A defeated and deflated Lleyton Hewitt believes there are plenty of positives he can take from his third round finish at Australian Open 2007.
Speaking after being comfortably ousted 2-6 2-6 7-5 6-4 by Chilean No.10 seed Fernando Gonzalez, the South Australian highlighted his never-say-die attitude as a pleasing aspect of his performance.
"You're disappointed when you lose. I'll look back, and I'm sure there are some positives to come out of tonight's match," said Hewitt. "It's disappointing I lost. But I put everything on the line again, went out there and was nearly able to turn it around again."
"Obviously not having the best preparation, the most matches that I would have liked coming in, yeah, makes life tough."
Heading into the Australian Open on the back of a less-than-ideal build-up after Hewitt and his long-term coach Roger Rasheed parted ways, the former world No.1 said his recently-appointed coach Scott Draper had done an admirable job.
"He [Draper] has been great. He's a great mate. He's got a lot of different ideas, which is good. You know, he was one of the most talented tennis players that I've ever come across in my time," he said.
"He had every shot under the world, and, you know, was able to obviously get to his ranking. But he's had a lot of disappointments in his life, as well, on and off the court."
"He's got a great attitude. He's a positive guy. He looks at different situations I think to a lot of other people. It's been good for the last couple weeks, that's for sure."
However, despite being pleased to have made it through to the third round, Hewitt said he had not given his future with Draper any further consideration.
"[I'm] not sure yet. That's the last thing on my mind at the moment," he said when asked where the pair's future is.”
With his title aspirations once again dashed on home soil, Hewitt says he will now turn his attention to getting more match practice.
"I want to get some more tournaments under my belt, a lot more matches, get back in the rhythm of things," he added. "That's been the toughest thing, especially with the knee injury late last year."
"I couldn't get back-to-back matches together, which is a tough thing. It's not easy going into the Grand Slams, you know, against the best guys in the world when you're under-done."
"Hopefully I can get a few wins in the smaller tournaments, just get a lot of matches under my belt."
Hewitt loss ends Australian hopes
Fernando Gonzalez beat 19th seed Lleyton Hewitt 6-2 6-2 5-7 6-4 to end home hopes in the Australian Open.
Hewitt's exit means there will be no Australians in the fourth round for the first time since 2002.
Gonzalez, the 10th seed, made just two unforced errors as he swept into a two-set lead.
Hewitt recovered to take the third but quickly fell a break behind in the fourth and, despite saving three match points, could not respond again.
Before Hewitt took to the Rod Laver Arena, Alicia Molik, the last remaining Australian female in the tournament, was dumped out 3-6 6-2 6-0 by Patty Schnyder.
Hewitt had not enjoyed the best build-up to his home tournament, splitting with his coach Roger Rasheed and picking up a calf injury.
And he could find no answer to Gonzalez's combination of powerful hitting and delicate touches.
"If he's playing like that it's a matter of trying to weather the storm, there's not a whole lot you can do," said Hewitt, runner-up to Marat Safin in 2005.
"It's always hard to get your nose back in front, I was able to turn it around, but it's always going to be a tough ask.
"If I got into the fifth set I would have fancied my chances."
Gonzalez now faces fifth seed James Blake for a place in the quarter-finals.
"I don't remember if I have played a better tennis match because I played unbelievable for the first two sets and I was doing whatever I wanted with the ball," Gonzalez said.
January 19, 2007 12:00
LLEYTON Hewitt is steadily mounting a challenge for the grand slam he would most love to win - declaring last night he loves being an underdog.
Watched by wife Bec and an entourage of Team Hewitt supporters, Lleyton produced another never-say-die four-set victory over Canadian Frank Dancevic to join veteran Wayne Arthurs as Aussie men in the third round at Melbourne Park.
Arthurs today meets American Mardy Fish, while Hewitt takes on either Fernando Gonzalez of Chile or Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro tomorrow.
"These are the challenges you look forward to, this is why you play the sport," Hewitt said.
"I know I will have to improve."
The Australian No.1 Lleyton Hewitt declared it was time to stand up and be counted, claiming he must improve on his effort yesterday against Canadian Frank Dancevic.
He also addressed blunt advice by former Davis Cup team Todd Woodbridge, who publicly said he needed to become an adult and distance his father Glynn from his tennis affairs.
"It is a big call by Todd ... but he is entitled to his opinion," Hewitt said.
Yesterday Hewitt, who confirmed after the match his right calf had held up, overcame a third-set lapse and an high double-fault count to prevail 6-4 6-4 3-6 6-4 in two hours and 48 minutes.
Australia's 19th seed next faces either Chile's big-hitting 10th seed Fernando Gonzalez or Argentinean young gun Juan Martin Del Potro.
"It gets tougher now and this is where you have to stand up and be counted," Hewitt said.
"These are the challenges you look forward to, this is why you play the sport.
"I would have to improve to get through that."
Playing only his fourth match in four months, Hewitt took the first two sets comfortably before inviting Dancevic back into the contest with a poor service game midway through the third.
The Australian Open's 2005 runner-up double faulted for the 12th time of the match in dropping his serve to love to fall behind 4-2 and the Canadian quickly wrapped up the set.
Woodbridge, in his capacity as a Channel 7 commentator, noted: ``If he (Hewitt) can just cut out the unforced errors, he can really win this match comfortably."
And that he did.
The Australian consolidated through the fourth set and ran out an easy winner.
Hewitt, however, landed just 56 of his 118 first serves and double-faulted on 12 occasions.
"When you're a little underdone and these guys have got a nothing to lose, you've got to be prepared to work," Hewitt said.
"My second serve just wasn't there today but I was able to find a way.
"Today was a little bit of an off day with my serve."
Hewitt's experience was a factor yesterday as he converted five of his six break-point opportunities.
The Canadian managed to cash in three times when he had break point.
"I felt that I got off to a lot better start today that I did two nights ago," Hewitt said.
"That was important and his serve got better and better as the match went on.
"I wasn't getting too many opportunities out there."
Hewitt also controlled the game from the net.
"That is something I have been trying to work on," Hewitt said.
"I'm really trying to add another dimension to my game, hopefully it will make me a better player.''
Hewitt joins Wayne Arthurs as the only other Australian male remaining at Melbourne Park.
Arthurs today meets American Mardy Fish.
LLEYTON Hewitt's
aura of invincibility has long disappeared, but playing at home with a
ravenous attitude, he still has a good shot to reach his second
Australian Open final.
Hewitt doesn't strike fear in the hearts of the boys in the locker room
like he did when he ruled the world in 2001-2002, but he almost always
goes deep at the grand slams because he loves the big occasions.
He can certainly be overpowered, but it takes a monstrous effort to do so in a five-set match because Hewitt is completely committed to the grind and still believes he's a mentally tougher player if a contest reaches five sets.
But at 25, Hewitt's game must continue to evolve. He still has one of the most consistent and formidable backhands out there and can return even the most powerful serves in the blink of an eye, but his forehand is lacking compared to the other top players and despite a massive effort, he still has trouble getting a lot of cheap points off his serve.
However, I like the effort that Hewitt has put in trying to add new elements to his game, a mandatory step if he's going to keep up with the big guns.
He didn't play his best in his 6-4 6-4 3-6 6-4 second round win over Canadian Frank Dancevic yesterday, but he was solid when he had to be.
The Adelaide native is a better volleyer than he was when he started on tour in 1998; he has a more solid grip on match strategy and has added more pop to his forehand. He also possesses one of the game's sweetest lobs and a deft drop volley.
But because he's had to deal with a number of injuries for the past two years, he lost a little bit of his sprinter's speed, and therefore he can't count on getting winners from way out of court as he did when he won Wimbledon in 2002 and the 2001 US Open.
Plus, he's rusty, having missed nearly all of the spring after knee surgery.
Even though he'll go down in history as a better player, Hewitt's career mirrors that of former French Open champion Michael Chang of the US.
Both men won with desire, speed and counterpunching ability.
However, by the time they reached mid-career, they could no longer consistently win matches against the other elite players with their legs.
Chang tried to add more firepower to his game, but didn't get very far with it as he gradually went away from his base. He added some new and occasionally attractive elements, but lost some of his tried and true ones in the process.
Hewitt has done a little bit better at making adjustments, but it's pretty clear by his seeding here, No.19, that his evolution as a player is still a work in progress.
Moreover, when he's pressed, he often reverts to the playing style that once made him a great champion - counterpunching - and that's not going to get it done against players such as top seed Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick and James Blake.
Those players have rapidly evolved and have raised the bar, which Hewitt has yet to leap over.
He has to mix it up and play with more aggression if he hopes to reach another Australian Open final. That won't be easy, because his lack of matches over the past four months is affecting him.
Mentally, Hewitt came into the Australian Open with a swirl of controversy surrounding him, after his long-time coach, Roger Rasheed, quit just after Hewitt's loss in Adelaide.
Hewitt also parted company with manager Rob Aivatoglou last year.
Of course, Hewitt is no stranger to controversy and at times he has performed better when his back is up against the wall.
Recall when he won the US Open, he was heavily criticised during the tournament after he allegedly hurled a racial epithet at a linesperson during his win over Blake, an African-American.
Hewitt went into a me-against-the-world mode and went on to beat all-time great Pete Sampras for the title.
If Hewitt brings some of that diehard spunk on court in Melbourne, he'll be dangerous.
If he can keep winning by avoiding playing one torturous five-setter after another and save his lungs and legs, I wouldn't be surprised to see him facing Federer in the final.
He desires this title more than any other and his intensity level is sure to rise with each round
Australian Open Rd 1
Lleyton Hewitt keeps dreams alive Jan 17
LION-HEARTED Lleyton Hewitt clawed his way back from two sets down to keep his Australian Open dream alive at Melbourne Park early today.
Trailing by a service break early in the third set, match-starved Hewitt stood on the brink of an inglorious first-round defeat before rallying doggedly to a 3-6 2-6 6-3 6-3 6-3 triumph over American qualifier Michael Russell.
While the victory enhanced Hewitt's status as the king of five-set tennis, only twice before - against Roger Federer in Davis Cup four years ago and against Guillermo Canas at the 2001 French Open - has Australia's former world No.1 prevailed after conceding the first two sets of a match.
Hewitt has now won 22 of his 31 encounters that have gone the full distance, including 11 of his last 12.
It is a strike rate no other active player on the ATP tour can match.
Among Australians all-time, only the legendary Rod Laver, with an 18-from-23 record, and Ross Case (11-from-15) have superior five-set records.
His fiercely loyal courtside entourage aside, not even his most ardent of fan would have truly believed Hewitt could escape last night.
The 19th seed arrived in Melbourne having endured the most diabolical of grand-slam preparations.
He was seriously underdone, having played just one-and-half matches in four months - the least of any player in the entire 128-man field - while long-time coach Roger Rasheed walked out on him after a bitter spat in Adelaide two weeks ago, just hours after Hewitt tore a calf muscle during an explosive three-set loss to lowly-rated Russian Igor Kunitsyn.
Russell, on the other hand, despite being ranked a lowly 114th in the world, was flying after winning 13 straight matches, including back-to-back Challenger events in Hawaii and Noumea either side of Christmas.
The 28-year-old carried his momentum into Rod Laver Arena, seizing the first two sets in 81 minutes as Hewitt's error rate soared.
When Hewitt flayed a forehand long to drop serve for a fifth time and fall behind 2-1 in the third set, all hope of a repeat of his unforgettable run to the 2005 final - let alone a drought-breaking home success in the season's first slam - appeared gone.
However the recovery began the very next game, Hewitt breaking back for 2-2 and then reeling off four straight games to take the set with successive aces.
The former Wimbledon and US Open champion let out a huge roar of relief and the late-night crowd sensed something special.
Three further service breaks in the fourth set put Hewitt back on level terms and Russell's painful memories of his loss from match point up against then world No.1 Gustavo Kuerten in the 2001 French Open must have been haunting the American.
Hewitt achieved the decisive break in the sixth game of the decider and calmly closed out the contest with two more service holds, the 25-year-old dropping to his knees in ecstasy after finally advancing after three hours and 29 tension-filled minutes.
He will play Canadian Frank Dancevic tomorrow for a place in the last 32.