US Open doubles champion in-form for Sydney 2000 Olympics
14 September 2000 (Official Sydney Olympic Site)

SYDNEY — Lleyton HEWITT (AUS) Australia's highest ranked player, gave centre
court a test run on Thursday when he hit up against teammate Andrew ILIE
(AUS) in a training session.
 
HEWITT, undefeated on centre court at the NSW Tennis Centre, showed the form
that won him the US Open men's doubles title this year, displaying his speed
around the court.

ILIE, known for his erratic style of play, tried to bring some humour to the
session by unsuccessfully attempting to return one of HEWITT's serves with
the handle of his racquet.

Under the guidance of team captain Tony ROCHE (AUS), ILIE paid particular
attention to his serve while HEWITT practised his ground strokes. END

Aussie hopes high for Olympic tennis glory
By Sports.com's MICHAEL UBEROI
September 13, 2000

Tennis lovers in Australia are optimistic that their desire for a home grown
winner of the Sydney tournament will be satisfied.

Contenders with the pedigree of Pat Rafter, Lleyton Hewitt and Mark
Philippoussis have proved tempting prospects to the betting public, and this
is hardly surprising given the unique brand of national pride that seems to
characterise so many Australian sportsmen.

Lleyton Hewitt is a good example. Already famed for his grit and willingness
to chase lost causes, as well as his manic self motivating cries of "Come
on!", Hewitt has been proclaiming the importance of this tournament for
months.

He is sure to enjoy overwhelming crowd support in each of his matches, and
comes off a fine US Open which saw him go down 6-7, 4-6, 6-7 to Pete Sampras
in the semi-final, and claim his first Grand Slam title in the men's doubles.

Hewitt has been well marketed as the future of Australian tennis, and his
jingoism is certain to go down well with the home fans.

Undoubted class

The same factors apply to Rafter. His undoubted class means he remains one of
the favourites, despite his first round exit from the US Open.

Rafter has enjoyed top form as recently as Wimbledon, where he reached the
final with Sampras, and the double US Open champion has long been talking of
Sydney as one of his priorities for the year.

Australian heads have also been turned by Jelena Dokic's return to form in
the second half of the season.

Dokic reached the semi-final of Wimbledon and only went out of the US Open to
Serena Williams in the fourth round, thereby continuing her run after her
father had been ejected from the tournament.

Damir Dokic, a character in the very best tradition of 'tennis parents from
Hell', was caught launching into an impassioned, expletive riddled plea for
cheaper salmon platter at the Open, and ejected for his troubles..

Banned and barred

This continued an admirably consistent sequence of form from Mr Dokic, who
was banned from the Australian Open for abusing a cameraman, and barred from
Wimbledon after breaking a reporter's mobile phone.

Mr Dokic is thought to be 'disappointed' with his uneventful display in the
French...

However, Australian fans find his boorish behaviour no laughing matter.
Players at the North Sydney tennis club "Love n' Deuce" were united in their
disapproval, with club coach Jon Kemp musing: "Dokic herself is a nice
player, a lovely kid. The problem is her father, and she's not old enough yet. END

A preview of the first round match

Lleyton Hewitt - 4 (AUS) vs Max Mirnyi (BLR)
Fouth seed Lleyton Hewitt is main hope of local fans for a tennis medal - at
least in singles. The 19-year-old has played an impressive season, winning
four titles and reaching the US Open semifinals. However, he faces a tough
first round match against Max Mirnyi, with whom he just won the US Open
doubles title. Better known for his doubles exploits, Mirnyi has recently
emerged as a force in singles as well. At the US Open, he defeated Karol
Kucera and Albert Costa before falling to Magnus Norman in a heroic five-set
battle after winning the first two sets.

Mirnyi has one of the hardest serves on the circuit and plays an aggressive
serve and volley tennis. Hewitt is probably the fastest player on the ATP
Tour. He can bring almost any ball back, makes a lot of pressure from the
baseline, but has also improved his service and his volleys. With the support
of the home crowd, Hewitt has to be considered the favorite in this match of
doubles partners.

Hewitt downed in major upset
20 September 2000 (Official Olympic Site)

In a day of upsets, Australia's leading hope and number four seed Lleyton
HEWITT (AUS) was bundled out in the first round of the Men's Singles Tennis
by Max MIRNYI (BLR).  
Centre court is becoming a bogey site for the seeds, with number one seed
Marat SAFIN (RUS) losing earlier in the day. HEWITT, who had an unblemished
record on this centre court, lost in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.
In a classic tennis battle of contrasts, the serve and volley game of MIRNYI
clashed with the baseline hugging game of HEWITT. MIRNYI used his power to
advantage, jumping to an early lead in the first set, breaking HEWITT in the
second game.
MIRNYI'S serve was impressive throughout, clocking speeds well over the
200kph barrier, up as high as 215kph.
In a month where MIRNYI and HEWITT teamed up to win the US Open doubles
title, MIRNYI'S volleying skills came back to haunt the young Australian, as
MIRNYI frequently rushed the net to take advantage of his power game, winning
numerous cheap points.
HEWITT's ground stroking ability built momentum however, using his extra
speed and accurate groundstrokes to move the player from Belarus around the
court.
This was the key as HEWITT broke back in the fifth game with some stunning
passing shot winners. The fightback was short-lived, as MIRNYI broke HEWITT
again in the eighth game, and then survived three break points in the ninth
game to win the set 6-3.
The beginning of the second set mirrored the first as MIRNYI'S huge frame
lunging around the net made things difficult for the teenager.
Though HEWITT showed flashes of his passing shots that have helped catapult
him up the rankings over the past year to a high of seven, it was not enough
as MIRNYI closed out the match in one hour and 15 minutes.
END

Hewitt knocked out by doubles partner
(SMH-The Age)
By GARY STOCKS
10:45PM, Sep 20

Lleyton Hewitt's Olympic dream was shredded tonight by a man who a fortnight
ago shared in one of the great moments of his brief tennis career.
From partner to party-pooper, powerful Belarussian Max Mirnyi blasted past
the pugnacious Hewitt in an exhilarating display of power tennis, winning 6-3
6-3.
Mirnyi partnered Hewitt to give the excitable South Australian teenager his
first grand slam title at the US Open earlier this month, but made no
concessions for the host nation-hope, never allowing the fourth seed the
opportunity to slot into the groove.
Typically, Hewitt fought determinedly, but Mirnyi packed too much punch in a
serve which consistently clocked more than 200km/h. Hewitt held break points
several times, but could convert only once - in the first set.
The first two points of the match gave an insight into how it would be
played. Hewitt, after latching on to a second serve, hit a backhand winner
down the line. Mirnyi responded with a 195km/h serve on the second point.
Such was the quality of Mirnyi's serve that Hewitt was given precious few
chances to apply some heat and maintain his unbeaten record on centre court
at the NSW Tennis Centre.
''I had a lot of break points, but didn't take them,'' Hewitt said. ''I
didn't play nearly as well as I did in the lead-up to the US Open or in the
US Open. If he's on he's very hard to beat.
''It's disappointing, but it's one of those things. It's part of being an
athlete. You have your ups and downs and this is one of my downs.''