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L.
HEWITT/ M. Hantschk 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
Q. Lleyton, watching you out there it seemed like there was something a little
lacking from your game. Does it feel like that to you as well?
LLEYTON HEWITT: A little bit. I went out too aggressive today was the main
reason I think. I went out there and tried to win the match off my racquet right
from the start. It was very hard. I had never seen this guy play before. I
didn't know what he looked like until he walked out on the court.
It's a tough situation, as you could see. He ran down a lot of balls, was a good
defensive player. I really started with that early and, you know, he played as
well as anyone I've played before on clay for the first three sets for sure. And
he didn't give me any cheap points. I had to work for a lot of points. At the
start of the second set I told myself, you know, "I got to sit back here a
little bit and sort of wait for my time and then come in with the short ball and
put pressure on him and not take those chances too early."
That's one thing I have been learning the last few weeks, but I've still got a
lot of learning about playing on clay. It's different than hardcourt.
Q. Do you feel you are at your best at the moment?
LLEYTON HEWITT: It's interesting. I've got a lot of confidence when I step out
on the court. Not once today did I actually doubt myself that I was going to
lose that match today. You know, that's a good feeling to have. Obviously if I
was playing someone else who maybe, you know, had been in a situation in a Grand
Slam before, it could have been a different story. But he was pretty
inexperienced, I think, in this sort of situation and that definitely helped me.
But, you know, who knows? I could come out to my next match and play blind.
Q. Do you think patience was the key today? As you said, you did come out and
try to finish a lot of points quickly.
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, for sure. I told myself when I was sitting down, I just
lost the first set 6-2, I told myself, "If I'm going to win this, I'm going
to have to grind it out."
You have days where you're not hitting the ball as cleanly as you'd like to be.
You have to go back to your basics, your strengths. My strengths is I'm going to
sit out there all day until hopefully I come off that court a winner. I think
that's one thing I had in my favor today, being mentally tough on the court.
Q. Do you think that it's a possibility that you will face Mark Philippoussis in
the final? (Laughter.)
LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, I'd say you'd get pretty good odds on it, that's for sure.
Q. Lleyton, Pat came in before and was asked about a few people and their types
of games. He said he feels you have a good game for clay, but perhaps you're not
ready to win an event like this yet. Do you agree with him?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, for sure. My whole campaign this year, I came -- I missed
Monte Carlo, started in Rome, played Rome, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, World Team Cup,
then the French. That whole period, that's a tough period.
I could have very easily won a match by now. I really had a lot of play on clay.
There's not a lot of claycourts I had in Australia to practice on before either,
before I came over here. They're not very similar to the European clay anyway.
You know, I made the Semifinals in Rome, I lost second round in Hamburg, beat
Mark Philippoussis first round which had a good round there, had a couple of
defaults in there. I felt like every time I step on the claycourt I'm learning
something. That's a big bonus for me.
I think Darren and I and Peter Smith were working on that before we came away, a
game that's maybe two, three, four years down the track -- that hopefully I'll
be holding up the trophy here.
Q. Do you talk claycourt tactics with Darren?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, for sure. We definitely work on a lot of different things.
If I was playing on hardcourt, you know, because I have grown up on hardcourt,
that is nothing really to worry about. I have to go out there and play my
natural game. On clay it's totally different.
Q. Lleyton, you still probably are coming up against a lot of people on clay
particularly that you haven't met before. How do you actually prepare for that
sort of -- to come against someone for the first time?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I get someone..?
Q. You know, you're just sort of saying you hadn't met Hantschk before.
LLEYTON HEWITT: It's very hard. I asked a few guys around today and a lot of the
Australian guys hadn't seen him play either, so I didn't really have a lot to go
on, a few of the other guys who played him in a couple of the Challengers and
stuff like that. It's totally different until you've actually seen the player
and you've seen him hit. It's still different until you've played him as well.
And I had to go out there and just hopefully play my game at the start and that
wasn't working at the start so I had to go back to my basics and then work on
his strengths and weaknesses.
Q. What about facing El Aynaoui in the next round
LLEYTON HEWITT: Who's that?
Q. Your next round opponent.
LLEYTON HEWITT: Savolt?
Q. Sorry.
LLEYTON HEWITT: I have no clue who he is either.
Q. He ain't ranked at all.
LLEYTON HEWITT: Pardon?
Q. He's not ranked.
LLEYTON HEWITT: He's not ranked. There you go. Anything can happen.
Yeah, obviously he must have beaten Koubek.
Q. He retired.
LLEYTON HEWITT: He retired?
Q. He was disqualified.
LLEYTON HEWITT: He got disqualified.
Q. For what? 5-2 in the fourth set.
LLEYTON HEWITT: Obviously this guy, I think he came back from two sets to love
the first day against Rodriguez. He's a great player, a qualifier, he's got a
lot of matches, got a lot of confidence.
I have to go out there and stop that run. I've got to go out there and play like
the No. 9 player in the world and really try to get a point across right from
the start.
Q. Will you play at Wimbledon? And if you will, will you come to England earlier
to practice?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I'm playing Wimbledon, I'm playing Queen's, and then I'll go to
Rosmalen in the Netherlands and then back for Wimbledon. Pretty good grass
court.
Q. John Newcombe and Tony Roche were watching the match today. When they're
here, do you get together with them and Darren as a sort of group and all talk
among yourselves, or do you sort of talk to them perhaps separately?
LLEYTON HEWITT: No, no. That's a good thing about Darren, that he does have such
a good relationship with all the other Australian coaches and the other
Australian players as well, Patrick Rafter and those types of guys. If Pat's got
an idea about my game, he'll go straight to Darren and say it. Darren has no
problems with that.
That's a good thing about the whole Davis Cup situation at the moment. Newk and
Roche get along well with Darren. We sit down and talk about errors in my game
that I have to work on. Everyone is sort of happy with the way it's going on.
Q. You talked about playing like the No. 9 player in the world. Do you feel like
the No. 9 player in the world, or has it happened so quickly that it's hard to
get your head around?
LLEYTON HEWITT: It has a little bit. It's a very strange feeling. You know, when
you're not in the Top 10 and your goal -- or you're working towards the Top 10,
you're sort of very excited to, you know, to be sort of working for that goal I
suppose. And actually when you get there it's a strange feeling, a little bit of
an empty feeling I suppose.
It's such an honor I suppose to be the Top 10 player in the world at some stage
in your career. There's not a lot of players who can say they've done it. For me
to have done it at such a young age, it's obviously nice sort of walking around
the place being the ninth seed in such a big event, but I've still got to go out
there and play like the No. 9 player in the world and sort of show the results,
why I'm there.
Q. Lleyton, some players complain about the different quality of the individual
courts here in Roland Garros. Did you have the same experience?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I played on Suzanne Lenglen, I think, during that exhibition on
Sunday. To me, it was totally different to the outside courts that I've played
on. It was very hard to slide on, I found, that particular court. And if I was
to play on it, I'd definitely have to look at another -- different pair of shoes
that I'd have to wear. Didn't feel like much top soil on the court as well and
probably a little bit slower I'd say as well.
Q. Can I ask you a couple of questions about the Olympics at your home country.
What is your general feelings about playing the Olympics at home?
LLEYTON HEWITT: It's a dream. Yeah, it's going to be a great honor sort of
walking out there for the opening ceremony with every other top athlete around
the world, and standing behind the Australian flag's going to be fantastic. To
be doing it at such a young age and in your home country your first Olympics, on
a surface that I love as well and I've grown up on, it's, yeah, it's definitely
one of the biggest things this year.
Q. Maybe bigger than the Grand Slams as well?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. It's very hard to say until you win. They're probably on
par, but one's playing for yourself and one's playing for your nation. And
that's the thing that I experienced in the Davis Cup last year.
It's just a great feeling, sort of doing it for your country and, you know, the
Davis Cup, the team thing as well. Whereas the Olympics is a little bit more
individual in the singles. To be out there playing for Australia, it's the
greatest honor anyone could have.
Q. Would you say that suits your personality to play for your country?
LLEYTON HEWITT: For sure. There's no doubt about that. I give everything I've
got in -- so far in all the Davis Cup matches that I've played. Yeah, I think I
rise for the occasion a little bit.
L. HEWITT/ J.
Tarango 7/6, 7/6, 6/3
Q. Lleyton, you used to be Rocky but now apparently you're Mike Tyson. How do
you account for that change in personality?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I got no idea.
Q. What happened out there where he seemed to be saying, "I can't help it
if I'm playing Mike Tyson out here." How did you react to that?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I knew going into the match today, you know, as soon as I was
playing Jeff Tarango, you have to be in for every surprise. You really go out
there not knowing what's going to happen out there, how many line calls he's
going to dispute or anything. He tries to lose, I suppose, lose your
concentration out there a little bit on the court. That's why today I had to try
and block that out as much as possible.
I felt like I did pretty well. I was a little bit in and out of the match, but I
felt like I blocked out sort of his emotions and his talking and that sort of
thing between the changeovers most of the time.
Q. He seemed to be taking exception to your fidgeting before returning serve. Is
that how you saw it?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I didn't see that at all.
Q. When he was calling you Mike Tyson, you had nervous ticks and that sort of
thing?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I didn't hear anything, no, no, I'm not sure about that.
Q. Overall, your performance, were you satisfied?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Pretty good. You know, obviously I haven't won a match here
before. It's always nice getting through the first round, especially coming here
as a seeded player this year as well. It's a big bonus to have a three-set match
win as well when I have to back it up tomorrow most likely in the second round.
So, you know, I probably can definitely hit the ball a little bit better than I
did today. There's a few areas in my game I wanted to work on and that, but
apart from that, you can't complain with a straight sets win.
Q. How do you like your quadrant of the draw with Agassi and Koubek's in there
and a couple of the maybe dangerous players?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I haven't really looked that far to tell you the truth. I know
the next guy I play I think it's Hantschk, yeah, I don't know anything about
him. I know he's German, I know he's right-handed and a pretty handy claycourt
player. He had a pretty tough match today with Prinosil. I'm definitely going to
have my work cut out in that one. I haven't looked back that far.
Q. Lleyton, this is your first Grand Slam as a seed. How does that affect the
way you prepare for things and go about your business?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Obviously, there's a lot more attention, I suppose, walking
around the courts as a seed, a lot more people know you as well, they notice the
guy on the practice courts, everyone's sort of coming up and asking for
autographs. A year ago I was ranked around 40, something like that, 45, and
really I don't think many people really knew who I was or hadn't seen me play
before. It's definitely a big change in that.
For me, personally, I'm still going out there with the attitude that I'm not
putting any added pressure on myself because I am a seed in a Grand Slam now.
The reason I have got that seed is because I've had a great start to the year
and I've got to try to keep that roll going. I've got to sort of think back to
some of those matches I played earlier in the year and try to repeat it here.
Q. Claycourt, long matches. You think the doubles might be a little bit too much
for you, Lleyton?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Don't know. (Laughing.) I think Pat Rafter's probably in a worse
situation than me. I'm playing with Pat and obviously, you know, depending on
his shoulder, how that goes, is whether we end up playing or not.
Q. Is doubles helping to push you forward in singles to finish off some points
earlier?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I think no doubt that it's helped me this year. Obviously I had
a lot of matches, I played so many matches at the start of the year that maybe
everyone was saying that it cost me the Australian Open match against Norman
there because I was sort of running out of gas at that point. But I felt it's
been a big bonus just on the days off and that to go out and play doubles
instead of going out and grinding for an hour, hour and a half. I feel it's an
enjoyable way, I'm playing with players like Mark Woodforde, Sandon Stolle, Pat
Rafter are the three guys I played with this year. To be alongside those types
of doubles players has been exciting for me.
Q. Lleyton, you haven't been accessible for media requests. Is that a reaction
to negative press in Australia? What's the thinking behind that?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Pretty much the negative press that I got in Australia. You
know, it's just very hard to trust anyone, I suppose, and I had done actually a
lot of interviews other than Australia, Australian media, you know. I feel like
at the moment the Australian public sort of knows where I am and what I'm doing
and, you know, they had sort of their chance to have interviews during the Davis
Cup tie when I was in Adelaide and that, and then the two weeks after that I
didn't want to do anything before I came away, I just wanted to practice and
that's all I wanted my mind on.
I actually did a few phone calls with European and American magazines, and for
the exposure, I think it's good to sort of get an international -- sort of
recognized internationally as well as Australia.
An interview with LLEYTON HEWITT
GREG SHARKO: Lleyton advances to his first career Tennis Masters Series semifinal. At 19 years, he's the youngest semifinalist on the male side in the 16-year history of the tournament. First question.
Q. Was the hand sign something you planned to do?
LLEYTON HEWITT: What do you mean, "planned to do"? If I won?
Q. Obviously it means you cracked the Top 10.
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yes, it was definitely a goal of mine. To do it on this trip, this three-tournament trip, it's fantastic. Obviously starting the year at 22, had to defend a lot of points over the Australian summer from just bonus points, Adelaide and Sydney the year before. You know, it's at unbelievable feeling to have done it so early in the year, as well.
Q. So what next?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Don't know. Haven't had time to think about it yet.
Q. You continually were able to pin him back, make him playoff balance. Is that what you wanted to do or just the way the match developed?
LLEYTON HEWITT: It was probably a tactic that I went out there with. Obviously, Jan-Michael is a big hitter of the ball. He's got a great serve as well. I knew I had to be seeing the ball very well out there tonight and try and pick up his serve as much as possible and take the opportunities every time I got it. You know, I felt like one area that I had an advantage was definitely movement. I had to use that to my advantage as much as possible and make him play as many shots off balance as possible. You know, I feel like I did that pretty well tonight. You know, really I only played one bad game on my service game. The first three points of that game, he actually did get a net cord in every point. You know, a little bit unlucky, but I didn't make any first serves either.
Q. You were quick enough to play that second lob on that remarkable point.
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it was a big point in the tiebreaker, turned out to be. You know, it was a good point. I felt it was going to be whoever got that sort of mini break first was in a big advantage. Obviously with Jan-Michael's serve, if he got ahead, it was going to be very hard to break back. I think that was sort of a big turning point in that second set tiebreak.
Q. Pete is going to come out tomorrow and shorten the points, keep you from getting any rhythm on your groundstrokes. What are your plans for Pete?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I'm just going to go out there and give it a hundred percent, like I have in every other match. I'm going to go out there and play my game. Obviously I'm going to have to play my very best tennis if I'm going to come off the court a winner tomorrow. But I know that. We had a close game at Queen's last year. It's just great to sort of be on the other end of the court against such a great player.
Q. Do you like having a target up there at the net?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't really don't mind. I definitely don't dislike it at all.
Q. When you get on sort of a sequence of victories like this, how much does your confidence swell whenever you go out there to play? Do you begin to almost feel as though you're unbeatable?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know about unbeatable. But I definitely feel like I've got a presence out there on the court every time I step out. I felt it back in Sydney, even after I won that Adelaide tournament. I went out there and I played every match on center court during the whole Australian summer. I just felt I had this presence out on the court. That was a big turning point for me. Even if the first round against Grosjean in Sydney, I had lost to him in the Davis Cup dead rubber there, but I still just had this self-belief and confidence just coming off the win in Adelaide. It really did wonders for me. It feels like that every time I step on the tennis court now.
Q. Does it hold when you go up against somebody like Pete or Andre, say?
LLEYTON HEWITT: All I can do, you know, I don't know how I'm going to feel tomorrow, but I'm pretty confident about how my game's going to play tomorrow. I feel that, you know, I'm not going to have a letdown in my game. Obviously if Pete is a better player on the day, that's too good. I can't do much about that. I'm going to go out there and be hitting the ball as well as I've been hitting it. I know that for sure.
Q. Is it a perfect opportunity playing Pete, given the run that you're having, to actually just measure yourself against the very best? LLEYTON HEWITT: It's always great to play the best players. You know, especially in big tournaments, as well, because you know they're going a hundred percent. We're both going to be going at it tomorrow. You know, these are a good chance for me to match my game up against such a good player. He's possibly the greatest player ever to live. For me to step out on the court with him, 19 years of age, with this record at the moment, it's a good opportunity for me.
Q. You don't seem at all surprised about your run this spring. Seems like you were waiting for it to happen; you were ready for it. LLEYTON HEWITT: You know, it probably really hasn't sunk in as yet. Obviously, I've had a great Australian summer - the last three summers really - at such a young age. You know, I think everybody sort of expects that now every time I go to Australia. That wasn't such a surprise, even though I did have a lot of wins under my belt. But obviously this stretch has been fantastic for me. To do it away from home, I enjoy these three tournaments, they're great tournaments to be around. They're well-run tournaments. I enjoy getting out there and playing. These three tournaments, I've looked forward to coming over and doing well. Obviously, I don't think it's sunk in that I'm in the semis of this one yet. Obviously, you know, I am in the Top 10, it's a good achievement.
Q. When you got over here from Australia, won at Scottsdale, when you got to Indian Wells, did you sense that people were coming out to see you as more or less a curiosity at first, "Who is this guy?" If that is the case, have you moved away from the curiosity stage to the established stage where people now know Lleyton Hewitt is a Top 10 player?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know. I think there are still a lot of people out there who don't know who was I was, away from Australia. Hopefully I am getting a bigger name around the world. I think a lot of people in Scottsdale sort of knew who I was from last year, making the final there. You know, the Scottsdale crowd was fantastic for me. The whole week I played there, they were really behind me, got behind me, helped me get through. I feel like I had good support in Indian Wells, as well. I'm not sure if they came out because they were sort of looking at, "Who is this young kid winning all these matches," or they actually did know some of my background. It's hard to say.
Q. Where are you playing in the buildup to the French and also for Wimbledon?
LLEYTON HEWITT: At the moment, I'm playing Rome, Hamburg, World Team Cup, French, Queen's, Rosmalen, Wimbledon.
Q. Can you just remind us how that match against Pete developed at Queen's?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I got an early break in the first set, won the first set. Tight second set. Lost my serve towards the end of the second set. I can't remember the actual stages. It was like a 4-3, 5-4 game. On serve till then. Right at the end of the second set, rain came. You know, it's England.
Q. Australia sometimes.
LLEYTON HEWITT: Come on, mate. We've got a roof. I probably had about a two-hour delay, came back out and played, broke first game of the third set. I led until 3-2, then Pete broke back. Had breakpoint at 5-All in the third. Had a mini break in the tiebreaker. Ended up losing.
Q. Your recollection is a bit hazy then.
LLEYTON HEWITT: A little bit. I don't remember every point, but most of them.
Q. Weren't you two points away from winning that before the tiebreak in the third set?
LLEYTON HEWITT: No. I was still going to serve for it. I had breakpoint, he served a second serve which could have been called in, could have been called out. It got called in. It was one of those that the top players come up with on big points. I could have been a call away, but I still would have had to go down there and serve for it.
Q. How did you get thrown together with Darren?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Ever since I was pretty young, my dad knows his dad through football background. Obviously when his knees packed up, he was back in Adelaide owning clubs and bars and stuff like that. I think mom rang Darren up and asked if I could have a hit because there weren't that many hitting partners in Adelaide.
Q. How old were you?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I can't remember. Probably ten. A bit older than that, 12, something like that. I just started hitting with him once or twice a week and gradually got more and more. The actual first week he travelled with me was to the Perth Challenger before I went to the Australian men's hard court, the year I lost to Enqvist in the final. It was the end of '97 -- '98, start of '99. Then I went right through since then.
Q. How do you think the reaction to your performance will be greeted back home? Have you had any idea how it's been so far? LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, in one way I'm sure they're very happy. I don't know, probably they're a little disappointed that I won't get back there to practice on grass as much as possible. Obviously, I think the Australian fans and public are behind me, you know, a hundred percent. I think they're probably looking forward to me getting back there and playing the Davis Cup tie next Friday.
Q. It's going to be like from the frying pan into the fire. With Philippoussis having pulled out, the onus will be on you.
LLEYTON HEWITT: Has he pulled out?
Q. That's the theory.
LLEYTON HEWITT: I think he's having an MRI.
Q. Let's say he doesn't play. Suddenly the onus will be on you once again to kind of lead the charge, as it were.
LLEYTON HEWITT: I still think we've got a great side, though. I don't feel any added pressure. I've got a hundred percent support, confidence in the rest of the guys that they can go out there and win their matches as well. I don't feel like somebody's going to lose, so I've got to go out there and win my singles. That's one thing that has been a big thing for Australian tennis. We've always had these good No. 2's sort of backing us up in the Davis Cup matches, particularly the last couple years.
Q. How old were you when you broke a hundred pounds?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I have no idea, mate.
Q. Were you kind of small?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Pretty below average my whole life for my age.
Q. Then you shot up height-wise?
LLEYTON HEWITT: A little bit. Getting there.
Q. At the start of the year, I think you were setting some sort of ranking goals for the end of the year. Do you think you'd be Top 10 before the 1st of July?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Will I?
Q. Did you think that was possible?
LLEYTON HEWITT: No, not before Adelaide I wouldn't have said because I was defending so many points. You know, I've got Delray Beach coming up pretty soon, as well. If I looked at my schedule, I would have said the big opportunity for me was Toronto, Cincinnati, Indianapolis. I'd say they're the big three weeks because I missed those last year. Even though I went to the US Open and made the third round, I wasn't a hundred percent there playing. I really only did it to test the ankle out and to make sure that I was able to play the Davis Cup the following week. You know, I feel like if I looked at my schedule, I would have picked out that sort of month as my big month to sort of chase a lot of points.
Q. What's the new target?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Haven't even thought about it yet. Obviously, probably next thing is to look at the Grand Slams, I think, really, and the rest of the Masters Series. This is only one Masters Series. There's still a lot to go.
Q. Is there anything you did specifically to put yourself in position to make this run or is it actually just part of a development on your part?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Not really. When I went into the Australian summer, my whole goal was to be hitting the ball the best come the Monday morning of the Australian Open. Obviously I just love playing in Adelaide. Sort of it all started there really. I had a bit of a shaky start. Beat Mark Woodforde in the first round of Adelaide. After that, it just kept going.
Fourth
round Aust Open, Magnus NORMAN defeated Lleyton HEWITT
6-3 6-1 7-6(8-6)
Q. An extraordinary ride, Lleyton. I guess it had to
come
to an end some time. Can you give a perspective
where
things have been at for the last couple of weeks?
A. It has been hard to reflect on anything just yet.
As
you said, it was going to have to come to an end at
some
stage. You know, I was hoping to continue for a
little
bit longer but, realistically, it was always going
to be
tough right through the summer. Magnus played a
great
match today and there was not much I could do out
there,
particularly in the first couple of sets. He came
out
and then he was on fire after the start and I think
to
my credit, I never gave in and gave 100 per cent the
whole time and nearly got myself in.
Q. Newcombe said you were a bit flat before the
match. Is
there a reason for that?
A. I felt a bit flat out on the court. The only
reason I
could think of was because I played too many
matches.
I had to pull out of mixed doubles because of that.
Yesterday I was probably a little bit flat in the
doubles as well.
Q. Just fatigue?
A. I think so. When you play that many matches - and
I have never done that before, really, I have played
a
lot of tough matches as well, it takes its toll.
Q. The chances in the third set where you had a set
point,
did you feel you had a possibility to come back in
the
match?
A. For sure. I think if I could have scraped out of
that
third set, I still wasn't playing my best tennis. I
was
just out there fighting. It was a day when I did
struggle with my ground strokes. My consistency
wasn't
there today. He really overpowered me on the court.
I felt like if I could struggle out of that third
set
and put a little bit of doubt into his mind, I was
still
in there with a small chance.
Q. Even in the tiebreak you had a chance?
A. I got back to 6-6 and went for a pretty stupid
second
serve.
Q. Is he the most powerful guy you have played in
this run
and if so is that a factor?
A. It's hard to say. He is definitely as powerful as
any
of the guys, but I would probably say Enqvist was
pretty
powerful in Adelaide and also Escude was. Obviously
those three guys are the most powerful I have
played.
Q. The last recent times, has it been one of those
freakish
patches or is there something in your game where we
are
going to expect this sort of performance? You took
apart a couple of those guys early on?
A. I think that's a good sign for me. In the past I
have
always struggled in the first couple of rounds, and
particularly in Sydney as well I had a lot more
comfortable victories than I normally have on the
tour.
I think that's a good sign. If you are playing those
guys, you see Sampras and Agassi, Philippoussis,
Rafter
go out there and crush those guys in the first
couple of
rounds and get their game honed in the semis and
final.
That's a good sign for me and it's going to take a
couple more steps to get up there though.
Q. Was today a reminder you have a long way to go to
be a
top echelon type of player?
A. It's hard to say. I've been hitting the ball
great all
week. I obviously didn't play my best match today.
Obviously there is still a lot of steps I have got
to
take and a lot of areas in my game that I have to
try
and work on to break into the top 10 and be a chance
for
the rest of the Grand Slams as well.
Q. The two double faults in that third game which
gave him
a break and you were behind and he is a class
player,
was that just a lapse of concentration?
A. A little bit. I wasn't really happy with the
string
tension actually on my racquet at that stage of the
match. There is no excuse for serving double faults,
but I was probably more disappointed with the second
one
than the first one. But it did put me under a lot of
pressure on an early break in the first set. In
other
matches I would have been on top of the guys from
the
start.
Q. I think it was six, seven deuces. How crucial was
that?
A. It was a big game. At 1-0 in the first set, 15-15
I had
a short forehand and missed it. He wasn't hitting
the
ball that well at that stage and I gave him a little
bit
of a break and, who knows, it's hard to say, but
whether
I could have got up that early break in the first
set,
maybe things would have been different. Maybe he
would
have done a bit more running once he lost his
confidence.
Q. Given the heights you have reached in the last
few
weeks, is there an enormous sense of let down right
now?
A. Not really. It's always tough to take a loss,
particularly here because it is my favourite
tournament. It's always tough but the thing is I
have
obviously played good tennis over the last month or
so.
If someone was going to tell me that I'd win both
matches and make the round of 16 I would have taken
it.
You have got to put it whatever - I think I have
learnt
a lot on and off the court in the last month and I
will
be a better player because of it.
Q. Do you soak up the Lleyton mania or did you try
and shut
it out over the past month?
A. I have tried to block it out as much as possible.
It's
obviously very tough when you are in Australia and
the
last two or three weeks have been mainly Mark and
myself
in the papers but that's part of being a
professional
athlete really. I feel like I have handled it
appropriately well so far.
Q. Did it take a mental and physical effort to
believe you
would win seven matches in a Grand Slam, mentally
very
tough as well?
A. It was tough but I have been taking it one match
at a
time. I never pictured myself in the final of this
week. The first round was very tough for me and then
I
had a couple of easy matches. I was taking every
match
as it comes. I didn't really look at making the
semis
or the final at the start of last week.
Q. You beat him last year. How much better was he
today or
was it just that you were a bit tired?
A. He is definitely improving. He definitely didn't
play
as well as that last year. I think it shows in his
rankings, he won five tournaments last year. He is
going to be in the top 10 pretty quickly.
Q. What sort of a chance do you give him to go
through to
the final at least?
A. It's hard to say. If he plays the way he did
today he
is going to be hard to beat in the bottom section.
Obviously Agassi and Sampras are the stand out
favourites for the tournament now. He has got a
couple
of tough matches. If he is going to be playing
Kiefer
in the quarters and probably Yevgeny in the semis he
is
going to have to play another three tough matches to
win
it but it's not out of the question.
Q. Newk just announced Mark Philippoussis will be
playing
in Zurich with you. Does that surprise you or how do
you react?
A. The whole time Flip has been saying that he is
available
to play. He was announced in the squad like everyone
else and it'll be great playing alongside him again.
Q. Lleyton I have just got some questions from our
marketing department. Apparently Nike, you know they
have brought out a Lleyton Hewitt hat. Apparently
they
have sold 600 of those during this tournament. How
does
that make you feel 600 people are lining up to buy a
Lleyton Hewitt hat?
A. That's good I think. I spoke about it late last
year,
making these hats. I was disappointed I couldn't get
a
Tommy Haas one, I could never get any of those and I
spoke to one of the guys from Nike and they thought
it
was a pretty good idea for the summer circuit. They
have been pretty lucky up to today.
Q. Do you get a commission on each hat?
A. No; I wish I did.
Q. One last one. Because the hat has your turnaround
thing, does this mean you are now contractually
obliged
to wear the hat backwards?
A. No, I don't think it's written down anywhere.
When I
play my best tennis is when my hat is backwards.
Q. Lleyton, how do you feel about the possibility of
playing doubles in the Davis Cup?
A. I hadn't really thought about it. Obviously we
are a
chance. With Mark Woodforde retiring from Davis Cup
now
there is a lot of combinations that we can still
play.
It would depend on how my first singles go as well.
A
lot of us have played a lot of matches. If I'm
feeling
right it will be great to play in.
Q. Just on the past month, you have been fairly well
known
in Australia for a while now. Has there been an
upsurge
over the past four weeks?
A. Yeah, I think it's definitely getting bigger and
bigger. Before I was probably more known in Adelaide
I would say. It's really the last two weeks when I
have
been in Sydney and Melbourne it's been pretty big as
well. I think that's good, it's good for Australian
tennis to have another name up there with
Philippoussis
and Rafter.
Q. Will you continue to play doubles and mixed
doubles in
Grand Slams or do you think that this time it might
have
cut down on your energy levels a little?
A. I'll continue to play doubles; mixed doubles I'm
not
sure. My doubles ranking is not good enough to get
me
in anyway so I'd need a wildcard. At this stage I
will
continue to play doubles. I would like to get my
doubles ranking up. Obviously if I'm going to be a
contender in the next few Grand Slams then I'm going
to
have to seriously think about concentrating on my
singles.
Q. Are you in the bad books with Jasmine?
A. No, Darren it was actually.
Q. It was his decision?
A. He thought it would be better for my singles. He
fully
understands.
Q. Lleyton, you got the crowd behind you in that
third
set. It was as if they were being out-cheered by the
Swedes, though, the Swedes were making so much noise
and
also through the last few weeks you have been more
controlled. Are you learning to use the crowd when
you
need it?
A. Definitely today the Swedes were very vocal early
in the
first couple of sets and then, you know, it was an
unbelievable feeling to be walking out there and I
was
really just about down and out then and it was the
start
of the third set the whole crowd got into it. It was
a
great atmosphere out there to be playing in front
of.
Who knows if I could have scraped out of that third
set
- I'm sure if I could have got out of the match it
would have been because of the crowd. You know, the
last couple of weeks I haven't really got that
pumped up
on the court at times but today I felt like I needed
to,
I needed to get some energy into it and it nearly
worked.
Q. Last night the tennis media presented our player
of the
year award which was accepted on behalf of Lleyton
by
Darren Cahill. I would like to congratulate you on
the
year you had in '99 and the start to 2000 and hope
you
get another one of these in 12 months time?
A. Thank you.
Lleyton
HEWITT defeated Alex CORRETJA
6-0 6-0 6-1 second round Aust Open
Q. Lleyton, have you ever played better than that?
A. Probably not. I think I started each set very
well
today. I got on top of him early in the first set.
I was seeing the ball like a football out there
today.
I was returning very well and putting on the
pressure.
Q. So you have never seen the ball like a football
before?
A. No, I don't think so. After having won 11 matches
on
the trot you should be hitting it like a football
then.
Q. What went wrong in the third set then?
A. He played a good game. I had 0-15 in that game as
well,
so I was disappointed.
Q. Lleyton, it appeared that you really wanted to
just keep
going right to the end. Did you want 6-0, 6-0 and
6-0
and if so why?
A. Mate, I was happy to get away with an easy win in
the
end. I'm not the type of player to hold back on
everything. I'm out there to win every game and give
a
hundred per cent. I did it against Goldstein the
other
night and I did it again today. Of course at 6-0,
6-0,
4-0 I was going after it, but he played a very good
game, then there was not much I could do.
Q. Were you aware of his nightmare?
A. I didn't try and look at him too much, but
obviously
I don't know. I wouldn't like to be in that
situation
I don't think. I think anyone could imagine on
Centre
Court against a guy playing in front of a home crowd
it's probably a little embarrassing.
Q. Is there any sense of feeling of the other guy in
that
situation at all, Lleyton?
A. It's very tough I suppose because you know that
he is
not having the best of days out there. You know he
is
not feeling really big out there either, but I have
got
to try and block that out of my mind. I'm here to do
a
job and make it through to the next round of a Grand
Slam. It's a tough situation, even though you have
won
the first two sets easily. You have got three sets
to
go. That is the thing with Grand Slams, it's the
best
of five out there and I got on top of him early in
each
set.
Q. When did you sense you had him by the throat?
A. Well, I think when I got a double break early in
the
first set was nice but I have got to refocus on
every
set. Every time I got that double break it was nice.
Q. How surprised were you it went that way? You had
a
reasonably tough match with him last week?
A. It was very surprising I think. Last week was
6-4, 6-4
and just one break a serve and he had chances to
break
me last week. So I'm very pleased to get through,
but
he didn't really charge up his game at all like last
week either which I don't think helped him.
Q. Would you have preferred to have a tougher match
at this
stage?
A. To tell you the truth, Tuesday night was good for
me.
That was a very tough first round for me. Anything
could have happened if I did lose that third set
tiebreak, so I think that put me in good stead.
Today
it's very nice to have an easy match.
Q. Lleyton, are you sensing you have got a shot
here? You
are in the better part of the draw supposedly.
Things
are going super. Try and resist the "one match
at a
time" line and tell me if you feel like you are
keeping
in good shape?
A. As I said, I'm taking it one match at a time.
Sorry.
I'm not looking forward to Kuerten, I have got to
play
Voinea. We had a tough match last week. I did come
out
on top of that match. I haven't looked past that but
I
know Kuerten is lurking around. It's tough as well
if
you are going into all the matches as the favourite.
It's a new experience for me. If I was in the other
half it's odds on just about every match I would be
going in as the underdog. There is positives and
negatives.
Q. What do you prefer?
A. I don't mind. In the past I have only been used
to
being the underdog but now probably after Adelaide
and
Sydney I really have a step up and I was the
favourite
going into most of those matches. So far I think I
have
handled them pretty well.
Q. When you brought up match point I noticed the
scoreline
was pretty flattering, you gave yourself a little
hump
there. Maybe part of what people don't understand
about
you and the fact that you are competitive all the
way,
what do you say to people who might misinterpret
that
sort of thing?
A. I am out there to win as easily as I can. Whether
it
was going for 6-0 or 5-6 in the fifth, I'm out there
for
every point. When I feel like it's time to get
pumped
up and get pumped for the right points, I felt that
I
played well enough and I thought it was the right
time
to give myself a fist pump. It was a match point.
Q. Is it for yourself as well?
A. A lot of players could lose concentration. For me
to
get pumped up it keeps me focused out on the court.
That is one of the main reasons I did that today,
this
is isn't over yet, let's finish it off now.
Q. Lleyton, when we start looking at your workload
you have
got doubles and mixed doubles with your sister. Are
you
thinking about dropping that or will she belt you?
A. She will have to do a lot more work now. I'm
playing
doubles and mixed doubles tomorrow I believe and I
will
be playing singles on Saturday again. At this stage
my
body is feeling fine and I would go out and play a
match
or play a practice anyway out there for half an
hour, 45
minutes. Yesterday I think it was good to get out
there
in that atmosphere again with the crowd and play on
Show
Court One in that doubles match. At this stage it's
not
too big a drama for me.
Q. Does that sort of match give you inside a feeling
of
instability to a certain extent that you may not
have
had?
A. Not really. Obviously Alex had a horrendous day
for his
standards today. I had a very good day, didn't make
too
many errors out there. I can't really take a lot out
of
that match today because it was so one sided I
think.
Q. Lleyton, that first serve a year or so after you
won
your first Adelaide tournament you had to learn to
play
on the circuit. Is there any particular match you
remember being a particularly difficult experience
for
you on the other end of the spectrum?
A. There is not a lot of times I suppose. You know I
didn't have the greatest - like I had that good
start in
Adelaide and struggled for a little bit after that.
Probably a turning point for me was in Singapore
when I
pushed Rios in the semi finals of that event and
went
out in a 1, 2 challenge a week after. Up to that I
had
Indian Wells and I didn't play one of the greatest
matches. Then I lost to Rick Dietman. That was
probably one of my worst matches.
Q. Can you remember feeling better or fitter or more
confident than you do now?
A. I have won 12 matches on the trot now. I'm seeing
the
ball well out there. I'm hitting the ball well, I'm
very match fit at the moment as well. It's hard to
be
feeling I suppose any better or any more self
confident
out there on the court.
Q. Lleyton, do you feel like you are in the shadow
of
Philippoussis or feel as you though you are in the
same
league?
A. We are totally different players I suppose,
totally
different personalities. But I feel that I am my own
person and I think the public see that as well.
Q. Did you say anything special in the end to Alex,
"well
played" or anything?
A. Well played, no; I said "Bad luck mate"
and he said
"well done and good luck" and that was it.
Lleyton
Hewitt defeated Paul Goldstein Round one Aust Open
6-2 6-7(5) 7-6(5) 6-4
18 January 2000
Q. Lleyton, was that harder than you anticipated?
A. Oh, I was never taking it lightly. I played Paul in
Singapore earlier this year, or at the end of last year,
and I won that 6-4 in the third and that was a grind, a
very long match.
Tonight the court was a little bit quicker than
that court we played on, but it turned out they were
both indoor matches and I didn't take it lightly at
all. I came out at the start and got away to a good
start, but to his credit he lifted his game a couple of
notches and I think we played some great tennis from
there on.
Q. What about the conditions here, tonight aside, because
under normal conditions you're not going to play
indoors; do they suit you?
A. Yes, I think so. The courts are definitely a little bit
quicker. I think the outside courts are quicker
actually than the centre court. I've only had a half an
hour hit outside and I thought they were lightning quick
out there. I won't be playing too many matches on those
courts, I wouldn't expect. I thought centre court was a
quite nice pace, but it's definitely quicker than the
last few years, that's for sure.
Q. Will it affect your preparation for the next match,
finishing this match so late?
A. I don't think so. I'm actually happy that I had a tough
match. Last week I didn't lose a set in Sydney and
I think to get an actual tough match under my belt first
round, I think it's nice. I pulled out - I was feeling
fine out there on the court towards the end of the
fourth and if it did go to five, I felt ready to do
that, so I'm feeling pretty positive about my fitness at
the moment as well.
Q. Even after one round, Lleyton, it's opening up, the
bottom half. Have you looked at that or how do you
approach it?
A. No, I've got Corretja in the second round and I'm going
to have my hands full with him. We had a tough match
last week but I'm expecting a lot tougher Thursday.
We're going to be out there for a long time I think
again, so I've got to be prepared to work hard.
Q. You finished nice and late. Is that something that you
were expecting when you knew you had to play Paul
Goldstein?
A. Finished late?
Q. You finished late, the game?
A. The girls didn't really help, with that little bit of a
rain delay and then the girls' match went for a long
time, so there's not much I can do about it. It could
have even gone later, so I think we're all happy it
finished in four and didn't go to five. But there's not
much I can do about it.
I enjoy playing the night match, the feature match
of the day and it was a great atmosphere out there
tonight as well. You get one positive and one negative
as well, I suppose.
Q. Will you have the day off tomorrow?
A. Yes, I'm playing doubles, fourth match.
Q. Do you think the 10 wins in a row actually helped you
tonight?
A. I think so. I'm definitely match tough, I think. I'm
not sure if Paul played last week or not but he lost
first round in Adelaide. So I'm not sure, as I said,
what he did last week, but he probably hasn't got as
many matches as I do under my belt going into this
tournament, so I feel very match fit out there on the
court.
Q. In that winning streak you had going, the ability to
come up with the right serve at the right time was
always there. Tonight it seemed to leave you in the
last set when you got the early break?
A. Yes, but I think earlier in the match when I was down
0-40 and 15-40 on a couple of big games there, I didn't
lose my serve until that final game, I only lost my
serve once after I did breaking early in the fourth and
then broke, so for me that's a pretty good effort. It's
actually very surprising, I would have gone out there
expecting a lot of breaks of serves tonight. Both our
games suit returning well and I'm surprised we held
serves so many times.
Q. Can you tell us about him, what sort of game he plays
and what were the toughest things for you tonight?
A. He plays a very similar game to me, I think. He's very
good from the baseline, he attacked a little bit more
than he usually does tonight. I think that helps his
game a lot, it adds another dimension to his game. He
served very smart tonight as well, he mixed his serve up
well, he mixed up his ground shots. His best shot was
probably his backhand down the line tonight. There were
patches there that I really couldn't read it at all.
Q. All in all, a great opening match?
A. I think so. To have that tough first round match under
my belt, I'm really happy.