Sampras too good for Hewitt -just 9 September 2000 (SportCentral)

NEW YORK, Sept 9 AAP - Lleyton Hewitt's impressive US Open campaign was
brought to a halt today in a straight sets semi-final loss to Pete Sampras --
but the Australian was far from disgraced.

Playing in his first grand slam semi-final, against the man widely hailed as
the best tennis player ever, ninth seed Hewitt lost to the fourth seed 7-6
6-4 7-6 in 2 hours, 36 minutes.

Sampras did not allow Hewitt to reproduce the form that had carried him
through 15 sets unbeaten since his first of the tournament, but Hewitt
battled gamely to extend the man who is seeking to extend his record grand
slam titles haul to 14.

Sampras will play Marat Safin in tomorrow's final, after the young Russian
sixth seed beat American Todd Martin 6-3 7-6 7-6 in today's other semi-final.

Hewitt served 23 aces to Sampras' 18, made only 18 unforced errors to an
unusually high 45 for the American, and committed only five double faults to
Sampras' eight.

But it was Sampras' experience which told the story, especially in the
pressure of the tiebreakers, which he won 9-7 and 7-5 to take his win-loss
record in breakers this tournament to 7-0.

Still Hewitt, who combined with Belorussian Max Mirnyi to win the men's
doubles here, can now seek gold for Australia at the Olympics on a wave of
strong form, having also made the semi-finals at Indianapolis last month.

Under sunny skies and with US President Bill Clinton courtside, Hewitt and
Sampras settled into a tight first set, which both had several chances to
win.

Hewitt, at 19 years and six months the youngest semi-finalist here since a
19-year-old Sampras won his first grand slam title in 1990, had the first big
opportunity when a sizzling backhand winner set up a break point at 1-1, but
Sampras survived with a service winner.

The great American settled into a rhythm, and it was Hewitt, under added
pressure due to serving second, who was the next man in trouble.

He survived no less than three set points on his own serve at 4-5, all three
decided by Sampras errors.

At 5-6, two double faults and a netted forehand from Hewitt gave Sampras his
fourth set point, but the Australian recovered with three winners to set up
the tiebreak.

Hewitt had a superb opportunity by racking up the first set point of the
tiebreaker at 6-5. Sampras saved it with a good serve-volley point, but
Hewitt grabbed another mini-break to be serving for the set at 7-6.

When the set appeared his, however, Hewitt badly missed what looked an easy
forehand winner, and Sampras made him pay by breaking him again after a long
rally for an 8-7 lead, before winning his fifth set point.

As close as the set was, however, the tiebreak had a sizeable effect on both
players in the second set.

Hewitt struggled through his first service game, in which his rate of first
serves in for the match dropped below 50 per cent, and he was lucky a Sampras
error enabled him to survive a break point.

It was only a temporary reprieve. Sampras broke him to 30 for take a 2-1 lead
and, with his serve and volley game growing more attacking, went on to
dominate the set.

But just as the match looked set to slide away, Hewitt snatched an early and
unexpected break in the second game of the third set. A strangely
out-of-sorts Sampras had served three double faults in the game, finally
surrendering on the fourth break point with a skewed forehand.

Hewitt went to a 3-1 lead which became 4-2, but that was when Sampras again
stepped up when it was needed most. It was surely his last chance to win the
set, and as he lifted, Hewitt tightened noticeably and was broken to 30.

A second tiebreaker dawned, and Hewitt made the worst possible start with a
double fault, before Sampras surprisingly squandered the advantage with a
double fault of his own.

After one more mini-break for each player, it was 3-3, but Sampras edged
ahead 6-5 with the shot of the match -- an off-balance overhead smash from
deep in the court -- and a netted backhand from Hewitt brought his tournament
to a close.

Hewitt just wide of the mark 11 September 2000
By MARK RILEY (SportsToday)
NEW YORK

The "future of tennis" will remember it as the moment he was brought back to
the present.

Australian Lleyton Hewitt had the first set and the momentum of his United
States Open semi-final match sitting in the middle of his racquet as he
served to Pete Sampras at 6-5 in the tiebreak.

His deep, swinging service put Sampras on the defensive, stretching him out
of court and leaving the greatest player the men's game has produced no
option but to bunt back an innocuous return.

Sampras was done for all money as the ball sat up in front of Hewitt and
screamed: "Hit me!"

The youngster went in for the kill. His eyes widened, his nostrils flared.
But his knees went weak. Hewitt went down the line and slapped the ball wide.

Two points later, Sampras had snatched the first set from him and Hewitt was
sent off to his chair, muttering, cursing, screaming at himself.

"That was just a huge part of the match," Sampras said later, after taking
the momentum of that point to beat Hewitt in straight sets, 7-6 (9-7), 6-4,
7-6 (7-5), and earn the right to meet Marat Safin in this morning's final
(Melbourne time).

"I was pretty lucky to get out of it. If he'd won that first set, you know,
he just gains confidence."

It was Sampras who labelled Hewitt the future of tennis just the other day.

And it was Sampras who then went on to prove that there is still a present,
and that Sampras is still the man of the here and now.

Hewitt was disappointed, but not totally dejected by his loss. He had played
well. It all came down to just a couple of crucial points, and Sampras, as
always, played the big points incredibly well.

"To lose two of the three sets in (tie)breakers is very disappointing just
because a tiebreak is sort of a 50/50 thing, a little bit of a coin toss,"
Hewitt said.

He gave the impression he would go for the same shot again if he had the
chance to replay that set point in the first. He'd just play it better.

"I still felt I went for the right shot," Hewitt said.

"The breeze was going a little bit that way, so I didn't play the percentages
really, didn't allow myself a big margin of error.

"It's easy to look back on it now and say, `Maybe I should have gone to his
backhand and come in, instead of his forehand'."

When Hewitt looks back on this tournament, though, he will see much more than
just that point. After disappointment at the Australian Open and first-round
losses at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, the Adelaide youngster announced
himself as a credible member of tennis' new generation of stars here.

He won the men's doubles with big-hitting Max Mirnyi, and would probably have
been in the final if he had been on the other side of the draw and playing
Todd Martin rather than Sampras in the semi-finals. Sampras said he has not
seen a baseliner with such a good return and such quick wheels since Michael
Chang in his heyday.

"Lleyton has a good future," Sampras said. "He's such a young guy that he's
just going to get better and better as he gets older. He's going to get
stronger. He's got the tools."

The biggest change to Hewitt's game since last year's US Open is his serve.
It has gone from being dependable and accurate to a bona fide weapon. Hewitt
served 23aces to Sampras' 18 in the semi - an almost unbelievable statistic
considering that Sampras' is one of the best serves in the game.

The Australian also managed to serve his way out of trouble on eight of 10
break points and got one of those breaks back from Sampras in the third set.

He also showed uncommon nerve, exploding out of the blocks in the first set
in front of a packed and very parochial US crowd that included US President
Bill Clinton. The New York crowd is one of the toughest in sport. Last year,
they booed Pat Rafter off the court when he was forced to retire injured in
the fifth set of his first-round match. This year, they booed their own
president.

The Oval Office of Flushing Meadows stadium belonged to Pete Sampras. Hewitt
will now concentrate on his preparations for the Sydney Olympics. Perhaps the
future will arrive there.
END

But he was in no doubt after his fighting three sets win that Hewitt will be one of the leading contenders to take over the mantle, indicating a belief that the pony-tailed 19-year-old was destined to become one of the biggest names in world tennis, achieving even more than compatriots Pat Rafter and Pat Cash.

"Lleyton has a good future," said Sampras, who has now won four of his five meetings with Hewitt.

"He's such a young guy that he's going to get better and better as he gets older. He's going to get stronger. He's got the tools.

"I always felt that Michael Chang was probably the best mover (but) I think Lleyton is in the same league.

"He has unbelievable footwork, I mean he really does. He really forces me into errors because I'm going for too much. He returns great."

Sampras started to say Hewitt's first grand slam would probably come on the slick hardcourts here at Flushing Meadows, but proceeded to rate him a strong chance in any of the four majors.

"I think this one's good for him. I think this court is pretty ideal for him," he said, before adding, "I think the Rebound Ace (Australian Open) is good for him. Grass (Wimbledon), he might be tough on the grass, even on the clay (French Open).

"You just look at how all the great players adapt to different surfaces, and I look at Lleyton as someone that's going to get better and better."

As he prepared for his final against another young contender, 20-year-old Marat Safin, Sampras reminded everyone that he wasn't going to go away in a hurry.

"Twenty nine is still pretty young, I believe," he said.

"Tennis players historically are done at 29, 30 (but) I feel like I've got the game that I can play for as long as I want because of my serve."

Sampras was not a fan of the ATP Tour's "New Balls Please" campaign, which projects a group of youngsters including Hewitt as the next wave of tennis royalty.

But the man who nowadays times his run for the four slams of the year said that at this point of his career, he didn't need to use the thought of those yapping at his heels as motivation.

"The motivation for me is to try to hold up that cup.

"I didn't look at it (playing Hewitt) as me making any point. I'm just trying to do well here and trying to win," said Sampras, who now feels less pressure in the majors, having broken Australian Roy Emerson's record of 12 grand slams at Wimbledon this year.

"Wimbledon was a great opportunity for me to break the record. The fact I've done it, I feel a little less pressure. "

Sampras said his tearful withdrawal from last year's US Open due to injury had been an epiphany, which led him to redraft the reasons for playing tennis which still keep him fresh.

Improved service key to success 11 September 2000
NEW YORK (SportsToday)

If there was one lesson that stood out for Lleyton Hewitt after his USOpen
meeting with the master, Pete Sampras, it was to improve his serve.

Hewitt served a personal best 23 aces to Sampras' 18, but there were times
when his first-serves-in ratio dropped below 50percent, and his second serve
was often mauled by the American.

"My serve definitely went off as the match went on," he said.

"From the start I served unbelievable, the best set I've served I think, for
most of the first set.

"But then I lost it a little bit toward the end of the set, got it back, then
for the second and third sets really struggled, and didn't make a lot of
first serves."

Hewitt said the difference in service games was probably the biggest factor
in the match.

He went from winning 78percent of his first-serve points in the first set to
71 in the subsequent two, while Sampras started at 85, raised it to 92 in the
second set, and went to 77.

Hewitt also served double faults when they were least affordable. Two gave
Sampras two sets points at 6-5 in the opener, both of which Hewitt saved,
another helped the American secure the only break of serve in the second set,
and another began the third set tie-break.

Hewitt also learned a lesson in how to deal with the dozens of crucial points
that arise in matches at this level.

"The 30-all, 30-40 points ... when he starts getting in a little trouble, you
think `maybe I have a sniff of a break here', that's when he really pounds
you," Hewitt said of Sampras, who is 10 years his senior.

"Pete comes up with a lot of big serves, big second serves."

Sampras started to say Hewitt's first grand slam title would probably come on
the slick hardcourts here at Flushing Meadows, but proceeded to rate him a
strong chance in any of the four majors.

"I think this one's good for him. I think this court is pretty ideal for
him," he said, before adding, "I think the Rebound Ace (Australian Open) is
good for him. Grass (Wimbledon), he might be tough on the grass, even on the
clay (French Open).

"You just look at how all the great players adapt to different surfaces, and
I look at Lleyton as someone that's going to get better and better."

Hewitt and Mirnyi first unseeded U.S. Open doubles champions
By HAL BOCK
.c The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) - Teamed for the first time, Lleyton Hewitt and Max Mirnyi
became the first unseeded team to win the U.S. Open men's doubles title when
they defeated fourth-seeded Ellis Ferreira and Rick Leach 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (5)
on Friday.

The victory stretched Hewitt's doubles winning streak to 11 straight matches.
Mirnyi has won 10 of his last 11 in doubles.

Hewitt, a semifinalist in the men's tournament, remained in the running to
become the first man since John McEnroe in 1981 to win the U.S. Open singles
and doubles titles in the same year.

Hewitt-Mirnyi capture men's doubles title
By Bill Berkrot

NEW YORK, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Australian Lleyton Hewitt and Max Mirnyi of
Belarus on Friday became the first unseeded team to capture the U.S. Open
men's doubles title.

Hewitt, 19, and Mirnyi, 23, clinched the championship by winning a third-set
tiebreaker from the fourth-seeded team of American Rick Leach and Ellis
Ferreira of South Africa to complete a 6-4 5-7 7-6 triumph.

Hewitt and Mirnyi, who split $340,000 for their victory over this year's
Australian Open doubles champions, were the seventh unseeded men's doubles
team in the open era to reach the U.S. Open final.

``It's been an unbelievable week,'' Hewitt said during the awards ceremony
after claiming his first career Grand Slam title.

``It's the first time I've teamed up with Max. It has been fantastic to come
out here and win,'' added the Australian, who faces Pete Sampras in the men's
singles semifinals on Saturday.

Hewitt has a chance to become the first player since John McEnroe in 1981 to
win both the U.S. Open men's singles and doubles titles in the same year.

Mirnyi, runner-up with Anna Kournikova in this year's mixed doubles
competition, had previously teamed with Serena Williams to win the 1998
Wimbledon and the U.S. Open mixed doubles crowns.

``It's a wonderful feeling. I'm delighted by my performance the last two
weeks,'' said Mirnyi. ``Thanks to my partner. I hope we can team up again.''

Friday's match marked the Grand Slam finale for doubles great Leach, winner
of five Grand Slam titles and runner-up seven times at major championships
with a variety of partners.

``It was a treat to be back in the finals and to play in this great
stadium,'' the 35-year-Leach, who plans to retire at the end of the year,
told the crowd. ``It's still a treat to be playing at my age.''

Ferreira and Leach split $170,000 for reaching their second Grand Slam
doubles final together.
+
``I wish I caught him earlier in my career,'' Ferreira said, paying tribute
to Leach. ``He was a great champion.''

Teenager Hewitt makes US Open history 
By Sports.com's MARK LAMPORT-STOKES
September 8, 2000

Australia's Lleyton Hewitt became the first teenager in history to win the US
Open men's doubles title when he and Max Mirnyi of Belarus took out South
Africa's Ellis Ferreira and American Rick Leach in three sets on Friday.

Leach and Ferreira, who won the Australian Open doubles title in January,
were bidding for their second Grand Slam event of the year but, despite a
brave fightback in the second set, the fourth seeds went down 4-6 7-5 6-7.

Taste that much sweeter

The 19-year-old Hewitt, currently ranked nine in the world at singles but
only 46 at doubles, is already through to the semi-finals of the men's
singles, where he takes on four-time champion Pete Sampras on Super Saturday,
but the doubles crown will make his impressive fortnight taste that much
sweeter.

Hewitt and Mirnyi, remarkably playing together for the first time, were only
the seventh unseeded doubles combination to reach the final of the US Open in
the open era but they became the first to secure the title.

"It's been an unbelievable week for me and to play with Max for the first
time and then win this title is just fantastic," Hewitt said afterwards.

"We've had great support at this tournament and hopefully we can team up
again some time in the future," the 23-year-old Mirnyi said.

Intelligent tactical game

The pony-tailed Australian was pumped up throughout the match, deftly
returning balls aimed at his feet and playing an intelligent tactical game
alongside his partner.

Fittingly, he served for the match during the third-set tie-break and a
booming effort to Ferreira's backhand was netted by the South African to
decide the title.

Although a couple of double faults by Hewitt in the 11th game of the second
set helped Ferreira and Leach come back into the match, the unseeded pair
played the better tennis overall and were good value for their triumph.

Hewitt and Mirnyi had put the cat among the pigeons in the second round of
the doubles championship when they upset the number one seeds, Todd
Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde, in three sets.

No room for any sentimentality

The two Woodies were playing together for the last time in a Grand Slam
event, with Woodforde set to retire after the Sydney Olympics, but Hewitt had
no room for any sentimentality.

Friday's match also marked the Grand Slam swansong for Leach, who has run up
an impressive total of five Grand Slam doubles titles during his career, as
well as seven runner-up placings with a mixture of partners.

"It was a treat to be back in the finals and to play in this great stadium,"
the 35-year-said afterwards. "It's still a treat to be playing at my age."

"I wish I caught him earlier in my career," Ferreira said, as he paid tribute
to Leach. "He was a great champion."
   
Hewitt and Mirnyi Win Doubles Title
by J. Fred Sidhu (The U.S. Open Site)
Friday, September 8, 2000

Playing in their first event as a doubles team, Lleyton Hewitt of Australia
and Max Mirnyi of Belarus became the first unseeded team in the Open era to
capture the US Open men's doubles title with an exciting 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (5)
victory over fourth seeded Ellis Ferreira of South Africa and Rick Leach of
the United States Friday afternoon on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

At 19 years old, Hewitt becomes the youngest male to win a Grand Slam doubles
crown in the Open Era. Ferreira and Leach broke Hewitt at 5-5 in the second
set and then held serve to take the set. Both teams held serve through the
third to force a tiebreaker. At 1-1 in the tiebreaker, Hewitt and Mirnyi
scored a mini-break to go up 2-1. That point made the difference as they went
on to win the tiebreaker 7-5.

The title was Mirnyi's first in men's doubles. He won the Wimbledon and US
Open mixed doubles titles with Serena Williams in 1998.

Match Facts
· Hewitt and Mirnyi were the seventh unseeded doubles team in the Open Era to
reach the US Open final.
· As a semifinalist in singles, Hewitt has the chance to become the first man
since John McEnroe in 1981 to win the US Open singles and doubles in the same
year.
· Mirnyi, who finished as runner-up in mixed doubles with Anna Kournikova, is
the ninth man to reach the US Open mixed doubles and men's doubles in the
Open Era.
· Leach was making his 57th career appearance in a Grand Slam doubles event.
He played his first event in 1982.
· Leach and Ferreira won the Australian Open men's doubles title this year.
· Leach played in his final Grand Slam double match of is career as he will
retire at the end of the year. Leach, who turned professional in 1987, will
become the assistant men's tennis coach at the University of Southern
California.

Rafter believes Hewitt is ready to win his first Grand Slam 8 September 2000 by Darren Walton (SportCentral)

SYDNEY, Sept 8 AAP - Patrick Rafter believes fellow Australian tennis player Lleyton Hewitt is poised to break through for his first grand slam success at the US Open.
At age 19, Hewitt is the youngest grand slam semi-finalist since Ukraine Andrei Medvedev made the last four at the French Open as an 18-year-old in 1993.
But Rafter thinks Hewitt is poised to go a couple of steps further and become the youngest winner of a major tournament since Pete Sampras triumphed at Flushing Meadows 10 years ago.
The South Australian teenager must topple the American great first but Rafter, himself a two-time US Open champion, thinks he can.
"I realistically think Lleyton has at least a 50-50 chance of beating Pete and, if gets there, again I think he has a very good chance of winning the final match," Rafter said today.
"He's already beaten Pete this year at Queen's on grass and this is hardcourt, which I think is Lleyton's better surface.
"He's got what a lot of other guys haven't got and that's a big heart and that goes a long way, so I'm really looking forward to staying up late on Saturday night watching the game."
Should Hewitt reach the tournament decider, he would meet either American veteran Todd Martin or Russian firebrand Marat Safin.
The pony-tailed baseliner, who hadn't previously advanced past the fourth round in a grand slam, can also look forward to a seeding at the Sydney Olympics if his US Open run continues.
Currently the world No.9, Hewitt will rise to at least seventh when the ATP rankings are updated on Monday.
But he could be elevated to as high as second seed at the Sydney Games, depending on who turns up.
World No.1 Andre Agassi and Sampras are out, while doubts remain over ATP Champions Race leader Gustavo Kuerten and Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who are both ranked above Hewitt.
Regardless of his draw, Rafter said the in-form Hewitt represents Australia's best medal hope in the singles.
"He can do whatever he wants," Rafter said.
"He'll get here having played a lot of tennis. He won't need much practice. He'll just get straight into it.
"He plays very well at home in Australia and I think he's a very good chance.
"I think we have a lot of opportunities at the Olympics with myself, hopefully, Mark and especially Lleyton and the Woodies.
"We're really looking forward to bringing home a couple of medals."

Newk says Hewitt is "50 - 50" chance by Trevor Marshallsea (SportCentral)

NEW YORK, Sept 7 AAP - Lleyton Hewitt's Davis Cup captain John Newcombe today
said the 19-year-old could be expected to rise up to his latest challenge
when he plays Pete Sampras in a US Open semi-final on Saturday.

Newcombe agreed with bookmakers in saying ninth seed Hewitt would go in as
the outsider against fourth seed Sampras in his first grand slam semi-final.

But he said the South Australian had so far passed every test he had been
handed, in Davis Cup and in his singles tournaments, and could be expected to
acquit himself well against the American great.

"It would be an optimist who'd say he's going to win but I think he's in
there with a 50-50 chance," Newcombe said.

"The way he's been playing is excellent. He played reasonably well in the
first week, then in the second week in his two matches he's raised the level
to where he wants to be.

"But he's into uncharted waters now. He hasn't been this far in a grand slam
before, so it's a matter of him holding that form as he goes through, whereas
Sampras is very experienced in that.

"But charting Lleyton's career so far, every time he's been asked the really
difficult and serious questions, he's come up with good answers.

"He's had some big moments, and he is prepared for the big moments."

Newcombe was referring chiefly to Hewitt's Davis Cup debut in his
injury-riddled side last year, when he beat Todd Martin in the second round
tie in the USA, and his defeats of Russia's Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat
Safin in the semi-final.

"He's not going to get much more pressure than playing in the Davis Cup
final, or in the quarters or the semis last year," Newcombe said of Hewitt,
who lost both his matches in the final in France.

"So nerves won't be a factor here. We'll just see how he goes in his first
grand slam semis."

Newcombe said Hewitt's Davis Cup success had played an important part in his
rise to No.9 in the world rankings, and the fact he has won 52 matches this
year -- second only to Magnus Norman with 58.

He also said Hewitt's coach, fellow South Australian Darren Cahill, had been
"great for Lleyton."

Hewitt and Mirnyi Reach Final  7 September 2000 by J. Fred Sidhu