been bottom-line driven.
The fact that his screams, shouts, lawnmowers and vichts are upsetting the locker room masses is of no concern to him. All will be right for him as long as the wins continue. David Nalbandian is his next foil.
And so he rises on Australia Day ready to wear his heart on his biceps and go to battle for nation and self. Lleyton always has been a patriot. Not many tour players have willingly sacrificed their ranking to ensure proper preparation for a Davis Cup final, like he did in 2003.
To me, Lleyton is a consummate Australian. He is hard-working, straightforward and proud. In my experience, you never have to wonder where you stand with an Aussie. No quarter asked, none given. I like that.
Lleyton will not be a relaxed man today. He will be wondering how his injured hip will pull up. He will be excited and anxious.
Tension will be building through the day and he will have to be stingy with his energy. It is easy to burn some off during the long wait until 7.30pm, but conserve he must. His tank needs to be full for his first quarter-final at Melbourne Park.
I could never sleep as well when I got to the second week of a major. I found it to be a bit like Christmas Day when I was a child. I would wake up early from the excitement and bounce right out of bed.
All the years of work lead to these moments for a player. All of the things you dreamed about are so close, you can smell them, but not quite touch yet.
He has to get through tonight's match to edge one step closer to living his dream.Lleyton has not played in a quarter-final in this tournament, but I would bet he has played in thousands of Aussie finals while asleep. He has to get through tonight's match to edge one step closer to living his dream.
On the other hand, Nalbandian will be resting easy.
His nation is tennis crazy and it will be an interested party, but a loss at this stage for him would be looked on as a good start to a long year.
He was injured for much of last year and has a lot of tennis in his body from the first 10 days of this event, including his lengthy win over Guillermo Coria in the fourth round. He is not coming in fresh either, but has little to lose.
For Lleyton, the only positive of a loss would be to arm him with evidence that the court speed at Rod Laver Arena is too slow.
Lleyton whipped Nalbandian on the speedy Wimbledon centre court in the 2002 final, and a loss today on the slower Rebound Ace would be used as solid proof by the Hewitt camp that the surface is ideal for the claycourt specialists and needs to be changed.
For many reasons, you can bet Paul McNamee will be quietly pulling hard for Lleyton. He knows the eyes of the nation will be on him when he steps on court.
Some good news is that Alicia Molik is also flying the flag today, so some of the burden - if you look at it that way - is on her shoulders, too.
I hope they see it as a privilege, not a cross to bear.
Pressure long has been a friend to Lleyton, but I have seen him feeling it in his matches over the past 10 days. He has handled it so far but it only grows from here. He has worked a lifetime for moments like this.
He loves to be tested. He, and the hopes of Aussie tennis fans, surely will be tonight.
Jim Courier won four grand slam titles, including the 1992 and 1993 Australian Opens.
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Date: 25/01/05
It could be beneficial for David Nalbandian to be briefed on Australian history before he takes the court at Melbourne Park on Australia Day.
That way, he might not be so alarmed when Lleyton Hewitt attempts to take him apart as a stadium full of locals scream for his blood.
And the lesson could be repeated for Lindsay Davenport before she confronts Adelaide's Alicia Molik.
On a day that should inspire them to extraordinary heights, Hewitt and Molik face the biggest Australian Open matches of their lives.
The two Australians play in quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Australia Day.
For both it is the furthest they have gone in their national championships.
In Molik's case it's the first time she has been to this point in any grand slam.
The only problem is, a similar thing happened on the same day last year - and far from ending in celebration it turned out to be a day of disaster.
On Australia Day, 2004 the country's two best tennis players - Hewitt and Mark Philippoussis had fourth-round matches booked at the Rod Laver Arena, both of them looking to make the quarters for the first time.
Hewitt had played convincingly through the early rounds and Philippoussis had marched into the fourth round looking as though he was about to keep one of the promises he'd been making for years.
On top of their good form, the two Australians were at Melbourne Park for the first time since their Davis Cup victory of the previous November in which Philippoussis had emerged a hero with his five-set defeat of Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final match.
Two months before that, Hewitt had come back from 0-2 and 3-5 in the third set to beat Roger Federer in the Davis Cup semi-final.
It was again Federer, clearly the world No.1, but with only two wins against Hewitt from their previous 10 matches, on the other side of the net at the Open.
Philippoussis had the easier draw, needing only to get past the Moroccan, Hicham Arazi to make his first Australian Open quarter-final.
He had knocked over a couple of decent opponents, Fabrice Santoro and Mario Ancic, to reach the fourth round and Arazi was ranked more lowly than either of them.
But the Australia Day that had promised so much turned into a massacre.
Hewitt began well enough against Federer, winning the first set 6-4.
But a questionable call when Hewitt was leading 40-30 at 2-3 in the second set proved a turning point.
Federer duly broke to lead 4-2 and then allowed the Australian only one game in the next 10, going on to take the match 4-6 6-3 6-0 6-4.
At least Hewitt took a set from the best player in the world.
Philippoussis struggled to win a game against an opponent who barely scraped in to the top 50.
Arazi beat Philippoussis 6-2 6-2 6-4 in straight sets, the Australian stating the obvious when he declared he'd been on the end of an "arse-kicking".
Hewitt has already established a new personal best by making the quarters, and against Nalbandian, whom he beat in the 2002 Wimbledon final, he has an outstanding chance of making the semi-finals where his opponent would probably be second seed Andy Roddick.
Hewitt hasn't played Nalbandian since beating him in that Wimbledon final, but the Argentinian isn't unfamiliar with the Australian's style of self-motivation.
"It's not easy when you have one guy behind the net doing all the time that stuff," Nalbandian said.
"I think it's not like a good sport ... it's not very good for the sport."
For Molik, a place in the last eight is a surprise that is more pleasant than unexpected.
She made the fourth round last year and has since won four titles and an Olympic bronze medal.
Molik, who turns 24 on Thursday, played her first Australian Open in 1999, losing in the fist round, a result she repeated in three of the next four years.
But she goes into her first grand slam quarter-final as the first Australian in 20 years to be among the world's top 10 players and the first in 17 years to be in the last eight at the Open.
Molik's explanation for her improvement comes straight out of a motivational textbook.
"Results in tennis come from hard work and dedication and believing in yourself ... and perseverance and persistence," she said.
"I always give 100 per cent on the court, I've been willing to listen to my coach and make changes to my game.
"I've been willing to work and I've been very open to suggestions."
Molik beat Venus Williams to make the quarters and now plays top seed Lindsay Davenport, a player she hasn't beaten before.
But she hadn't beaten Williams until Monday either.
"Its going to be much the same," she said.
"Play my own style of tennis, play my own game and see what happens."
Copyright © 2005 AAP
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26 January 2005
Lleyton Hewitt has already had a run-in with one Argentinian - now another stands in his way on Australia Day. Richard Hinds reports.
www.stuff.co.nz
On Australia Day last year it was the fireworks off the court that distracted Lleyton Hewitt during his fourth-round defeat by Roger Federer. Tonight, the fireworks may well be on the court as Hewitt comes up against David Nalbandian.
During Hewitt's ugly third-round clash with Juan Ignacio Chela, the Argentinian spat towards him. The Australian tonight faces an Argentinian who has made it clear he does not like Hewitt's exuberant celebrations after an opponent's error - the type of reaction that provoked Chela's churlish behaviour and cost him a $2600 fine.
"I think if he do it when he's won a point, it's OK," Nalbandian said of Hewitt's trademark exaltations. "But when you do a mistake or easy mistake or something like that [and Hewitt celebrates], that's the worst thing, I think. If he make a winner or win a very good point, that's fine. But no if you make a double-fault or [miss an] an easy forehand, easy backhand, easy volley, it's not that way."
Nalbandian went so far as to describe Hewitt's behaviour as "not very good for the sport" and said he had the support of most of the other players in the locker room. However, even if that is the case, Chela's repulsive retaliation was clearly unwarranted and Nalbandian will have to respond with his racquet rather than his mouth if he is to improve his 0-2 record against Hewitt.
Obviously, the most memorable clash between the pair was Hewitt's 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 triumph in the 2002 Wimbledon final. The most surprising thing about that match - wedged as it was between the decline of Pete Sampras and the emergence of Federer - was not the one-sided result but the presence of the then little-known Nalbandian in it.
Since then, however, he has proven his credentials by establishing himself in the world's top 10 and, this time, he will be favoured by the surface that is slower than Wimbledon's grass - indeed, much slower than a tortoise with a wooden leg, if Hewitt's complaints are to be believed.
"Is gonna be tough for him," Nalbandian said, putting the heat back on Hewitt. "He's in his country with the crowd. Is gonna be quarter-finals from grand slam, so is gonna be a tough match for both."
After his fourth-round victory over Rafael Nadal, the doubts in Hewitt's mind about the speed of the surface - apparent in the early stages of the match when he failed to attack despite creating several chances - were obvious again. "Feels like I made the quarters at the French Open this year," he said.
However, clearly inconvenienced by a hip injury during his five-set victory over Nadal on Monday, it is Hewitt's fitness as much as his state of mind that has become the key to his campaign.
Hewitt's coach, Roger Rasheed, said yesterday the injury, suffered during the Medibank International in Sydney, had settled well and the Australian's sights remained fixed on the title.
"It's good to make the quarter-final but we are definitely not happy where we sit at the moment," Rasheed said. "We expect to be there in the final at the end of the week."
However, the brutal road to a grand slam title entailing seven best-of-five-set matches is an arduous test of any physical weakness, particularly given Hewitt's next opponent is a grinding baseliner who has demonstrated he is willing to work double over-time to finish a match.
Nalbandian's 5-7, 7-5, 6-3, 6-0 victory over Guillermo Coria took three hours and 24 minutes and finished after 2am yesterday with only about 300 spectators left in Rod Laver Arena.
That war of attrition not only provided the last of the eight quarter-finalists, it gave thousands of insomniacs watching on TV their first decent night's sleep in years. Yesterday, while Hewitt dipped his sore hip in the ocean and received treatment from a football club physiotherapist, Nalbandian was simply trying to get a few zeds. "I need rest, I need sleep, I need work a little bit," said Nalbandian of his recuperation.
The good news is that, this time, the fireworks that began during a change of ends about half-way through the Federer-Hewitt match last year are unlikely to cause the same disruption. Australia Day celebration organisers have guaranteed that this time they will be launched further from Melbourne Park than last year and will include less of the noisiest types of rockets.
So the loudest noises in Rod Laver Arena tonight will be the ones Hewitt generates as he tries to win what should be another fierce battle.
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Tue, Jan 25, 2005
Border Mail
NO spitting and no provocation.
Just sheer courage and the sort of tennis you dream about.
Lleyton Hewitt returned yesterday to the scene of the weekends unfortunate spit spat to play his way into an Australian Open quarter-final.
While he was at it, he won over a new legion of admirers.
Instead of the “Cmons” that have alienated so many, Hewitt lifted himself from the depths of despair with cries of “No pain, no pain” as he willed himself on.
Even when he was fit and well in the opening sets Hewitt didnt overdo the exultation, he didnt glare at his opponent and for the first hour at least, he didnt get the manic rallying call and accompanying crazy eyes going.
He merely behaved like a normal, obnoxious, egotistical, wonderfully-skilled bit-of-a-brat.
Until injury slowed him almost to a walk.
He then showed he was also a gutsy brat.
Hewitt played Spanish teen Rafael Nadal in their fourth round match on the Rod Laver Arena yesterday, winning it 7-5 3-6 1-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-2.
In a repeat of his comeback against Roger Federer in the Davis Cup semi-final against Switzerland on the same court two years ago, Hewitt revealed new depths to what so often seems a troubled character.
“You try to get all the negative thoughts out of your head,” Hewitt said after the match.
Somehow, he seemed to banish those thoughts and will them onto Nadal.
The Spaniard possesses a talent almost as prodigious as Hewitts and has the same Latin look as Juan Ignacio Chela, the Argentinian who was fined two nights earlier for spitting in the Australians direction.
But yesterday the harmony between Hewitt and the man across the net extended beyond their almost identical tennis kit.
Neither antagonised the other with anything more than tennis balls and spectacular racquet work.
Even when the great Australian hope had his first serve of the match broken, he remained calm.
And you have to think it helped.
Two games later he broke back and in almost every game after that had Nadal in trouble.
When the injury threatened to rob him of his first Australian Open quarter-final, Hewitt fought and fought, erasing all traces of Saturday nights nonsense and of his annoying idiosyncrasies.
If anything, it is Nadal who is the more irritating.
The 18-year-old is a grunter approaching the volume of Maria Sharapova.
Except that he’s a left-side-only grunter.
His regular forehand he’s left-handed is accompanied by an almost-acceptable, wheezing squeak.
But his more forceful shots come with a Tarzan-like roar.
His backhand is produced without accompaniment.
On both sides he is outstanding.
On yesterdays performance, he is on the way to greatness.
But not at this tournament.
This is Lleyton Hewitts championship, win lose or draw.
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By Douglas Robson, special for USA TODAY
MELBOURNE, Australia — When Juan Ignacio Chela spat in the direction of Lleyton Hewitt during his third-round loss in the Australian Open, he crossed a line. The Argentine's unsportsmanlike conduct was met with a $2,000 fine the next day.
But Chela's response to Hewitt's notorious on-court antics Saturday again has called into question the line between fair play and unsporting behavior.
When does competitiveness become illegal gamesmanship?
"It's very, very thin line," says volatile Marat Safin, a Russian who was fined $1,000 for smashing his racket in his fourth-round win Sunday against Olivier Rochus of Belgium.
Safin's fine has been one of 19 levied during the tournament by officials.
Antics are nothing new. The bad-boy triumvirate of Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and Ilie Nastase took pugnacious behavior to unprecedented heights in the 1970s and 1980s with their actions and linesman-berating behavior.
Four-time Grand Slam tournament champion Arantxa Sanchez Vicario of Spain was infamous for taking momentum-stalling bathroom breaks.
Romania's Irina Spirlea, who chest-bumped Venus Williams in the 1997 U.S. Open, was defaulted and fined a record $20,000 for abusing an umpire in Palermo, Italy.
"I think gamesmanship, as long as it's one-on-one combat, it's always going to be there," says two-time Aussie Open champ Jim Courier, a commentator for Australian TV during the tournament.
Much of the debate during this Grand Slam has centered on Hewitt, whose in-your-face fist pumps, aggressive salutes and incessant screams of "C'mon" have grated on many opponents.
Some players, including Roger Federer, defend the 22-year-old Australian. "He wants to win this tournament so badly, and he's showing it," the Swiss No. 1 says. "He's fine the way he is."
But others say the No. 3 seed is an example of a player dancing dangerously close to or possibly crossing the edge of unsporting behavior.
"He's right around the line," says the USA's James Blake, who lost to Hewitt last week in the second round. "He definitely does some things where it seems like he's doing it on purpose to get under people's skin. He does get a little fired up after points where he wasn't the reason that he won the point — a guy missed a shot."
Courier agrees.
"There's talk in the locker room that he's crossing the line here with his exhortations," Courier says. "I don't think there's any doubt that he's louder here than he's ever been."
Blake says he tries to abide by the written and the unwritten rules of tennis, which means trying to "be fair to an opponent."
But in the cutthroat world of pro sports, some players bend the rules as far as possible. Sometimes they are fined, sometimes they are not.
"I know a lot of people will compromise some of those values when it's for a bigger paycheck or a little more fame or fortune," Blake says.
Determining what is allowable often falls to a referee's judgment. That is hardly an exact science.
"It's difficult, because everybody has their own version," No. 4 seed Safin explains.
Most players accept that trying to get into an opponent's head is part of the game. Stalling tactics — tying shoelaces, calling a trainer, changing tempo, shouting "C'mon," leaving the court to go to the bathroom — are common strategies.
"I don't think it is a tactic to disturb me," Rochus said after witnessing Safin's racket-smashing tirade.
Players tend to be more forgiving when actions are self-inflicted or arise from the heat of the moment.
But others say psych-out devices such as bouncing the ball excessively before serving, loud grunting and illegal coaching from the sideline are a growing problem.
For instance, players complained about Wimbledon champ Maria Sharapova's loud grunting — she was dubbed the "Siberian Siren" in tabloids — when she came on tour. She has since toned it down.
The 17-year-old Siberian-born Russian also has been issued warnings for sideline coaching from her father, Yuri, most recently in November in the WTA Championships.
"It's too much," U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova complains of the overall gamesmanship in the sport.
When ugliness arises from heads lost in the heat of battle, it's often forgiven. Chela, who denied spewing saliva at Hewitt, apologized to him after the match.
Of course, colorful displays of emotion can be good for the sport. It's no coincidence that the Connors-McEnroe-Nastase era was the most popular in tennis history.
"John McEnroe, you remember what he did on the court, not what was the score on everything," says Safin, who pulled down his shorts after a spectacular drop shot last year in the French Open but was not fined.
"I'm not saying that everybody should do that," he says. "But also these kinds of things, they might help tennis a little bit."
Some infamous incidents of unsporting conduct in tennis:
· John McEnroe was booted from the 1990 Australian Open for foul language, becoming the first player shown the exit from a major in the Open era.
· In the 1997 U.S. Open semifinals, Irina Spirlea chest-bumped Venus Williams during a changeover but was not fined.
· Andre Agassi spat on Australian umpire Wayne McKewan's shoes and trousers in the 1990 U.S. Open, resulting in a $500 fine.
· Top 10 U.S. player Earl Cochell was banned for life after verbally abusing a referee in the U.S. Open in 1951, an unprecedented penalty.
· In the French Open semifinals in 2003, Justine Henin-Hardenne motioned she was unprepared to receive Serena Williams' serve. Williams hit a fault and should have been given another first serve. The umpire didn't see it, however, and Henin-Hardenne played dumb.
· Romania's Ilie Nastase was disqualified in a match against McEnroe in the 1979 U.S. Open for repeatedly arguing a point penalty. Fans booed, chanted and threw garbage on the court in protest.
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January 25, 2005
From Neil Harman, Tennis Correspondent in Melbourne
Timesonline.co.uk
LLEYTON HEWITT had perused the morning newspapers with a deepening and all too familiar sense of foreboding. He was grievously wronged when Juan Ignacio Chela spat in his direction during their third-round match, yet a section of the Australian press, excluded from Hewitt’s innermost thoughts and actions, demanded to know if their No 1 was not deliberately demeaning his home grand- slam tournament and might be better dressed for tennis in army fatigues.
The phrase “war zone” was used. Hewitt was caricatured as a soldier in arms. The antis insisted that Hewitt’s behaviour was to blame for the Argentinian’s reaction, although how that condones aiming one’s spittle at anyone is hard to equate.
One wonders how those looking for cracks in the 23-year-old world No 3 will have reacted to him reaching the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park for the first time in nine attempts. Pleased for him? Not a bit of it. Words sticking in their craw? Perhaps. And if they, like I, had spotted him an hour after his match against Rafael Nadal, of Spain, yesterday, plodding barefoot across a concrete floor, just managing to summon a smile, would they be so hard on him? There have been more memorable wins for Hewitt on foreign fields — championships won, the odd skirmish lost — but few can have given him more satisfaction than his 7-5, 3-6, 1-6, 7-6, 6-2 victory over the 18-year-old who can become one of the superstars of this sport.
Hewitt will do well to last his meeting in the quarter-finals against David Nalbandian, their first since the 2002 Wimbledon final, for it will be another gruelling match full of rallies that can be won or lost on a piece of brilliance, the framing of a smash, or one man’s weariness against the other’s manipulated muscles.
The way Hewitt looked and talked last night, it is going to take something as heroic as he has produced in his entire career to pull this one out.
There are plenty in this city who would willingly carry him across the line, but equally many more who would allow the stretcher to drop through their fingers.
Each time Tim Henman reaches a quarter-final at Wimbledon, it is regarded as the least of his ambitions. That Hewitt, until now, had not been to one here is, for the most part, serenaded as a failure. On Rod Laver Arena, the response to Hewitt’s win over Nadal and, subsequently, of Alicia Molik over Venus Williams that guarantees her a place in the quarter-finals was contrasting.
While Hewitt’s foes are all too happy to stick their heads above the parapet, Molik has such a carefree, open attitude to the sport that she does not have an enemy in the world.
Hewitt is governed by a need to justify himself where no justification should exist. The former Wimbledon and world No 1’s attitude to those who do not appreciate him or the way he approaches the sport is shaped by a desire to dig even deeper, fight even harder — a bloody-minded champion if ever there has been one.
He has a dodgy hip that impairs his movement, or so the theory goes. The way he recovered against the teenage Nadal from two sets to one down and, apparently, with no life in his limbs, was superhuman. For two sets he could not strike the ball as he wanted, the Spaniard’s forehand to Hewitt’s right-handed forehand side proving a startling weapon.
Hewitt looked lost and bewildered, but not for long. “I’ve just been trying to get my body ready for each match,” he said. “I’m having to forget the way I feel, but it is amazing how many matches I’ve been able to win because of my never-say-die attitude. Yet again, it has got me through.”
Molik’s 7-5, 7-6 victory over Williams, her first in four matches against the American, underscored what a fabulous run she is having. Neither had lost a match this year, so something had to