Hewitt returns to earth with loss to Safin
(SportsToday; 11/30/2000)

LISBON, Nov 29 AAP - Australia's Lleyton Hewitt was brought back to earth
tonight after his drubbing of Pete Sampras at the ATP Masters Cup tennis
tournament, losing to Russia's world No.1 Marat Safin 6-4 6-4.

Hewitt, ranked sixth in the world, must beat Spain's Alex Corretja tomorrow
in a preview of next week's Davis Cup final to make it through to the last
four.

Despite labouring with a mystery virus which leaves him short of breath,
Hewitt burned through his first round robin match on Tuesday with a 7-5 6-0
defeat of Sampras.

He fought hard again tonight in the battle of the two babies of the eight-man
field, but was edged out in crucial moments by the in-form Safin, who is now
almost certain to be in the weekend's semi-finals.

Hewitt and Safin were 1-1 head-to-head coming into the match, but had not
played for more than a year - well before Safin's charge to the US Open title
and the world No.1 ranking.

But while Safin struggled past Corretja in three sets yesterday, Hewitt had
become the first man in four years to take a set from Sampras to love.

Safin and Hewitt fought out a tough first set tonight, but it was the Russian
who opened the first crack when he broke Hewitt to lead 5-4. He served out to
take the set through a wide Hewitt forehand on his second set point.

Safin had the match seemingly at his mercy when he broke serve in the second
set to lead 4-3, but Hewitt made light of his medical condition to break back
and pull level again.

But the Adelaide teenager spoiled his hard work in the next game by going
down two break points at 15-40 through a double fault and a weak backhand
return on the second break point ended the game. Safin made no mistake in
serving for the match.

In other red group action tonight, Sampras recovered from his drubbing by
Hewitt to beat Corretja 7-6 (7-2) 6-5, all but ending the tournament for the
Spaniard after his first day loss.

Sampras will play Safin on Friday in what will be a dead rubber if Hewitt
wins tomorrow. Sampras said he had not slept well after his heavy loss to
Hewitt and was pleased to have overcome Corretja today.

``I didn't have a good night's sleep, just tossing and turning. I was kind of
just humiliated out there,'' he said of his defeat to Hewitt. ``My goal today
was to come out with a good attitude and try to put what happened yesterday
behind me.''

In the green group tonight, No.5 Yevgeny Kafelnikov and No.4 Magnus Norman
played their first match, with the Russian overcoming a slow start and
cramping in his hand late in the match to beat the Swede 4-6 7-5 6-1.
Kafelnikov plays a rested No.8 Andre Agassi tomorrow, while Norman plays
second seed Gustavo Kuerten.


Hewitt surprises Sampras 28 November 2000

At the Tennis Masters Series Lisboa on Tuesday, No. 1 seed, Marat Safin 
(left) triumphed in his red group round robin opener, dealing No. 7 seed Alex 
Corretja his first loss of the tournament 6-7(6), 7-5, 6-3. 

In Lisboa's first skirmish, matching the veteran Corretja against Safin, one 
of the dominant stars of the ATP Tour's "New Balls Please" campaign of tennis 
top rising talent, the Spaniard took an initial first-set command. 

Corretja broke Safin early to assert his veteran authority. However, the 
Russian rallied to keep it close, but dropped the first set to the Spaniard 
in the tie-break. 

Coming to life in the second set, Safin broke Corretja to draw level at 5-5. 
Gaining momentum, the Russian held serve to take the 6-5 advantage, and then 
broke the Spaniard to level the match. 

In the third set, Safin broke Corretja twice to go up 5-3, then held serve to 
finally close out the Spaniard, for his first win at Lisboa. With the 
victory, Safin increased his lead by 20 points over the No. 2 seed Gustavo 
Kuerten in the Champions Race. 

Safin was happy with the outcome, if not the first two sets: "(I am) Finally, 
satisfied with my third set after these two horrible sets. Finally I found my 
game. It gives me confidence, at least." 

Corretja, defeated in his first match, expressed his dissatisfaction when he 
commented, "You feel a little sad, of course, because what you want is to 
win. Especially when you are leading in the score the whole second set, you 
cannot finish the match, you feel like a little frustrated, no? " 

A recent mysterious malady that caused Lleyton Hewitt (right) to withdraw 
from Tennis Master Series - Paris didn't trouble him in his first match in 
Lisboa. The Australian teenager spent little time disposing of five time 
Masters Cup champ Pete Sampras. In one hour and 15 minutes Sampras was 
toppled with a 7-5, 6-0 score. 

Sampras, who has not played a tournament since the US Open in September, was 
a little rusty and only managed three aces. He had his legendary serve broken 
on four occasions by Hewitt. The American was leading 5-4 in the first set 
before Hewitt rattled off nine straight game wins to take the match. 

END--www.atptour.com/magazine 


Hewitt beats Sampras in Masters Cup 
By Ossian Shine 

LISBON, Nov 28 (Reuters)(DS) - Australian scrapper Lleyton Hewitt stunned 
Pete Sampras 7-5 6-0 in the $3.7-million ATP Masters Cup on Tuesday. 

The 19-year-old Hewitt struck a second savage blow for the young guns of the 
ATP Tour after 20-year-old Marat Safin had fought back from a set and 5-3 
down to tame Spain's Alex Corretja 6-7 7-5 6-3 in the opening red group 
match. 

Safin's result had ended Sampras's hopes of finishing the year ranked number 
one for a seventh time. 

Only Gustavo Kuerten can now prevent Safin from becoming the first 
non-American year-end number one since Swede Stefan Edberg in 1991. 

Safin leads Brazil's Kuerten by 95 points and Sampras by 167. There are a 
maximum 150 points on offer for the champion. Kuerten was facing Andre 
Agassi in the green group in Tuesday's night match. 

Sampras had vowed on Monday that he would not be caught napping despite not 
having played competitively since losing the U.S. Open final to Safin in 
September. 

But he was made to eat his words on Tuesday as Hewitt took revenge in 
Lisbon's Atlantic Pavilion for a semifinal defeat by the American in the U.S. 
Open. 

FIERCE RETURNS 
Sampras, a five-time champion at this event, held his own in the opening set 
until 5-5 when the ferocity of Hewitt's returns told and he dropped serve. 
Hewitt snatched the advantage and served out for 7-5 in 48 minutes. 

He did not lose another game as he tore through Sampras's serve to record his 
second win in six matches against the American. 

"This is great...it's just a dream come true," Hewitt said. 

"A couple of years ago I was playing the satellite tournaments in New South 
Wales -- now I'm here playing the very best." 

It is not necessarily all bad news for Sampras, though. Last year he was 
thrashed in the round robin stage by Agassi 6-2 6-2 and went on to win the 
tournament in straight sets. 

Safin overcame a painfully slow start to beat 1998 champion Corretja. 

He saved three set points in the opening set but netted a sliced backhand on 
the fourth to hand Corretja the set 8-6 in the tie-break after one hour four 
minutes of error-strewn action. 

The Spaniard started the second set brightly, drilling groundstrokes deep 
into Safin's side of the court. He forced the Russian to save two break 
points in the opening game and two in the fifth game before Safin finally 
cracked, double-faulting for 2-3. 

BRAVE HITTING 
Corretja comfortably served for 4-2 and had Safin in trouble a game later. 
The Russian clung on, though, and held thanks to some brave hitting. 
He showed the full extent of his courage when receiving serve three games 
later. Facing defeat, he broke Corretja to love to level matters 5-5. 

Warming to the task, Safin took control of the set and squared the match one 
set all, winning the second 7-5 after two hours and a minute. 

Rejuvenated, Safin came out for the third set all guns blazing and bludgeoned 
winners past Corretja. 

A thumped backhand return gave him the break for 2-0 as the momentum swung 
irresistibly Safin's way. 

Four powerful serves later it was 3-0 and Corretja looked as though he could 
not wait to get off court. 

He rallied briefly but there was no denying Safin who wrapped up matters 6-3 
after two hours 32 minutes. 

"In general, for the first day, I think that's okay," Safin said. 

END--http://www.dailysoccer.com/news/text/tennis/ 


Hewitt reveals anguish by Leo Schlink 29 November 2000

LLEYTON Hewitt yesterday revealed he had forgotten how to breathe normally after contracting a mystery illness that has turned his tennis career into an almost daily proposition. 

As the talented Australian teenager prepared yesterday for a monumental Masters Cup debut against Pete Sampras in Lisbon, Hewitt spoke of his anguish over the mystery ailment. 

The Adelaide baseliner admitted he had been left frustrated and depressed by his inability to shrug off the condition and the scores of specialists who have been unable to correctly diagnose it. 

"I feel like I'm hitting the ball great, it's just amazing, but when I go out on court I feel like I forget how to breathe normally - like I was a few months ago," Hewitt said. 

"I've been to some homoeopaths and they think I've got a virus in my trachea, which has gone down into my stomach. 

"I feel very bloated in my stomach and my breathing is the main element being a tennis player. At the start of the year, I could catch my breath between points. Now I feel breathless at rest as well as during a match." 

Despite the health setbacks, Hewitt has put together an amazing season. He is the first teenager to win four titles in a season since Sampras managed the feat in 1990, and the youngest player to qualify for a year-ending championship since Andrei Medvedev seven years ago. 

But the frustration over his illness has clouded what should be his happiest year in tennis. 

"There are so many things at the moment and nobody has been able to pinpoint what it is," Hewitt said. 

Hewitt's health is of paramount interest to Australia, both individually and from a Davis Cup perspective with the final against Spain in Barcelona little more than a week away. 

Yesterday, Hewitt said he was determined to play through the pain barrier. 

"I've made the US Open semi-finals with this problem and made the final of Stuttgart and had a tough draw to get through there, so it's an important hurdle for me to get over mentally. 

"It's important for me to believe I can get over the pain barrier. To make the Tennis Masters Cup is a dream come true for me at such a young age. It's great to be part of all this." 

The West Lakes right-hander has been bracketed in Lisbon with Sampras, who won a tense US Open semi-final battle between the two in September, world No1 and US Open champion Marat Safin and Davis Cup foe Alex Corretja. 

While tried by his health problems, 19-year-old Hewitt said he was in peak form after a three-week break. 

"I'm hitting the ball better than I was at the start of the year when I had my good results (four wins in six months)," Hewitt said. 

No Australian has won either the ATP World Championships or the Grand Slam Cup, the two events which have combined to form the Tennis Masters Cup and its $7million prize pool. 

If Hewitt is to surpass the achievements of men such as Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, John Newcombe and Pat Rafter, he will have to finish in the top two after three round-robin matches against the red group pool opponents. 

If successful, Hewitt would qualify for the sudden-death semi-final phase, with the opportunity of progressing to Sunday's final. 

His main focus is form and the Davis Cup final next week on clay. 

Once the December 8-10 clash with Spain is over, Hewitt will rest before making a decision on whether to defend the AAPT Championship title in Adelaide (January 1-7). 

"If I'm right to play two or three days before the tournament, even if I haven't hit a ball, I'll go out there and give it 100 per cent," Hewitt said. 

"Playing at home is something I always love and Colin Stubs (the tournament director) has been fantastic to me. If there's a chance I can play without affecting my health, then I'll play."