Sunday, 20 January, 2008
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Q. Realistically, what time do you think you'll get to bed? LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know. Still have massage and a lot of stuff first. It's 5:30, so 7:00, 7:30, maybe. Q. Did they consult you over whether you wanted to play? You went on at 11:49. LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it was a strange night. We actually got told that the women's match was going off, was getting moved, that we were going to be on pretty much at 9:00. So we sort of rushed off, both Marcos and myself, and went and practiced and warmed up for about 10 minutes. Came back and got told, No, the women's is going to stay on. So that -- that sort of was a bit of a hassle for both of us, really, because we didn't have the best preparation and warmup that we would have liked, and then obviously to sit around for a lot longer. Yeah, you know, we were both probably in two minds obviously with the crowd and everyone that wanted to play, but, yeah, it's a tough situation for everyone. Q. More beneficial to come back tomorrow and had a day's rest or get it over and done with? LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't think Marcos and I really knew what was going to be better for whoever won, so that was a tough situation. But, yeah, it was funny, because we both said we could be here 4:00, 5:00 in the morning, and here we are. Q. Do you think you can buck up? LLEYTON HEWITT: I hope so. I'll give myself a chance at least, so that's the main thing. Q. Do you think starting a match at that time of night is decent, is good? You know, when it goes through your head what to make a decision about, what goes through your head? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, you know I don't -- it's a hard one, because our opponents were through obviously, as well. So, yeah, that was the tougher situation, I think, if you're starting fairly the next day and you both had to buck up two days in a row, then that's fair enough. But obviously, yeah, going on that late is not easy for anyone, any players, because it does throw your whole, you know, rhythm and clock out quite a bit. Q. How are you feeling at the moment? LLEYTON HEWITT: I feel pretty good actually. I fee; pretty good. Q. Is that your best win in a Grand Slam since 2005 here? LLEYTON HEWITT: I can't think at the moment, but it's up there. 2006 US Open I had a couple of good wins where I beat, Djokovic and Gasquet before losing to Roddick. But tonight is definitely up there. Marcos has beaten two top players, two Grand Slam winners in his first rounds. He hasn't had an easy draw to get through at all. He's a tough guy to finish off. Q. What's your routine going to be like now? You'll probably get to bed at 7:00, irregular sleeping hours? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, who knows? Mia will be up ready to play, probably. Yeah, I don't know. I just sleep for as long as I feel I need it tomorrow or today, and then, I mean, I just start preparing and get ready for -- when do I play? Monday? Tomorrow. Q. You played a few memorable five setters in your career. Where does that one rank? LLEYTON HEWITT: It's up there. I've played a lot out on this court, though. It's hard to, you know, pinpoint one from a lot of others, I guess. Yeah, obviously the Federer one in Davis Cup was probably the biggest of all time for me. That was up there tonight. He always plays well here in Melbourne. Took Monfils last year to play an exceptional match in the second round to beat him. And to beat Johansson comfortably and Safin in a great match, he's a tough player to beat. I'm happy to get over the line. Q. You've obviously gotten close with Federer, Djokovic, Nadal over the last four months, but you haven't really had a major scalp. How important is it to get that one tonight confidence-wise going into tomorrow night's match? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it's important. It's important to beat those big players, and especially over five sets, because that's what I regard myself, when I play my best tennis over five sets in the majors. It's good, especially here in Australia, as well. So, yeah, it's nice to get another round further than I did last year. Q. Can you just talk about the emotional roller coaster that you would have been going through in that match, the ups, the downs, the crowd the atmosphere and all that? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it was a lot of different feelings, I guess, the whole match, four-and-a-half hours or whatever it was. Yeah, it was, you know, in a lot of ways not only physical balance but a mental battle for both of us, as well. Obviously having a match point and serving for it a couple of times in the fourth set, but being able to bounce back as strong as I did and put that all behind me in the fifth, yeah, mentally this will go down as one of my best wins. Q. What was going through your mind in the fourth set when you squandered the 5-1 lead? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I didn't feel like I made that many bad choices. Yeah, he started playing a lot more flashy, especially on my service games. I didn't serve as well as I had been. I wasn't getting those cheap points. But to his credit, he hung in there and he was very loose at that stage, as well. I just tried to put it behind me as much as possible. It's not easy, though, when you're out there and you think you should be in the locker room. With that said, yeah, this would be mentally one of my best wins, I think. Q. When you looked over on the other side and saw him lying on the ground in agony, grabbing his ankle, could you imagine three hours later he'd be up there? LLEYTON HEWITT: No, I wasn't sure if he broke it or what he did. He obviously -- yeah, I thought it was a lot worse, I'd say, at that point in time. But, straight after that we came back out and he seemed fine, you know. So obviously it was a bit of a scare for him. Q. Djokovic has established himself as the clear No. 3 in the world. How do you go about hurting him, and how does your game match up with his? LLEYTON HEWITT: It matches up pretty well. Met him one to one and head to head. Last year in Wimbledon when I lost an extremely close match I thought I nearly had the better of him out there, as well. I lost three tiebreakers and the set that I won I won 6-4, I think, or 7-5. Yeah, I'll get my opportunities. He's obviously a great player, though, and he plays extremely well on this kind of hard court surface. He's gone through the draw pretty comfortably so far. It's going to be another step up. Q. Was it a nice moment at the end of that match, Lleyton? Can you share with us what you exchanged? LLEYTON HEWITT: With who, Marcos? Q. Yes. LLEYTON HEWITT: I think we were both just exhausted, and I was glad I was finished. He probably wasn't. Yeah, I think, you know, I have a lot of respect for him, not only as a tennis player but as a person, as well. Yeah, we've practiced together before, and, you know, I think he's a really nice guy and pretty down-to-earth. Yeah, even though we're out there trying to beat the hell out of each other for four and a half hours, I think we both, at the end, you know, realized how much we had both put into the match. Q. When they told you that the women were going to play, did you have a choice? Did you and Marcos actually have a say? Did you have a choice in whether you were going to play or not? LLEYTON HEWITT: We didn't really have a choice, no. Q. What do you think of that? LLEYTON HEWITT: We got -- we had an opinion, but we didn't get a choice. Q. What do you think of the fact that you didn't have a choice in such a situation? LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, it's hard to say. Obviously the tournament has -- you know, they've got to look after not only the players' interests but the spectators and everyone, I guess. There's a lot more demands than just the two of us. We were obviously put out a little bit thinking we were going to go on. I was basically ready to go on at 9:00 straight after the Federer match, so was Marcos, and then we were told we're not going on. Yeah, it was more a mental battle for both of us, but it was out of our hands. We didn't -- as I said, we didn't have a choice for the matter. We had to put it behind us as quickly as possible. Q. How long before the start were you told that you weren't going on? How long before 9:00 were you told that you weren't going on? LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, we got told at 8:15 that we were going on at 9:00. And then I'm not sure, it would have been just after 9:00 because Federer, I think, was still going. Federer was still going to just after 9:00, I think, and that's pretty much -- we were both ready to go on, so... Q. Pretty difficult to deal with? LLEYTON HEWITT: It wasn't the easiest night, yeah. Q. Marcos was talking to the French reporters. He said his understanding was if the women had gone three sets you wouldn't have played at all. Was that your understanding, as well? LLEYTON HEWITT: I think in the end it was going to be that, but they made a decision at a set and a break. If Mirza had won the first set, then, yeah, obviously it was a high chance it was going to go three sets. But Venus being up a set and a break, I think both Marcos and myself realized we were going to play. Q. Have you had any situation like this? I mean, not just the lateness. LLEYTON HEWITT: No, tonight was strange. It was strange for both of us. Marcos and I were speaking to each other in the locker room beforehand not really knowing what was going on. Also what was in our best interests, as well, for whoever got through to the next round. |
Lleyton Hewitt interview 17January 2007 rd 2
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Q. Was that a solid workout? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it was. Yeah, I felt like I had a lot of opportunities out there, even right from the start. Even though the first set went to a tiebreaker, I felt like I played pretty well in that first set. Yeah, he served well on big points. You know, I just wasn't quite reading where he was going, you know, the shots that he liked to play on the big points, you know, when the pressure was on. But, yeah, he hung in there and played a pretty good match. Q. How would you describe your form to this stage? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, not too bad. Took me a little while, you know, to figure him out today more than anything. First round, I played exceptionally well. You know, today was a bit patchy here and there. But I felt like I played the big points well when I needed to. And then the fourth set, I probably played my best tennis for the match in the fourth set, which was nice. Q. Is there room for improvement to come? LLEYTON HEWITT: Oh, see what happens. The matches aren't going to get any easier. Q. Frustration for you that in Adelaide you played two good matches, one not so good. Here, fantastic first match. Second one not so good. Is that something that is part of the change in the game that you're trying to get into a groove? LLEYTON HEWITT: A little bit. On and on today I felt like I had a couple lapses in concentration obviously at the end of the third set, not to finish it off there. But he played a lot better when he was down than when he was actually on serve with me. When we were actually pretty close, you know, on serve, I was holding my service games relatively easy every time. Then when I'd go up a break, he actually came out and smacked a couple of winners. If I didn't get my first serve in, he was going for it, you know, right from the go. So he was an awkward guy to play because, you know, he served well on big points. His second serve wasn't great, but he was making a pretty good percentage of first serves on the big points. And then he actually moved, you know, well across the baseline, as well. So it was actually hard to come in on him because he never got too far behind the court. Q. Is the concentration, the mind wandering, is that something that happens when you haven't played as much tennis? When you play more, you tend to be sharper? LLEYTON HEWITT: Not really. It was really maybe only a couple of points. I just, you know, played a couple of loose points there not to finish it off. But, you know, to his credit, he stepped it up, as well. You know, he hit two or three winners off my second serve straightaway and put me under pressure. And that's when he got the break late in the third set there. You know, even when he was up 6‑5, he played a good game to break my serve. I didn't do too much wrong. Q. You had hoped to come in a fair bit more than what you did? LLEYTON HEWITT: I probably would have liked to come in a little bit more, put a little bit more pressure on him. I felt like I was able to put a lot of pressure on his second serve right from the start. But, you know, I didn't get too many second serves on big points, especially early in the match, which was, you know, the reason that I probably wasn't getting those opportunities to break serve as much. But, yeah, he moved a lot better than I thought he would for his height. Q. Treatment at the end of the second set, is that a bit disconcerting? Should the rule be tweaked? LLEYTON HEWITT: It was a bit strange, because I didn't see any problems with his movement‑wise leading up to the end of the second set, and then ‑‑ definitely, for him to last another two sets... So I didn't see any major problems. I'm not sure. If he was cramped, he wouldn't have been able to last another couple sets, that's for sure. Q. Seemed to revive him. LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. Maybe it was something to just take an extra three minutes at the change of ends. I'm not sure. Q. Sort of the tournament starts now? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, well, it does. Baghdatis or Safin, it obviously doesn't matter who gets up tonight, it's going to be a tough match. Both guys can play. They've both played really well here in the past. It's going to be interesting. Yeah, for me, I've got to worry about my game, though, and executing what I want to do, staying aggressive. Obviously it's not the easiest thing being aggressive against Safin, because he's the one that wants to be aggressive out there and dictate play a lot more. So, yeah, a lot depends on who I come up against, I guess. Q. Do you think your game matches up better against one or the other of them? LLEYTON HEWITT: Hard to say. Probably on a day, a little bit different, I guess, depending on day to day. Both guys, you know, great ball‑strikers, a couple of the most talented guys in the world. Yeah, whether they can always provide their best tennis day in, day out, that's probably their biggest question mark, I'd say. Q. Will you watch any of it? LLEYTON HEWITT: I might have a little bit of a look at some of it. I know, for the most part, how both guys play, though, pretty well. Q. I guess maybe Safin, maybe Baghdatis. On Saturday night of the Australian Open, is that about as good as it gets for you? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, or any time at the Australian Open is pretty good. I prefer to be, you know, Sunday week. Doesn't get much better than that. Q. You anticipate a real sort of atmosphere on the court? LLEYTON HEWITT: I think when you start playing the big names, the crowd's always extremely into it. Yeah, it is a big buzz; that's for sure. Q. Do you think you have to improve significantly on today to beat either of those guys? LLEYTON HEWITT: Oh, it's a different kind of match. You know, I know that I can compete against both those guys at my best. Q. Have you got any thoughts on the court, how it's playing for you? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it's still the same as, you know, before the tournament when I practiced on it for the week or so. I'd say it's a medium‑paced hard court. Q. Is it slightly slower than last year? LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't think it's slower than last year, no. Q. You said you know you can compete with the other two at your best. How close to your best do you feel you are? LLEYTON HEWITT: It's hard to say. You know, definitely a couple days ago against Darcis, I played extremely well. If I play like that, then I'm going to give anyone trouble, I think. So, yeah, it's a matter of going out there and executing what I want to do. Yeah, those two guys have a lot more firepower than Darcis. The matchup is going to be different depending on which guy I play, but I'm going to have to play a pretty clean match. Q. Is your confidence at all diminished by today? LLEYTON HEWITT: Not really, no. I feel confident. Yeah, I'm through to the third round. It's a matter of surviving the first week as much as possible. I'm getting there so far. Q. Do you think you play at your best when you are aggressive in matches such as today, and that conversely, when you don't attack, that's when you're vulnerable? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, a lot depends on the opponent I guess. Yeah, it depends ‑‑ you know, the guy today, I dictated early on. He actually handled pretty well on his service games. On my service games, I was winning quite comfortably. In the tiebreaker, I played pretty consistent in the tiebreak. Didn't make a lot of easy errors. Yeah, his forehand definitely broke down on the bigger points. Yeah, you got to be wary of a guy like him. He hasn't played on the big stage too much, either. You've got to ask the question whether he's capable of handling that in a tight situation such as a first‑set tiebreak. Q. Do you have a different approach in the second week of a tournament, different strategy, different tactics? LLEYTON HEWITT: No, not really. I sort of take it match by match. Yeah, if you can survive the first week, put yourself in a position in the second week, you never know how many doors open up for you. |
Lleyton Hewitt interview 15 January 2007 rd 1
Q. That would have to be the best start you've had in a Grand Slam.
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it's up there definitely. Didn't do too much wrong today, especially against ‑‑ I didn't really know a lot about my opponent either.
It's never easy coming into a Grand Slam. First match is always tough, especially not knowing much about the other guy. He obviously knew a fair bit about my game.
So, you know, I went out there and was aggressive at the start and tried to dictate and got off to a good start.
Q. Was that the key to your game, aggressiveness?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I felt I mixed it up well, was aggressive when I needed to and stepped it up on his second serve. You know, especially early in the first set was able to put pressure on his second serve. You know, that made him go after his first serve a little bit more.
You know, then I just felt like I could dictate points from there on in, which made it ‑‑ made him feel like he had to go for a lot more.
Q. Was there something particular you worked on with Rochey that you saw the fruits of today?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Everything is pretty good out there today. You know, obviously against that guy, you know, in the end I felt like I could do pretty much what I wanted to do out there and play on my terms, which is good.
Against the better players they're not going to give you as much opportunity to do that. But, you know, with that said, I felt like I went out there and was aggressive and took what I've been working on in practice on to the match court. Got off to a good start.
Q. Was there anything that Tony wasn't happy with today?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Not that I've heard yet. Wait till I get on the court tomorrow.
No, I think he's pretty happy so far.
Q. Do you still get the collywobbles just before you go out for an Australian Open?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Collywobbles? Football team gets that, mate (laughter).
Q. Butterflies in the stomach.
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, you always get nervous and anxious. I get it every week, but always in Grand Slams. You know, I think any athlete gets that.
You know, especially probably first round, as well, you want to get yourself into the tournament a little bit.
So, yeah, you're always a little bit anxious to try and get that first one under your belt.
Q. No more so this time? You had been out of the game for quite some time last year. No greater anxiety to want to do well?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I don't know. You know, I was looking forward to getting into the tournament, that's for sure. Feels like it's been a few months waiting just to get this tournament going.
Yeah, it's nice to get your foot in the door now and sort of have something there to build on.
Q. You said you worked on your serve. Was there anything that you tinkered with that worked well today?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Not really. I felt like the last few days in practice I've been serving really well. I've just been hitting the spots. You know, the ball toss has been in the right spot. You know, just getting the right amount of spin on it.
Yeah, stuff that Rochey and I have been working on the whole time. I felt in Adelaide and Sydney I served in patches, even when I lost to Gooch. I started to get my serve going in that match. I felt a lot more confident with my service games.
Obviously serving against a guy like Gooch, a little bit different than serving against the best returners, as well. But I felt that was sort of a steppingstone. Then I continued it all last week in practice.
Q. There's been some impression about you can mix it with the top players anymore. Does that give you confidence you can, give you that confidence boost?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Oh, I know I can, so it doesn't really worry me too much what other people say. So, you know, it's a matter of going out there and doing it, though.
Yeah, as I said, you know, today's one match down, and they're only going to get tougher from now on.
Q. What do you know about the next one?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Nothing yet. Yeah, I don't know. I just know he won in four sets. Rochey and I will do our homework, though. We'll know a fair bit about the guy before we go on.
Q. You've never seen him play?
LLEYTON HEWITT: No.
Q. Two sets up and 5‑Love, 30‑Love, you called for the Hawk‑Eye on that line call. Tell us about your reasoning for doing that. Given the circumstances of the match, do you take any of that into account?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, absolutely. I think you have to. You have three up your sleeve before the end of each set these days, then another one in the tiebreak.
Yeah, obviously in that situation I could have done one on the last three points, got them all wrong and it still wouldn't really matter.
Right at the start, when it first came out, you're a little bit ‑‑ I was a little bit backwards towards when to really do it and when you needed to.
That ball, I didn't actually see it when it went past me. There were a couple of ball marks on the court so I couldn't tell. I asked the umpire. He said it was close, and that's when I decided to ‑‑ might as well throw one out there.
Q. Obviously you're well ahead at that stage. Do you take that into account? Do you really need to challenge this one?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Not really. You challenge it on whether you think there's an opportunity there. Yeah, I think towards the end of sets is where more guys are going to challenge, obviously, especially in closer situations when they've got a couple of extra ones up their sleeve.
Q. How much more settled do you feel than this time last year? You've settled in with Tony. Everything seems to be heading in the right direction. Do you feel that's impacting on your game or that it will very soon?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I think so. I think, you know, just having Rochey in my corner, as well, to have a couple of months of hard work, you know, the mutual respect we have for each other, just going out there and practicing and doing all the hard yards.
I know I've done all the hard work with him. We've put in all the hours, you know, that we needed to and prepared as well as possible.
So in terms of that, you know, you just got to worry now about going out there and executing and playing. You know, I don't have too many distractions worrying if I'm fit enough or if I've hit enough balls or worked on the right areas of my game, stuff like that, which is a good thing to know.
Q. How curious are you and some of the other players to see what Roger's going to look like tonight because of the health problems?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Not really. Probably won't watch at all. Unless I get to the semis and he's there. He'll obviously be hitting the ball pretty well if he gets there then.
Q. How much stock do you put into Santoro's record for breaking Agassi's record for Slams in the Open era, and why do you think he's the guy that's done it?
LLEYTON HEWITT: He will today?
Q. Yes.
LLEYTON HEWITT: What is that?
Q. 62.
LLEYTON HEWITT: Just played the most Slams?
Q. Yes.
LLEYTON HEWITT: Okay. Yeah, well, he's been around for a long time and he's still ‑‑ obviously made the semis last week in Sydney. Yeah, he's a very dangerous player. I'm not even sure how old he is, 35, 36 now maybe. Yeah, it's a great record to have, I guess.
Q. Do you feel it's a real accomplishment?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Absolutely. To be able to go out there and put yourself ‑‑ do all the hard work to prepare for Grand Slams isn't easy. For him to be able to keep doing it at that age, and probably more so with him with the game that he's got, because he's not going to blow guys off the court either.
You know, Andre's a little bit different because he can go out there and dictate play and play on his terms a lot more than Fabrice can.
Q. Can you see yourself out there in your mid 30s in Grand Slams?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know. That's a long way. This is my 12th Australian Open in a row. That will put me in the 20s.
Lleyton Hewitt 13.01.08
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Q. What were your thoughts when you saw the draw for your first‑round opponent and also possibly the path ahead? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, not too bad. You can't take anyone lightly. Darcis, he had a big year last year, especially on the challenger circuit. He won an ATP event as well on clay. You know, it's going to be a guy I think I can work my way into the match and get a lot of rhythm. You know, for the draw ahead, there's a long way to go before I have to worry about the big names just yet. Q. The possibility, though, of perhaps meeting Baghdatis or Safin in the third round, it is a tough side of the draw. Are you confident you can go deep into the second week? LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, at the moment I'm just trying, you know, trying to get through my first match and get through the first week. You know, obviously, those guys have got to take care of each other. They're not in the easiest section for those two to play each other, if they both get through in the second round. Yeah, last year I played González in the third round here. He went all the way to the final, so I probably couldn't have gotten a much tougher third round last year. Probably won't be as tough as that. Q. What do you know about Steve Darcis? LLEYTON HEWITT: Not a lot. I've seen him hit a few balls. Seen him play a little bit in Adelaide and Sydney. Yeah, he's going to hit a lot of balls back. Yeah, he looks likes he moves pretty well. No huge weapons, though. Probably pretty similar to Olivier Rochus, I guess. Q. Do you feel at all that time is starting to run out a little bit on your opportunities to win this tournament? LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, every year is another year down the drain, I guess. Not really. I'm only 26 at the moment. Yeah, the body's been feeling really good the last couple of months. Yeah, you need a little bit of luck in any Grand Slam to win it, I think. Yeah, for me right at the moment, it's just a matter of trying to survive the first week. If I put myself in a position deep in the second week, I've got as good a chance as anyone. Q. So you believe you are in the form that you could win possibly? LLEYTON HEWITT: I'm hitting the ball pretty well at the moment in practice. Yeah, if I take that into the match court, then I'll be feeling pretty confident. Q. Do you deal with the expectation of being obviously Australia's No. 1 hope for this tournament better now than you did, say, a couple years ago? LLEYTON HEWITT: No, you know, it's hard. In 2005, you know, it was very hard to deal with it any better than I did there. I guess right at the start, when I first started, we had Flip and Pat Rafter as well, who were obviously the two main guys. It was a pretty good transition for me taking over, especially from Pat once he retired, 'cause I was No. 1 in the world at the time anyway. You know, I've never really felt that much expectation or put more expectation or pressure on myself when I go out here to play. I try and use the crowd to my advantage as much as possible, you know, try and take all the positives that I can. Q. What do you make of Rod Laver, practicing in different temperatures, how is it behaving for you? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it's played pretty similar the whole time I think. It hasn't varied too much. You know, today I hit indoors with the roof closed. The last couple of days, the weather was hot, the first day that I hit here, then a bit cooler the last couple. It hasn't changed too much. I'm happy with the speed of it. I feel pretty confident that I can go out and compete. Q. What is your take on the balls? Marcos Baghdatis said last week they were really heavy with a potential to hurt the arm. Have you seen that at all in the last couple weeks? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, they get a little bit fluffy, especially we change at 7 and 9. Probably those last couple of games before you change for new balls. You probably notice a little bit of a difference especially when you go straight into the new balls rather than, you know, playing with the old balls those last couple of games. The new ball's obviously shooting through a lot quicker. Q. There's been a bit of talk about sportsmanship, bad sportsmanship in Australia of late. Can I get your thoughts, particularly with the Aussie cricket team, the controversy there, and whether you consider yourself a good sport? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I don't know. I don't know enough about ‑ I don't think anyone really does ‑ about the cricket. Yeah, there's obviously a lot of sledging goes on on the field. Who knows what's said and what isn't out there. You know, if no one else has picked it up, it's only between the players that really know. I'm a bit out of position to really talk. But I think in general, the Australian cricket team, I know most of the guys reasonably well. It's harder to find a nicer bunch of guys, I think, especially considering how dominant they've been over a long time now. It would be easy to be very arrogant. But, you know, they go out there and prepare and take on every challenge every time, so... Q. And yourself obviously? LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know. You know, I feel like I'm a pretty good sport, you know, out there. You know, definitely always give my opponents the respect that they deserve whether I win or lose. Q. Do you think you were successful in getting your message across with your comments after the loss in Sydney? LLEYTON HEWITT: What was that? Q. About the umpires. Have you had any contact from any officials? LLEYTON HEWITT: It wasn't about getting my message across. I got asked. That's how I saw them on the day. No one's spoken to me about it. Q. Do you hope it will be better here or do you have confidence it will be better here? LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, it's a lot different situation with Hawk‑Eye here because you can challenge calls. So I just think, yeah, the umpires have obviously changed a little bit over the last couple years when we have Hawk‑Eye in the system. They don't go out and look to overrule quite as much as they probably have in the past I think. Q. Comments in the papers from Wayne Arthurs saying by being more aggressive you may have lost that consistency which made you the best player in the world. Do you think that's a fair comment? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, sometimes. I'm still pretty consistent, though, compared to most guys out there, still play the percentages a lot better than most guys out there, I'd say. So there's probably a handful of guys that are up there in terms of consistency with me. But the game's always changing, as well. And Roger Federer's obviously the guy that's taken the game to a new level. And you've got to look at little ways of, you know, improving your game to be able to match it with the best players. And being slightly a bit more aggressive and maybe not so predictable is maybe one way of doing that. Q. With his lack of preparation, does that change the way you view him going into this tournament? Is there anything to be read not having any hit‑up competitively for months? LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't think so. He played late November. He won the Masters Cup in pretty good fashion, especially the semi and final there. You know, Roger didn't play any matches on grass before Wimbledon this year after losing the final of French. Yeah, he's that good a player that he can work his way into the tournament over the first couple of rounds and get confident and maybe not play his best tennis in the first couple of rounds, but he'll still be able to get through. Yeah, I don't think it's going to affect him a whole lot. Q. You know what it's like to be No. 1 for a long time. Apart from Roger's playing ability, how difficult is it for him just to stay fit the way he has? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yes, it's not easy, especially to be at your peak fitness when everyone wants to knock you off and is trying to knock you off. Yeah, we all talk about his shot‑making, how well he plays on big points. But for him to be able to, you know, his body to be able to stay healthy and a hundred percent, you know, throughout all those Grand Slams is pretty amazing, as well, especially considering how many matches he plays because he wins so much throughout the year. Q. Who else would you see as the major threats here? LLEYTON HEWITT: You know, you throw Nadal in for sure. The bottom half of the draw. Roddick's obviously in there with, you know, sort of the same bunch of guys, I guess. Then Djokovic. Apart from a little hiccup towards the end of last year, you know, he was the stand‑out third best player last year. He made big inroads. He's another guy to watch out for. They're probably the main guys. There's a whole group of guys under it. You look at the last couple of years, Baghdatis, González coming through and making finals, you know, there's a potential for those guys, for a couple of guys to sneak through, as well. Q. For 2008, you got a new coach, Tony Roche. What is your expectation for the whole year? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, right at the moment I haven't really thought about the whole year. I've just been trying to focus on this tournament as much as possible. You know, obviously to try and get back in the top 10 as quickly as possible, cement myself in the top 10. But, you know, with that is giving myself a real shot at all four Grand Slams, not just the Australian Open. I feel like I've been, you know, playing better and better each year at the French Open, so I look forward to the challenge there. And obviously Wimbledon and the US are two places I've played well in the past. Every year you sort of talk about the Grand Slams. But that's the main priority, all four of them. Q. How about the Olympics? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, the Olympics as well. It's a tough time of the year I think for all tennis players to play the Olympics and fit it in their schedule, and, yeah, sometimes peak at the Olympics because the way we're situated. We play two Masters Series, play the Olympics, then go back for the US Open. That's probably one of the reasons you saw so many upsets in Athens. |