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March 16, 2001 - TENNIS MASTERS SERIES
Indian Wells, California
L. HEWITT/N. Escude 6-1, 6-3

An interview with: LLEYTON HEWITT

MODERATOR: Questions for Lleyton.

Q. Pretty good match for you; not too many errors?
LLEYTON HEWITT: No, I came out and I just felt good out there today. I had a
couple of doubles matches on Center Court, which I think helped as well. That
was my first match, playing from Stadium 3 all week. I felt pretty
comfortable out there. I think it's a little bit quicker out there on center
from the outside courts.

Q. You haven't really liked the outside courts. What was the surface like
there for you?
LLEYTON HEWITT: It's still not great, I don't think, for moving on. You know,
I can't complain about the way that I played today, that's for sure. But it's
still very gritty.

There's something about it. It is totally different than I ever played on
here. As I said, I think it's a little bit quicker out there than the outside
courts. That probably helps a few players, Rafter, Sampras, guys like that,
because the balls are so heavy out there, as well. Those guys need a little
bit quicker court.

Q. What do you see out of your next two opponents, possible opponents?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it's Agassi and Lapentti, I think. Obviously, they're
both hitting the ball well to get through to the quarterfinals anyway. You
know, Andre, he speaks for himself really, how good he is. Lapentti, he was
on a bit of a downer towards the end of last year, wasn't playing great. Even
through the Australian summer didn't hit the ball fantastic. We played him in
Davis Cup on grass. He struggled there a little bit, as well.

To his credit, he seems to have been playing a lot better. I've watched a
couple sets of his matches this week. He's back to his old ways, I think.

Q. Is this about as good as you've felt all year?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I still think there's areas of my game I can work on. The
good thing is I'm getting better and better with each match, particularly the
last three weeks.

You know, this tournament has been good how I've been able to build it up
sort of a step every match since my first round against Costa.

Q. The first round, three-setter. Then you say things have been getting
better for you. If you were to compare this match to the previous round, how
much better would you say today was from the previous round?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, another 10%, I reckon, better. I made very few errors.

Obviously, Nicolas can be a fantastic player as well when he's on. Today he
sprayed a lot of balls. The way I came out there, I was mentally focused
right from the start. I thought if I could get on top of him early, you know,
really put the pressure on, that's what I had to do. I did that going up a
double break in the first set. Then I went down an early break in the second
set, was able to shrug it off, get my mind back on the job.

I definitely played a better match than I did today by a fair bit, I'd say.

Q. Was the situation last night with your doubles match being moved a bit of
a strange situation? What was your take on the whole thing?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, you know, it was probably lucky for the tournament that
the Gambill and Kuerten match had just finished, and we had just walked out.
We were sitting down, getting our racquets out of the bags on Stadium 2. The
tournament referee started running over, screaming to us that we had to go
play on stadium.

Obviously, I'm sure the crowd and television and everyone was disappointed,
even though you have Patrick Rafter. Maybe the women were a bit happier out
there.

Q. Kafelnikov said that he still thinks that the veteran guys, veteran stars
still have two, three years left of domination. Do you expect the new guys to
really push them this year or do you think you still have a ways to go?
LLEYTON HEWITT: You know, I think they've got plenty of good years left in
them, no doubt about that. Gee, you know, if you throw Agassi, Sampras,
Rafter, Kafelnikov in that bracket, then there's plenty of Grand Slams
between those four guys left.

I know Pat has been talking about retirement sort of the end of the year or
whenever. It's no set thing. I believe he's got a few more Grand Slams left
in him, that's for sure, especially the way that he's played this week, the
way he played at the Australian Open this year, as well.

Q. But do you expect the younger guys to show up and push the older guys,
nonetheless?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I think it's started to happen now and then. You look at
Safin winning the US Open, Kuerten winning the French. Obviously guys like
Philippoussis, Gambill did well here. There's Federer, Ferrero, a lot of
players capable of making upsets. Whether they're able to do it, you know, in
the big matches, the semis and quarters of Grand Slams, that's another story.

Q. Say it is Agassi, what are your thoughts?
LLEYTON HEWITT: You know, it's hard to say. He had a bit of a downer last
week losing the first round to Clavet. Looks like he's bounced back pretty
well this week. He's had an extremely tough draw to get through. He got
through it pretty comfortably, I'd say. But, you know, he's obviously hitting
the ball well. I'm going to have to go up another level if I'm going to match
it with him, you know, really give him a tough match.

Q. I know you get pumped up for everybody you play, but how much more do you
get pumped up if you're coming up against Andre Agassi, Rafter or Sampras,
Kafelnikov, et cetera?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I try not to look at it in that way. I'm worrying more
about, you know, my game, going out there and playing my game. Hopefully it
matches up well on the day. Obviously, you know, you've got to spend a little
time working out the opponent's strengths and weaknesses.

I don't think it's a matter of being pumped up. I'm up for a lot of matches.
Obviously, playing out there on Center Court against a guy of Agassi's
caliber, then it's going to be a fantastic atmosphere out there in the
semifinals of a Masters Series.

I'll be pretty pumped up just to be in the semifinals anyway.

Q. What do you think of Kim's chances against Serena? Do you think she's
going to get too distracted by all the hoopla or do you think she can focus
in?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Who knows.

Q. Davis Cup, Fitzy named yourself, Pat, quite a group to go down to Brazil.
You and Pat have been playing doubles over here. Do you think that could make
up a doubles combination down there? How would you feel playing doubles, as
well?
LLEYTON HEWITT: It's hard to say. Obviously, the doubles has been a little
bit of an up-and-down thing for the last couple years for us. On paper we've
had the better team I think in most cases.

I think Pat and I just playing doubles together gives us another option. Pat
and I play totally different games. Pat can help me out on my serves. I make
a lot of returns, which we may need on clay.

I think it just gives it another option if we do go into that second day. A
lot depends on how we're feeling after day one, as well. Who knows, we could
have played in Spain, as well, yet I had a four-and-a-half-hour match with
Costa, and Pat was on the drip after his cramping against Ferrero.

It's nice to have that in the back of our minds that we may be able to do
that, but still a lot depends on what happens day one and how we pull up.

END--FastScripts by ASAP Sports...

March 15, 2001TENNIS MASTERS SERIES Indian Wells, California L. HEWITT/B. Ulihrach6-2, 6-4

An interview with:

LLEYTON HEWITT

MODERATOR: Lleyton moves into his first quarterfinal here at the Tennis Masters Series - Indian Wells. He'll take on Frenchman Nicolas Escude.

Q. Have you been following the draw? A lot of upsets. Does it feel like things are working in your favor?

LLEYTON HEWITT: You know, I just take it one match at time. You know, look at the draw, every match is tough in these Masters Series events. Rios-Kafelnikov first round. There were so many great first-round matches. Definitely opened up a little bit with Ferrero losing.

You can't take any of these guys lightly. To make it through to this stage of the tournament, they've got to be hitting the ball well.

Q. You feel you're hitting the ball well enough to feature on the weekend?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. You know, I've still got to get a little bit better, I think. Today was a big improvement I think from the last two matches. I really stayed aggressive for the whole time, you know, didn't get into too much trouble on my serve. I served very well today. Served a lot of aces, you know, mixed up my serve very well. I put a lot of pressure on him, as well, on his service games.

I felt today was my best match I played all week.

Q. It wasn't really a match of contrasts, was it? Both of you preferred to stay at the back. Did you like that?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. Well, it didn't disappoint me, I suppose, because I felt like the longer the rally went, the better chance I had of winning it. I felt like I moved the ball around great today.

One of his weaknesses is probably his movement. I tried to exploit that as much as possible. In the end, I think just being able to hang in there, you know, work the point I think was the main area.

Q. It looks like had you some problems with the shoes on the court.

LLEYTON HEWITT: I found the court to be very average to move on, very hard to get back, after you put a shot out wide, to get back for the next ball. I don't know the reason. I don't know if it's grittier. It's a very rough-looking court.

Q. Too much grit?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I've got no idea. It's a very gritty-looking court. That could be one of the reasons.

Q. I think Rusedski said that the courts were sticky. Would you describe it that way?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. I wouldn't say necessarily sticky. I definitely feel it's a weird feeling, though. It's not a smooth court, I don't think. It's hard to move.

Q. What about the next match? How do you feel on that, Escude?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I think we've only played twice. It's 1-All, I think, head to head. I won the last one in Adelaide in 2000, the semifinals there. I lost the first set, came back and won in three.

He obviously steamrolled Clement today. He's in good form. I'm going to have to raise my game another level if I'm going to get past him.

Q. Did you get a chance to talk to Kim?

LLEYTON HEWITT: No, I haven't.

Q. I asked her, "Did Lleyton speak to you before the match?"

Q. She said, "Yeah. He said go out and have some fun. I said the same thing to him."

LLEYTON HEWITT: I'm sure she had a bit more fun than I did (smiling).

FastScripts by ASAP Sports...

03/13/01 - Tuesday Interview: Lleyton Hewitt
(The IW Site)

On Tuesday, Australian New Balls Please campaign star and No. 6 seed Lleyton
Hewitt opened his Indian Wells campaign with a victory over Albert Costa.

MODERATOR: Questions for Lleyton.

"I felt like I moved the ball well."
Q. That second set was a bit up and down, wasn't it?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. I felt like I got off to a really good start at the
start of the match, got on top of him early, was a set and a break up. Then I
played a bit of a dodgey service game on my serve there, gave him a bit of a
sniff. Just did a cheap second serve, double-fault, right at the bottom of
the net, missed a couple short forehands. To his credit, he kept fighting
well, definitely raised his game and played a lot better than he did in the
first set. I was happy to get back on him at the start of the third set and
put the pressure back on him.

Q. When you went into that match, any thoughts going back to Davis Cup?
LLEYTON HEWITT: You know, definitely a few thoughts. Yeah, definitely
motivated me a little bit more out there.

Q. How were conditions today? Was it hot? Did it bother you at all?
LLEYTON HEWITT: It was pretty hot, but not too bad. Definitely played in a
lot hotter conditions than that. But, you know, I felt pretty good out there.
You know, it started getting a bit gusty with the breeze out there towards
the end of the second and the third set. But it didn't really affect anyone,
I don't think.

Q. You played some pretty long points, particularly in the first set. Almost
looked like clay court tennis. Any way can you shorten them up or do you want
to go out there and rally with him till you beat him down?
LLEYTON HEWITT: You know, I thought I attacked on the right points, you know,
pretty much at least three-quarters of the match. The courts are a lot slower
out the back than I think Centre Court is. I only hit on Centre Court this
morning. I warmed up on it. You know, I felt it was coming on a lot quicker
than the outside courts. I think the balls are so heavy, it's unbelievable.

Q. It's early in the season. Where do you see your game right now? Where do
you stand?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, so far this year I think I've played some of my best
tennis that I've ever played. I've played some ordinary tennis, as well, I
think. You know, definitely in Davis Cup, on grass, I played fantastic
against Ecuador. That's as good a tennis as I've ever played, I think.
Sydney, the second half of that, I played very well. Australian Open, I felt
like I hit the ball pretty well, even though, you know, I played some great
players there. The last couple of weeks, I've been very up and down, I think.
You know, the Rios match a few nights ago in Scottsdale was one of the best
matches I've ever played. But then, you know, the next day I came out and I
was a little bit tired, you know, I didn't play up to scratch against Clavet.

Q. Any reason as to why it's been a bit up and down the last couple of weeks?
LLEYTON HEWITT: No, not really. I think a little bit's had to do with, you
know, the illness late last year, I wasn't able to put in a lot of, you know,
hard hours off court, which I normally do in that sort of December, just
before January period, to sort of set you up for at least the start or the
first half of the year. I wasn't able to do that, due to so many tournaments
I had to play at the end of last year with finals in Lisbon, the Davis Cup
final the week after that. It just felt like, you know - felt like Australia
to Adelaide before I knew it. I hardly hit a ball before going into Adelaide.
I didn't do any running or any preparation. That's not what I'm used to going
into there. At some stage when I get a couple weeks off, really sort of put
some miles back in the legs.

Q. Do you feel your game has matured? Are you looking to add new dimension to
it?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I think it has a little bit. I still got areas of my game
that I've got to work on if I want to consolidate my spot in the Top 10, try
to get up in the Top 5. You know, obviously more cheap points off my first
serves, you know, is a big key. In the big matches that I have won, late last
year, early this year, you know, I've served very well, doubled the aces that
I normally serve, I've got a lot more cheap points off my first serve. The
other area is probably, you know, to come into the net a little bit more and
put a bit more pressure on my opponents, just a little bit more doubt in
their mind, I think, as well.

Q. So is it a case of doing it better or doing it differently?
LLEYTON HEWITT: It's a case of doing it more in the practice court and trying
to bring it into matches. You know, I'm trying to do it in practice as much
as possible. But, you know, to actually have that confidence and that
self-belief to do it in the matches is another thing, to gradually build it.
I just turned 20, I don't have "By 21 I've got to be doing it." It's a
gradual thing. I'm winning matches at the top level by playing my own games.
I've still got these areas, these weaknesses in my game, that can I improve
on and I'm going to be a better player because of it.

Q. Last year you were one of only two players to be in the Top 10 of the
Champions Race every week. This year you've dropped out a couple of times.
Does that matter to you? Does it bother you? Is the actual ranking what's
more important?
LLEYTON HEWITT: No, I think the actual ranking for me, you know, I really
couldn't care two hoots if I was in it every week of last year or not.
Really, there's no prizes for that. I'm looking at the entry system ranking.
That's what I base my calendar year around. That's what, you know - I'm
sitting around six, seven, at the moment. That's a career high for me at the
moment. I want to try to get in the Top 5 as soon as I can. There is a big
gap between 6 and 5. If I win Adelaide, I'm No. 1 in the world. Rios was No.
1 after he won Doha. Agassi, Sampras, Kafelnikov haven't picked up a racquet
yet.

Q. You would say then that the entry system is a true evaluation of a
player's worth?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I think so. You know, to see guys, you know, whoever, some of
the guys who may be ranked 70 or 80 in the world, they're in the Top 10 for
the first two weeks, you know, you have Agassi and Sampras who haven't
played. You know, I just - Thomas Enqvist is a perfect example. He didn't
play the whole January circuit. We don't have him on the whole thing.

Q. Do you think the tour should go on using one system?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, you know, I think they're now trying to do it to help
out the public. You know, if people who are inside tennis are struggling with
handling two, what are the public going to see? They see on ESPN only Agassi
and Sampras results, yet it comes up he's ranked 50 after week one or
something in the Champions Race. That doesn't make a lot of sense.

Q. Just going back to today's match, if you put the second set to one side,
you're pretty happy with the way it went?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, yeah, for sure. I just had a little bit of a lapse in
concentration there for that one service game, then he took a couple of
injury times there at crucial times late in the second set. That's when I had
to come out. I dropped serve again after being 30-Love up there. If I put
that aside, I think I played a pretty good match. I was pretty mentally tough
out there and I felt like I moved the ball well.

END--FastScripts by ASAP Sports

<<<<< END >>>>>

TRANSCRIBED INTERVIEW
C. MOYA/L. Hewitt 4-6, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5

Q. What do you think made the difference in the end? Is there one point or one difference between you two?

LLEYTON HEWITT: You know, it's hard to reflect on the match straight after it. You know, it was as close as anything, you know, whether it was getting the break point early in the fifth set was probably my big opportunity I think. You know, but then again, you know, if I could have held serve early in the second set after I won the first and really sort of got in a bit of a roll, a bit of rhythm, he was spraying balls early in the match. I gave him that confidence boost early in the second set, and he took full advantage of that.

Q. I mean it's just a hell of a difficult match to lose and to have to come in so soon after is probably difficult to sink in as well. Not an easy one for you, is it?

LLEYTON HEWITT: No.

Q. And all the circumstances?

LLEYTON HEWITT: No. At the end of the day, I gave everything I had. And, you know, in all three of my matches, I had to work my butt off the whole time. I didn't get too many, you know, cheap points against the three guys that I played. They're all very class, highly rated players. Obviously the draw didn't go my way, I suppose, and I didn't give myself a chance to work my way into the tournament. But there's nothing I can do about that.
You know --.

Q. Do you think you suffered a little bit almost for the way you play? You get dragged into long matches. It's almost the way you are.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. You know, little bit. But I think still, you know, if I played three guys ranked 70, 80, 90 in the world, a qualifier, wildcard, then it could have been a totally different story I think. I drew a guy who's been No. 4 in the world, I drew a guy who's been No. 1 in the world and, I drew Tommy Haas, who I would have rated him probably before the tournament as the best unseeded player. I didn't get too kind in my section, but there's nothing I can do about that at all. You win some; you lose some.

Q. (Inaudible)?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Actually, I felt pretty good. Obviously, you know, I don't know how long it went, probably close to four hours in the end. But once it starts getting to that stage, it doesn't matter how, you know -- I'm sure Carlos is feeling it as well. Once you get into that long situation, deep in the fifth set, then you start feeling it for sure. You know, I felt pretty good for the first few sets out there. I was quite surprised, considering that, you know, I haven't done any fitness work or anything for the last four or five months. So, you know, I've got a good base to work on. That's what I'm trying to say.

Q. How do you see now the chances of Moya to go further in the championship?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, you know, I think it's open. A lot depends on how he pulls up, though, in two days' time. I give him a very good chance of doing well. Whether he can win it or not, that's another story because, you know, last year he really struggled, last year and a half I suppose. But he is a class player and, you know, as soon as he gets his confidence back and he starts working that forehand, he has a very good serve on him for a baseliner as well. So he's going to be very hard to beat.

Q. How great was the expectation you felt coming into this as Australia's sort of favorite chance here I guess? How much of it did you put on yourself?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I didn't put any on myself. I came in hoping that I was going to be hitting the ball well before I sort of came into the whole summer circuit, then, you know, I was very happy the way I played in Sydney and got myself in good condition after losing in Adelaide in the quarters there.
But, you know, it was very hard to expect huge things, because, you know, before the Davis Cup I, in my mind, was worried I was going to play the Davis Cup final or play the Australian Open circuit. You know, my breathing was that bad at the time. Darren had sat me down and said, "You're probably going to have to miss one of these, which one are you going to miss." I took my chances in the Davis Cup, and as it turns out, I've taken my chances for the Australian Open circuit as well. I really didn't give myself the greatest chances, I think, of doing well in both situations due to, you know, things that I can't, you know, are out of my control anyway.

Q. You were prepared to miss this event to play Davis Cup?

LLEYTON HEWITT: That's what I did at the start, yeah. Davis Cup's my priority.

Q. Would it be fair to say that you would be pleased not to see any more Spanish players for a while?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I got nothing against Carlos at all. You know, he's --.

Q. Just sort of the circumstances of Ferrero in Barcelona and now this tonight, you could probably do the --?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Oh, I can definitely -- I don't want to keep coming off against them. But, you know, that wasn't in my mind going into the match at all. You know, Carlos had nothing to do with Barcelona at all.

Q. What now before Davis Cup?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Try to get my body right. You know, I'm struggling with my hamstring at the moment. That's the priority - to try to get that right in time because, you know, I've been taking a lot of tablets and stuff to try and get it right for these two weeks. Now I've really got to get off that and try and get it 100 percent for the Davis Cup tie, then the American hardcourt season.

Q. Are you feeling twice your age at this stage?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it's unbelievable. I feel worse than Darren. He complains about his knees; I got worse things going on than him at the moment.

Q. Are you now looking to take a break for mental health reasons?

LLEYTON HEWITT: No, the schedule doesn't really allow me to take a break. You know, I've got a Davis Cup tie on grass which is going to take a bit of getting used to after playing on rebound ace, switching to grass. You know, this stage, I don't really have an opportunity to sort of lay out four or five weeks. That was the problem with the breathing thing. You know, they recommended having surgery and that. I couldn't really lay out a time that I'd be out for four or five weeks which I could, you know, take that time off and get it done properly and then come back on the circuit.

Q. If you don't take a break, aren't you worried that you'll be forced to take a break?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Not at the moment. My breathing's actually feeling a little bit better with the tablets I've been taking and the nasal spray. The hamstring, which happened practicing here a few days before the tournament started, that is a once off thing. If I can get that right before the Davis Cup tie, you know, I think I'm gonna be fine.

Q. There's no kind of situation where having to play as it were an indoor match affects you in any way, is there? Because clearly the air doesn't move around as much.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, no, I feel pretty good out there. And in Barcelona I felt, you know, I'm definitely not normal, not 100 percent of what I've been in the past. But for the way that I've been going, I felt pretty good out there.

Q. Think Pat can win this event?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. You know, I think the way that Pat's been playing, I've only seen his few matches, two out of the three matches that he's played, but he seems to be hitting the ball well. I hit with him this morning actually. He's confident I think. He hasn't had a lot of pressure I think going into him as well. He's been able to sort of build his game up. You know, it's a big test for him tomorrow, I think, to play his first real name player in the tournament so far, round of 16. I think Henman's playing very well as well. So, you know, I take Pat to win, you know, because I know that he wants it, you know, as much as I do and every other Australian, Andrew Ilie or whoever.

TRANSCRIBED INTERVIEW RD 2 match
L. HEWITT/T. Haas 7-5, 7-6, 6-4

Q. Vicenzo Martucci. When do you think about the first set, when you was down 5-love, then went up. What do you think what happened with his mind, his style?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, for sure I think we're both saying probably thinking about the second set. I'm sure in his mind he thought with the opportunity of serving twice for the set that, you know, the set was his especially the way that he was playing. You know, he probably relaxed a little bit as well and I felt like after I broke him that first time, if I could, you know, I held off a couple of break points at 5-2, if I got out of that game I could have a crack at him. After you drop your serve once serving for the set you're nervous the second time. I think that's what happened. Then I started getting on a bit of a roll. He played another very order game at 5-all, his serve, give me that opportunity to serve for the set.

Q. John Parsons, The Daily Telegraph. Also do you think the fact that he got off, he did get off to a wonderful start, was playing great tennis, but did you have to build yourself mentally after that long match the other night? You needed time?

LLEYTON HEWITT: A little bit. I didn't come out with all guns firing I think. You have to take your hat off to him. He came out, hardly missed a first serve his first two or three service games. He was blasting me off the court at the start. Wasn't a lot I could do. I couldn't get any rhythm on my ground strokes out there. I didn't come out serve as well as I should have also. I gave him a lot of opportunities to get on top of my second serve early. Once I started getting confidence and moving the ball around more, I felt my forehand came in very handy today.

Q. How is your hamstring? Any problems physically today?

LLEYTON HEWITT: No, it was pretty good actually. Better than I thought it was going to be.

Q. You said you weren't quite 100 percent still but you sort of feel like you're getting closer?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I think with, you know, every day that goes by I'm going to be a lot better for it. You know, I was very happy, you know, just to get through the last couple of matches with it.

Q. Does it feel like one of the hardest straight sets victories you've ever had?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, for sure. I just about felt like I was going to lose it. I was playing catchup tennis the whole day. To my credit, I just hanging in there, kept fighting, got the breaks when I needed to and played the big points well. Again, the third set I think he was starting to hurt a little bit out there. It was quite a long match for three sets. I think it was well over three hours. So I -- physically, it was probably a little bit more draining than a normal three-set match.

Q. Why is it that these circumstances bring out the best in you so often do you think?

LLEYTON HEWITT: It's hard to say. You know, I just -- I just get a buzz from walking around this place. You know, I've been coming to this tournament ever since the first time I played here at Melbourne Park I was playing here, I was just a young kid out in the crowd getting everyone's autographs. As soon as I, you know, got the opportunity to play Juniors here and, you know, it was just a dream come true to be playing here.
And, you know, I remember watching Rochey and Lendl sort of warm-up at 9 o'clock out there on the courts, I used to be watching them. Now to be in that position out there playing, and, you know, me growing up on rebound ace as well, I feel so much at home out there at the moment.

Q. Ubaldo Scanagatta, La Nazione, Italy. Do you think that Haas has some problems when he has to finalize a match? I mean, he hit some lapse of concentration apparently.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I haven't noticed it in the past. If you're just going to take it from today's match, sure, maybe he had a couple of concentration lapse when he got the break in each set. But, you know, in the past I haven't noticed that he's had a big problem in that area. I wouldn't say -- I think it's just one match that happened to him today. Obviously he's going to be very disappointed when he looks back on the match and sees that he had an opportunity in each set to really win each set out there today. But I don't think he's got a problem, you know, through his career with that.

Q. How do you feel about playing Carlos Moya next?

LLEYTON HEWITT: You know, obviously the draw doesn't get any easier, that's for sure. I'm going to have my work cut out again. I'm going to go out there, play the way that I've been playing. I can draw a lot of confidence that, you know, I've beaten two class players in the first two rounds. You know, I know he's beaten two very good players as well. Hopefully it's going to be a very good match but I'm expecting a very tough, long, sort of slugging out there. It's going to be a baseline match pretty much.

Q. How much has seven hours of tennis taken out of you in three days?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I actually feel, you know, pretty good. I feel a lot better than I did in Spain on the clay. It's probably because clay is a much more, you know, sort of physical, physical surface rather than rebound ace. To play out there, it was pretty hot out there on center court today on the rebound ace. I'm feeling pretty good at the moment. I was surprised how well I felt apart from the hamstring after my match against Bjorkman.

Q. How much did the crowd help you out there, being in Australia? How much of a spur was that when you were love-5 down in that first set?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I knew that if I could get things going, the crowd was going to hop on as soon as I got it going. That's the big, you know, that's a huge advantage for the Australian players. We saw Andrew Ilie yesterday, Pat Rafter every time he comes out to play, Wayne Arthurs. It's a huge lift for the Australians, as soon as we get that edge or we get that opportunity to break serve and get up a break, the crowd's really on us. It's very good to, you know, it's very easy for us out there as well to work with the crowd and get positive vibes from the crowd as well. That's something that, you know, I've learned to do I think pretty well over the last couple of years.

Q. Do you feel you can get through two weeks of the tennis you've been playing so far, play the mix doubles as well?

LLEYTON HEWITT: It's hard to say at the moment. Obviously the singles is the priority. You know, I've just been taking it one match at a time. Obviously the first two matches have been very hard-fought matches. Hopefully they get a little bit easier somewhere along the line. I've got to be prepared to play seven matches in singles, you know, five sets if you're going to win the tournament.
So, you know, that's something that I knew coming into the tournament and that's something that I sort of planned my -- to be peaking sort of for this time of the year.

Q. Does it annoy you that your interaction with the crowd in your case actually draws a lot of adverse comment both from fans and from the media?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, you know, I haven't heard too many bad reports from the fans. That's for sure. You know, the last three weeks has been, you know, a dream walking out on the court, as I said, you know, after just about all my matches, there's only, you know, just over a month ago we were in Barcelona I was getting booed by 14,000 people. As I said, I can't say how, you know, words can't describe how much of an advantage it is to have 15,000 people, you know, screaming for you, behind you. And I've been fortunate enough the last three weeks that everyone's been behind me. It was fantastic in Adelaide. Sydney was great as well, very big stadium there. The last two matches here, I think we've seen how the crowd's responded to me out there and, you know, they're one of the main reasons why I got through that match against Bjorkman, that's for sure.

Q. Doesn't worry you when you're criticized in the media?

LLEYTON HEWITT: No. I think the fans know what's going on and, you know, I know what's going on and that's all that matters.

Q. This same fact that the crowd is behind you doesn't create a lot of pressure, and you know they are expecting you to win a Grand Slam?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know if they're expecting me to win. I've never made it to a final of a Grand Slam. You know, but I think, you know, I don't feel any added pressure when I go out there because the crowd's behind me. You know obviously they want to see the Australians do well and it's something that Pat's probably had to deal with the last few years as well. He hasn't always performed well in Australia. Obviously the last few years with Davis Cup ties and that he's doing better and better. I was lucky enough, this is -- it feels like, you know, just coming home really and playing because this is where it all started for me, Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne. Started my career and it really does feel like sort of I'm out playing in my backyard out there. So I don't put any added pressure on myself, you know, what the spectators think I should be, winning or losing.

Q. Talking about Barcelona. What did the King of Spain said to you when you finished the match against Ferrero?

LLEYTON HEWITT: He just said, "Great match and good fighting," you know, it was fantastic to watch.

Q. He was quite nice?

LLEYTON HEWITT: He was very nice.

Q. In your personal rankings, this match you are playing, they are very, very tough. How do you think is this matchup today? Which level? Second, third?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't --.

Q. The tougher matches you've played?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Tough matches, Tommy's a very tough player to play against. I can't see any reason why he's not going to be in the Top 10 for the next, you know, five to ten years. I think he's a fantastic player. He's got every shot in the game. When he's on, he's very hard to beat as I found out in Adelaide. So I rate him as an opponent very tough. So, you know, definitely up there with one of my toughest matches.

Q. Yes, but was tougher with Bjorkman or today?

LLEYTON HEWITT: It's hard to say because they play totally different. Bjorkman tried to rush me a lot more than Tommy did out there today. Tommy's a more free flying baseliner, he serves a lot bigger. Both matches were equally as tough. I could have lost three sets to love out there against Tommy, whereas Jonas I was pretty much in the match even though I was down two sets to one.

Q. Could I just ask you if you happen to be drawing up a betting market on -- if you were to be a betting man, I don't know, how many players would be in front of you? Would it be four? Two? Six? What?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Definitely be all the Grand Slam winners. You know, I think when it comes down to experience, those guys who have won the Grand Slams before, whether it's Rafter, Agassi, Sampras, Kafelnikov, Safin, Kuerten, I don't know if I've missed anyone, I think they should all be above me just because I haven't been in a Grand Slam final before. You know obviously there's going to be a time when hopefully I get that opportunity to walk out there on the, you know, on the Sunday, the last Sunday of a Grand Slam. But at the moment, I think they've got to be, you know, the favorites ahead of me.

Q. How do you feel about tennis people that have regards about you punching the air? Does that criticism from tennis people have more impact? Does it affect you at all?

LLEYTON HEWITT: No, I haven't heard too many tennis people, you know, -- I think it's more, you know, I don't think really anyone sort of in the tennis people have bagged me before.

Q. Someone said you went like this. (Inaudible) He said he was a bit upset by it. Does that have any impact?

LLEYTON HEWITT: No, I think the only time I got pumped when he did a double-fault was 4-2 in the fifth. I think everyone understands when you've been out there four hours, get a break in the fifth set, you're allowed to look over to your sidelines and give a fist pump.

Q. I think it was Tommy towards the end of the second set when he lunged for a volley and you won the point. He was down on the ground several seconds. How does it feel to see your opponent literally face down on the ground not moving? Must have been an invigorating sight?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Geez, that's hard to say. It's not like he was about to die out there, I can tell you that. I didn't actually -- I thought he was getting up pretty quickly. As soon as I turned my back, he was already up and he was ready to play on. Obviously if he goes for a dive volley he's going to end up on the ground. Otherwise, keep on your feet.

Q. When you were a kid, were there talks about your fist pumping? You're in the spotlight. Obviously that's what people are focusing on. Did anybody ever --?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Not really. I didn't, you know, I only do it at the times that I feel it's necessary. Whether that is getting a break in the fifth set or getting a break in the first set, when I feel like I needed to get myself pumped up on the court and give me a -- sort of a lift out there, that's what I do it for. And, you know, no one's really had a go at me coming up the junior ranks at all.

Q. (Inaudible).

LLEYTON HEWITT: No, never happened. Never happened on the satellites or anything, challengers or anything.

Day 2 - Lleyton Hewitt
Tuesday, January 16, 2001

TRANSCRIBED INTERVIEW RD 1 match
L. HEWITT/J. Bjorkman 7-5, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2

Q. How's the body feeling after that epic one?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, well, you know, it was a very tough match physically
and mentally out there tonight. It's just sort of wait and see really how it
pulls up tomorrow, and then hopefully on Thursday I'm going to be, you know,
90 to 100 percent again.

Q. The treatment you had, was that for the hamstring?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. I twinged, sort of twinged it a little bit during
practice a couple days ago, basically when I first arrived here in
Melbourne. So that was a bit of a concern going into the match as well
tonight. I've been getting treatment sort of basically ever since I've been
here in Melbourne and it just wasn't getting any better out there on the
court tonight, so I needed something out there. You know, it's something
that I just had to put, you know, play through out there.

Q. With all that in mind, does it worry you how much you might have left for
the other rounds, particularly with your hard second-round opponent to start
off?
LLEYTON HEWITT: It's just sort of wait-and-see really. You know, Tommy's
going to be a very tough opponent. Come Thursday, I'm going to have to be,
you know, playing my best tennis if I'm going to get over him. You know,
there's certainly a little bit of concern I think. But, you know, I've been
able to get through a five-set match out there tonight against Jonas Bjorkman.

Q. You're a definite starter against Tommy?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Oh, yeah. At this stage, mate. I am going to get as much
treatment. This is the Australian Open, this is a Grand Slam. Davis Cup and
Grand Slams, that's what you live for as a tennis player. For me, playing in
Australia, it's my favorite, you know, tournament of the year and, you know,
I'm going to go out there and, you know, try and give it everything I've got.

Q. Must have been great having that sort of crowd behind you after what you
went through in Barcelona. We were pretty much the exact opposite?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, the crowd was fantastic. You know, they lifted with me
out there tonight, and, you know, I was two-sets-to-one down in that Costa
match in the first rubber of the Davis Cup, and it sort of brought back a few
memories when I was two-sets-to-one down in tonight's match as well. The
energy that I could draw off the crowd tonight, you know, it was fantastic.
It was unbelievable.

Q. Do you feel you can reverse it against Tommy? You mentioned as you came
off the court you felt you'd be better prepared this time because you didn't
have much practice going into Adelaide.
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, Adelaide was really a warm-up week for me this year. I
didn't give myself a chance of winning that title at all this year just
because, you know, it was such a long and demanding year both physically and
mentally last year. I didn't get to finish until a couple of weeks before
Adelaide started. I didn't know until two days before the tournament whether
I was going to play or not, so I really had very limited practice and
preparation going into that tournament. I started to find some rhythm in
Sydney, which is good, and just try to keep the ball rolling basically now.

Q. Congratulations for your big victory. You are a big fighter. When you
were playing, what did you feel knowing that Rod Laver was in the public and
watching you? Did you feel more energy?
LLEYTON HEWITT: With the crowd or...?

Q. Yes. Knowing that Rod Laver was in the public.
LLEYTON HEWITT: Rod Laver, oh.

Q. Did you feel something?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it's fantastic. I got the opportunity to, you know,
hit with Rod a couple of days ago in the charity day here on Vodafone Stadium
over there. It was just, you know, a privilege being out there with, you
know, possibly the greatest player of all time. You know, he's an Australian
hero, he's an Australian champion, and unfortunately I never got to see him
play. But by all remarks, he was an unbelievable player. It was fantastic
to hit a few balls. For him to be out there, I'm playing in his arena, it's
the Rod Laver Arena out there, for him to be sitting front row with all the
Tennis Australia people, even Goolagong was there as well, it gives you a
little bit of a lift I suppose.

Q. Did you think you were gone at any stage?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I never thought I was gone. I was definitely struggling out
there, especially when I was two-sets-to-one down. It was a pretty big
turnaround after I was a set and break up in that game. I held, then got
broken.

Q. How do you keep yourself going? How do you keep yourself in a match?
LLEYTON HEWITT: It's hard. You got to draw on something in your will, in
your body. You got to stay positive out there. That's the main thing. Once
you start believing that you're beaten, then you are beaten. You know, in
any of my matches, I never believe that I'm beaten until, you know, you shake
your hands at the net. You know, it was just, tonight there was a lot of
things that I could draw from. It was the crowd out there. It was, you
know, just the feeling, you know, I had all my family and supporters in the
crowd as well. You know, Wazza and some of the fanatics who followed us at
Davis Cup there and the other section of the crowd. There's a lot of
positive energy and vibes I could draw from out there. They helped me get
over the line.

Q. Lleyton, considering the hamstring problem and the fact that you were
down two-sets-to-one, how would you rate this week compared to some of your
other better wins?
LLEYTON HEWITT: It's, the way -- you can't really look at it. The way I hit
the ball was fantastic out there tonight. Obviously I had to deal with a few
problems out there. But for determination and guts, it's definitely up there
with, you know, it's equal to the Davis Cup thing, Davis Cup match against
Costa. You know, that match was for your country. It's probably a little bit
bigger, but this is right behind it I think out there tonight.

Q. After this win, the crowd, do you rate yourself favorite against Tommy?
LLEYTON HEWITT: As I said, it's probably even I'd say. You know, last time
Tommy beat me in Adelaide, time before that was in Miami earlier last year
where I actually, you know, beat him pretty convincingly in that match. So,
you know, I feel like it's probably a pretty even match. Tommy sort of
struggled there for probably about a year. After he started doing well, he
beat me here a few years ago actually in the second round and went on to
make the semifinals.

Q. Is he a special player for you?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, I think he's a very good player. I think he's, you
know, he's going to be in the Top 10 very shortly. You know, I think he's a
hell of a player.

Q. Did you plan to come to Italy this year for the Italian Open?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Rome again? Yeah, well it's a Masters Series event, so,
yeah. It's in my schedule at the moment. I played well there last year. I
made the semifinals there, so I enjoyed playing.

Q. We look forward to you coming to Italy.
LLEYTON HEWITT: I hope the crowd's on my side.

Q. How about the Swedish crowd?
LLEYTON HEWITT: They're very loud. I've been coming to the Australian Open
for years and, you know, I used to idolize Stefan Edberg and Mats Wilander.
You know, something that other players have to deal with when you're playing
a Swede. I think it's good for the Australian Open. They're always there
with their faces painted and their bodies painted and yelling out each side
to each other. I think it's good for tennis. Obviously tonight it was sort
of -- I had the rest of the crowd on my side, so I was very happy. They're
very vocal for a small group of Swedes I suppose.

Q. You were throwing some glances at them a couple of times?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Pardon?

Q. You were watching them a couple times. Were you ever disturbed?
LLEYTON HEWITT: No. I never really focused on them at all during the match.
You know, maybe I looked at it -- I was looking over toward my coaching group
which was sitting close to them. I never really -- I block them out as much
as possible.