Lleyton Hewitt is concerned about Davis Cup life without Pat Rafter and is hoping fellow Australian players will "step up".

The 20-year-old Hewitt has blossomed on the tour, and particularly in Davis Cup, with Rafter nearby as friend, mentor and fellow top 10 singles player.

Without him next year, Hewitt knows a lot more pressure will fall on his shoulders with few countrymen showing signs of rising high enough in the rankings to fill the gap.

"It's going to be tough," Hewitt said. "I don't know what the solution is really.

"You know, I'm going to go out there and give everything I've got in my Davis Cup matches just like I have in the past. It's not going to change the way I look at going out there and playing for my country.

"But obviously, when I go out there and I have a guy like Pat, who is so good under pressure, has played so many big matches, played well for Australia, that gives me a lot of confidence that we're two guys going out there in the top 10.

"That's a tough situation for the opponents to look at."

Hewitt will join Rafter to spearhead Australia in the Davis Cup semi-final against Sweden in Sydney next month and will be hoping to send Rafter into expected retirement with his name on the trophy for the first time in December.

And he said he hoped compatriots like 30-year-old Wayne Arthurs, 88th-ranked Andrew Ilie, and -- when he has recovered from his long-term knee injury -- Mark Philippoussis, would "step up to the plate" once Rafter had gone.

But when pressed on the issue of why more young Aussies hadn't followed him into the world's top 20, or even the top 100, particularly now that stalwarts like Jason Stoltenberg, Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge have either retired or faded, Hewitt expressed concern that too many were finding their comfort level in the still lucrative doubles scene.

"We have a lot more guys playing doubles than going out and playing singles.

"Whether it's easier to play doubles, only have to cover half the court or whatever, I'm not sure," he said, calling on Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald and coach Wally Masur to cultivate the talent.

"I think guys like Fitzy and Wally have to speak to those guys."

Hewitt still expressed a hope that some unspecified countrymen might "break through" later than expected. Rafter was 24 before he won the first of his two US Opens, while Wayne Arthurs was 28 before the first of his three grand slam fourth round appearances.

"Pat was a bit of a late bloomer. Maybe some of those (doubles) guys can come through and burst on the tour."

He added, however, that "we still need some younger guys coming up".

But, significantly, he could still not put a name to any prospects, including the teenagers who won Australia the World Youth Cup this year -- Todd Reid and Ryan Henry.

_________________________________________________
Rafter confident about future

From our wire services

28 August 01

News Interactive

NEW YORK: Pat Rafter insists there is no cause for panic over the apparent thinning in the ranks of quality Australian male players.
Rafter is one of only four Aussies in the men's singles draw at the US Open, a record low for Australians at an open-era grand slam, and a turn-out which has concerned some, including his coach Tony Roche.

The low representation is linked to retirements by players including Jason Stoltenberg and Mark Woodforde, and the age-related fade-outs from the singles scene of Todd Woodbridge and Richard Fromberg, among others.

Rafter is expected to also retire at the end of the year, and with Mark Philippoussis out with a long term knee injury, 20-year-old Lleyton Hewitt appears as a lonely Aussie figure in future big time men's tennis.

Roche this week said it appeared the Australian boom expected after Rafter's US Open wins in 1997 and '98 was taking far longer to arrive than expected.

But Rafter said he was confident it would not be too long in coming, just as the emergence of himself, Hewitt and Philippoussis in the past decade had revived the country's fortunes.

The Queenslander said Australian tennis had gone through a difficult transitional spell through the mid-1990s.

"People were saying: 'Tennis has no one. Who is going to be the next one coming through?'," he said.

"Then all of a sudden you had three guys in the top 10. This has been really healthy for tennis in Australia.

"I think something will happen. I think there's too many good sportsmen in Australia for someone not to come through at some stage."

Australia has promising under-18 boys in Todd Reid, Ryan Henry, who are ranked in the top 40 and won their country the world team cup this year but Rafter said patience would be required before fans saw them reach their full potential.

"There's a little bit of promise there. It's a big step to make," he said
END
________________________________________________
Roche winces at low turnout

From our wire services

27 August 01

News Interactive

NEW YORK: The record low turnout of Australian men at the US Open is a disappointing sign that any Pat Rafter-inspired boom in the country will be a while longer in coming.
That is the opinion of Australian great Tony Roche, Rafter's coach, who winced when told only four Aussie men would be in the tournament - the smallest representation from the country in any grand slam event since the open era began 33 years ago.

Roche, like most with an interest in the game in Australia, expected his protege's 1997 US Open triumph to spark an upsurge in the number of youngsters in the country not only playing the game, but rising to the ATP Tour.

Instead, 20-year-old Lleyton Hewitt remains a solitary figure as the future hope of Australian tennis, and will be more so when Rafter steps away from the game at the end of the year.

While 24-year-old Mark Philippoussis is only temporarily off the scene with a knee injury which keeps him from a fifth grand slam in succession, Australia's only other top 50-ranked player, Wayne Arthurs, is already 30.

And so far, no young stars have stepped up to fill the gaps left by the long expected retirements of Jason Stoltenberg and Mark Woodforde, and the age-related form declines of Todd Woodbridge and Richard Fromberg.

Roche said while officials in Australia were working on replenishing the country's stocks of talented young players, more patience would be required.

"When Pat won his first US Open," Roche said, "you would've hoped that would have helped motivate the kids in Australia and that some of them would have been coming through a bit quicker than they are.

"It's maybe just one of those things that we've got to wait a little longer than we would have hoped.

"I know they've got good programs in Australia and good people working in them."

Roche, a US Open finalist in 1969-70, said he was disappointed to see only four of his younger male compatriots in the tournament, which starts at Flushing Meadows tomorrow.

"Obviously it's down to a combination of things," he said.

"There are a lot of guys who've retired or maybe are a little past their best, like Richard Fromberg, the Woodies, and Jason Stoltenberg.

"You take those guys out of it, plus there's probably not as many young kids coming through as we would like, and that's why we've only got four guys in the draw."

Hewitt through to US Open second round

Australian fourth seed Lleyton Hewitt struggled into the second round of
the US Open tennis championships at Flushing Meadows by ousting Swede
Magnus Gustafsson in an error-strewn match.
While Hewitt won in straight sets 6-3 6-2 7-5, he will have to improve
drastically on a faltering performance if he wants to repeat his grand slam
best of a semi-final appearance at this tournament last year.
Hewitt, who lost in the second round at two of his previous three
tournaments, was again nowhere near his best form on another humid day at
Flushing Meadows.
But the 34-year-old Gustafsson was even more out of sorts, ending with 49
unforced errors to make Hewitt's 24 mistakes look acceptable.
Hewitt, beaten by Pete Sampras in the semis here 12 months ago, will be
hoping to lift when he plays 95th-ranked wildcard James Blake, a
21-year-old American who cruised past 89th-ranked Spaniard David Sanchez
6-3 6-4 6-2 today.
The opening games today were a fair indication of the low quality two-hours
ahead.
Hewitt could not make one first serve in the opening match, but still held
before breaking Gustafsson's first service game on his way to a 3-0 lead.
Things deteriorated in the second set.
Hewitt broke in the first game and then led 2-0, but Gustafsson came back
to 2-2 when Hewitt coughed up a service game after leading 40-0.
At 15-15 in the fifth game, Gustafsson hit a serve into his courtside
chair, dislodging his drink bottle.
A subsequent double fault helped Hewitt to a break point, and though he
converted it to lead 3-2, the 20-year-old threw his cap to the ground in
disgust at his own form.
Another break made it 5-2 to Hewitt, but after racking up three set points
at 40-0, he made errors on all three, including an unforgivable double
fault on the third. Finally, he got a fourth chance through a Gustafsson
error, and he converted with the help of a net cord.
The farce of errors continued in the third set as the pair traded service
breaks.
At 5-5, the Swede predictably dropped his serve to allow Hewitt to serve
for the match, which he did in refreshingly composed fashion.
In women's action, Hewitt's fellow South Australian Alicia Molik overcame
the unfamiliar burden of expectancy to see off a little known 16-year-old
opponent and move into the second round.
Molik, with a ranking of 68, doesn't often find herself in matches she is
expected to win easily in grand slams.
But that was the case today when she faced wildcard Bethanie Mattek, an
American ranked 332 in the world, who had played only 10 tour matches.
Molik coasted to a 4-2 lead in the first set, then appeared to believe her
job was done. Instead Mattek rallied to take the next four games, forcing
Molik to work hard to eventually secure the victory in three sets, 4-6 6-2
6-4.
"The whole match felt scratchy. It felt pretty ugly," said Molik.
"I was expected to beat that girl too so that adds a bit of pressure."
Molik will now face a tougher test against Bulgarian 15th seed Magdalena
Maleeva in the second round.
AAP

No. 4 Hewitt Finishes Gustafsson
by Erik Boland
Tuesday, August 28, 2001

No. 4 seed Lleyton Hewitt of Austria proved more than worthy of his high US
Open seed, easily disposing of Sweden's Magnus Gustafsson in a first round
matchup in Louis Armstrong Stadium Tuesday. The match appeared headed for a
fourth set with Gustaffson ahead 4-2 in the third, but Hewitt stormed back.
Gustafsson had more winners (21-14) than Hewitt but more than twice as many
unforced errors (49-24). In the second round, Hewitt will take on the
winner of the David Sanchez/James Blake match.

Match facts
- Hewitt, in just his third US Open, has enjoyed success in Flushing,
reaching the semifinals last year coupled with winning the men's doubles
title with Max Mirnyi
- Hewitt was defeated in straight sets by Pete Sampras in one of last
year's Open semis.
- Hewitt currently leads the ATP Tour with 58 match victories.
- Gustafsson, 34, was the second-oldest player in this year's Open.
- Gustafsson, who announced he will retire following this season, never
warmed to the Flushing hardcourts in nine tries, his best Open outcomes
being second round appearances in 1996 and 1997

Hewitt happy with mistake-ridden win
By Trevor Marshallsea

Australian Lleyton Hewitt's straight sets defeat of Magnus Gustafsson (6-3 6-2 7-5) was notable mainly for the number of unforced errors.

AFL-mad Hewitt will no doubt be aware of Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy's axiom that it is good to get a bad match out of the way, and he will probably hoping this mistake-riddled exhibition falls into that category.

Not that the supremely confident youngster would admit to it.

"I thought I played pretty good actually," said Hewitt, who slammed his cap onto the ground beside his courtside chair in disgust at his form.

And that was after winning a game, against Gustafsson's serve.

"He's a tough competitor," Hewitt said of the 34-year-old Swede, who has now lost 10 of his past 12 grand slam matches and is calling it quits at the end of the year.

"That's as well as I've seen him play in a long time," added Hewitt despite Gustafsson's 49 unforced errors which made his own 24 look respectable.

At one stage Gustafsson put a serve into his own courtside chair, comically dislodging a drink bottle.

Hewitt, who said he was still battling the effects of the mystery ailment which restricts his breathing, will again start favourite when he meets American James Blake for the first time in the second round.

But despite a seeding and a favourable draw which suggests anything short of a semi-final berth would be a disappointment, Hewitt said he was not putting too much pressure on himself.

"It wouldn't matter if I was seeded 16," he said.

"I'm not looking at it as 'I should make the semi-finals'



Win belies Hewitt's form
29 August 01

NEW YORK: Lleyton Hewitt must improve drastically on his US Open first
round performance if he is to live up to his No.4 seeding and match last
year's semi-final appearance.
Hewitt has been accorded high status at the Open, reflected not just in the
seedings but by his young face beaming down from giant billboards around
New York as part of a series of credit card advertisements matching Open
competitors with one-word slogans.

His is "dynamite", a description he feels is "not too bad, I suppose".

But in his opening effort against Magnus Gustafsson, either Hewitt was
zealously keeping his powder dry, or this city's infamous August humidity
got to him.

The South Australian has, at 20, already been involved in numerous
unforgettable matches, but despite the suggested ease of a straight sets
win, his 6-3 6-2 7-5 defeat of Gustafsson was difficult to watch.

AFL-mad Hewitt will no doubt be aware of Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy's
axiom that it is good to get a bad match out of the way, and he will
probably hoping this mistake-riddled exhibition falls into that category.

Not that the supremely confident youngster would admit to it.

"I thought I played pretty good actually," said Hewitt, who slammed his cap
onto the ground beside his courtside chair in disgust at his form.

And that was after winning a game, against Gustafsson's serve.

"He's a tough competitor," Hewitt said of the 34-year-old Swede, who has
now lost 10 of his past 12 grand slam matches and is calling it quits at
the end of the year.

"That's as well as I've seen him play in a long time," added Hewitt despite
Gustafsson's 49 unforced errors which made his own 24 look respectable.

At one stage Gustafsson put a serve into his own courtside chair, comically
dislodging a drink bottle.

Hewitt, who said he was still battling the effects of the mystery ailment
which restricts his breathing, will again start favourite when he meets
American James Blake for the first time in the second round.

But despite a seeding and a favourable draw which suggests anything short
of a semi-final berth would be a disappointment, Hewitt said he was not
putting too much pressure on himself.

"It wouldn't matter if I was seeded 16," he said.

"I'm not looking at it as 'I should make the semi-finals'."

In the women's tournament, Alicia Molik and Evie Dominikovic advanced to
the second round.

Dominikovic set up a clash with second seed Jennifer Capriati after beating
Maria Jose Martinez of Spain 6-1 6-1.

In the shadows
By MARK RILEY
Tuesday 28 August 2001

Lleyton Hewitt has not played a lot of tennis lately. When he has, it has not been particularly good tennis.

His last match was a lamentable loss to Moroccan Younes El Aynaoui in Indianapolis. Before that, Pat Rafter made him look brittle in the semis at Cincinnati.

And Wimbledon? Forget it. He went in with the best grasscourt record in the world and played like an uninterested ballboy, beaten in the round of 16 by Nicolas Escude.

Now, as the US Open starts in New York, Lleyton Hewitt has become something of a forgotten man.

He is seeded No.4, but is attracting no buzz. All the chatter is about Gustavo Kuerten, Rafter, Andre Agassi and young US sensation Andy Roddick.

Strangely, it might just be the best preparation Hewitt has had for a grand slam tournament. Rafter, who knows the Adelaide scrapper pretty well, says Hewitt plays his best when the odds are against him.

Hewitt's coach, Darren Cahill, has made a concerted effort to keep things low-key for his charge in the lead-up to the Open, dodging public appearances and skipping the normal rush of pre-tournament interviews.

Cahill hopes that ditching the hype might help restore the focus that was so obviously missing from Hewitt's game at Wimbledon.

Winning here might be a bit too much to expect, but the young baseliner does have an excellent chance of repeating his 2000 result and reaching the semis.

Hewitt has found himself in the much easier half of the draw, with what should be a clear run to a fourth-round meeting with German Tommy Haas, who beat Pete Sampras in the final of the Hamlet Cup on Sunday.

He would then meet either Juan Carlos Ferrero or Roddick in the quarters for the right to probably meet Kuerten in the semis.

It is not an easy draw, but it is nowhere near as tough as the bottom half - and the bottom quarter, in particular.

There are four former title winners playing in this year's Open - Rafter (2), Sampras (4), Agassi (2) and Marat Safin (1). All but Safin have been tossed into the bottom quarter of the draw.

Rafter was due to play his first-round match early this morning against lowly ranked American Bob Bryan.

He would have walked on to centre court knowing that to win what may well be his last slam he would most probably have to beat Sampras, Agassi, Safin and Kuerten in consecutive matches.

That is no easy road to retirement.

Sampras is playing the worst tennis of his career. He has not won a tournament since Wimbledon 2000 and his best result was his loss to Haas in the final of the Hamlet on Sunday.

Agassi's year has also been a little disappointing, after he started with a win at the Australian Open. He lost in the quarters of the French, and was then beaten by Rafter in a sensational five-set semi at Wimbledon. But Agassi always plays good tennis here.


Kuerten has had an impressive US hardcourt season, spanking Rafter in the final at Cincinnati before being forced to retire from the final in Indianapolis a week later, again against Rafter.

The flamboyant Brazilian baseliner is seeded No.1 in New York for the first time, even though he has never managed to get past the quarters. He has a dream run to the semis, but will find the Rebound Ace surface smoother and faster here than elsewhere, which puts him at a distinct disadvantage.

"I can say it can be tricky," Kuerten said of playing in New York. "I gotta take it easy, don't get myself too nervous, just practise hard. The one thing I can be sure is that I'm well prepared and ready to go if I get my rhythm going."

While Rafter stares down one slugfest after another, Hewitt sees a less daunting passage to the semis from the appreciably easier top half of the draw. He has the prospect of facing Haas in the round of 16, then either Ferrero or Roddick in the quarters to earn the right to meet Kuerten in the semis.

All the talk about the women's event is on a Williams versus Williams final, with sisters Venus and Serena positioned on opposite halves of the draw.

Venus, the reigning champion, is in scorching form, coming fresh off a resounding victory over Lindsay Davenport at the New Haven final on Saturday. Davenport is on Serena's side of the draw, along with Martina Hingis. Venus has to contend with Kim Clijsters and Jennifer Capriati.