By Patrick Miles
June 26, 2001
A DEFIANT Lleyton Hewitt has vowed he will not temper his on-court behaviour
when he begins his third foray into Wimbledon tonight (AEST).
The 20-year-old, who has been the best grass-court player in the world over the
past 12 months, will face Sweden's Magnus Gustafsson, the world No. 54, for the
first time and said he would keep his pumped-up style of play.
"I won't be changing," the Australian fifth seed said.
Hewitt has endured criticism for his manner, and was fined $US1000 ($1950) for
verbally abusing an umpire at the French Open earlier this month.
"I get pumped up on the court, I like to show emotion and not everyone
likes it. But it's me," he said. "It's the only way I know to play
sport.
"If I was playing cricket I'd be just like Shane Warne. I'd be doing all
those pumps and stuff. I need to be in that mood to play my best."
Since the South Australian was upset in the first round by Jan-Michael Gambill
last year, he has not lost a match on grass. His relentless scampering, solid
serves and volleys have produced success on a surface that had been alien to
him.
As the No. 5 seed, Hewitt is expected to reach at least the quarter-finals,
which would be his best result at Wimbledon, the only grand slam at which he has
failed to improve in the past three years.
Hewitt won two matches on his first occasion in 1999 before losing on centre
court to Germany's triple champion, Boris Becker. Last year, as the No. 7 seed,
he crashed out to Gambill, again on centre court.
From that day, he has won four Davis Cup singles matches on grass ¨C against
Brazil and Ecuador ¨C defended his title at Queen's and won his ninth overall
at Rosmalen, in Holland.
At Queen's, he beat Pete Sampras and Tim Henman on the same day, then in the
semi-finals at Rosmalen, he swept aside Roger Federer en route to a final
against Argentina's Guillermo Canas, whom he defeated 6-3 6-4.
Hewitt is prepared to put aside the memory of last year's first-round defeat and
launch himself into another grand slam.
"I give myself a chance," he said.
It is difficult to imagine Hewitt lacking any form of confidence but there are
signs that, like many players, he holds Wimbledon in some kind of awe.
"It's a different environment," Hewitt said. "There's so much
history with that centre court at Wimbledon, and you have always got that in the
back of your mind when you go out there to play.
"It's a bit of a hard court to get pumped up on. This year, if I get the
opportunity to play on there, whatever round it may be, I'm going to try to go
out there and play my game.
"It's not something you can actually see from the sidelines. Until you are
actually out there in the middle of it, you really can't tell the feeling.
"It's a totally different situation. The other three grand slam centre
courts are pretty similar in a lot of ways. At Wimbledon, it's definitely
different for the players."
Hewitt, Rafter set off on collision course
By JOHN THIRSK
24jun01
THREE-time champion John Newcombe believes Patrick Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt can
become the first Australians to meet in a Wimbledon semi-final in 30 years.
If the Davis Cup team-mates progress to the last four on Friday week, they will
emulate the 1971 semi-final when top seed Newcombe defeated third seed Ken
Rosewall 6-1 6-1 6-3.
Newcombe then took out Stan Smith in five sets for his third title.
"Both Patrick and Lleyton are comfortable on grass and if they play to
their full potential there is every possibility they will meet one another in
the semi-final," Newcombe said. "It's possible.
"I'm not overly concerned with Patrick's first-round loss at Rosmalen last
week.
"It would have been nice for him to have a few more matches coming into
Wimbledon,
"He'll come to Wimbledon early, work out on the grass there and hone his
skills with `Rochey' (coach Tony Roche).
"Patrick needs to get through a couple of matches -- one of them maybe
against one of the most dangerous floaters, Wayne Arthurs -- and then see how he
is going."
The draw has Rafter (seeded 3) and Hewitt (5) in the bottom half, but there is a
minefield of talent ahead before they should even think of finals day.
"In his early days, Patrick wasn't that comfortable on grass, but in the
last couple of years has adjusted to the surface," Newcombe added.
"He has an aggressive serve volley game ideally suited to the grass. There
is experience reaching a semi-final two years ago and the final last year.
"Against Pete Sampras there was only a couple of points which swung the
match away from Patrick and stopped him from becoming the champion and winning
his third grand slam title."
Hewitt is the form player after winning his second Queen's title in succession.
"He lost first round last year after winning at Queen's but will have
learnt a lot in only his second time at the championships," Newcombe said.
"Lleyton has always been at home on grass.
"You only have to look at the way he took out Kafelnikov in the Davis Cup
semi-final in Brisbane two years ago.
"He's not worried about the surface. He has a great service return and a
good serve, which is a strike weapon on grass.
"That's (serve) getting better all the time.
"There would be few who would argue that he is probably the fastest mover
on any court surface.
"He's got a good draw and the type of opponents he would like to play to
get through to the semi-final."
Davis Cup coach Wally Masur feels Hewitt must adjust to the atmosphere of
Wimbledon better.
"When he has played on grass it's been in a Davis Cup environment back home
and he's loved the occasion," Masur said.
"But, at Wimbledon, it's rather staid ... even on centre court, where he's
been, there is just polite applause rather than the cheering Aussie fans at Cup
matches.
"But he's got the game and so has Patrick with his proven track
record."
Trying to predict a Wimbledon winner is like throwing the dice, according to
Newcombe.
He says that Andre Agassi (seeded 2) is the danger for Hewitt in a
quarter-final.
An early meeting with Arthurs and then Yevgeny Kafelnikov (seeded 7) in a
quarter-final are stumbling blocks for Rafter.
"I have a feeling it is possible that Roger Federer can upset Pete Sampras
in a fourth round," Newcombe added, referring to the top half of the draw.
"If Sampras survives through to a quarter-final, then you would be game to
back against him.
"A Sampras exit would open the door for Tim Henman to make the final and
become the first Brit to win the title since Fred Perry in 1936."
Is Hewitt the favorite for Wimbledon?
By KRYSTYNA RUDZKI
.c The Associated Press
LONDON (AP) - Even Pete Sampras admits that Lleyton Hewitt could be the man
to replace Sampras as Wimbledon champion.
After defeating two of the best grass-court players in one day to
successfully defend his Queen's Club title, the 20-year-old Australian looks
like Sampras' strongest challenger for the Grand Slam event starting June 25.
Sampras, a seven-time Wimbledon champion, lost to Hewitt in the semifinals,
while Tim Henman fell in the final. Both games were played on a cold, windy
and overcast Sunday after rain washed out play Saturday.
``He's got that mental attitude and he's got the wheels, which is a huge part
of grass-court tennis,'' Sampras said after Hewitt beat him 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in
a rematch of last year's Queen's final.
``He'll do well and be there in the second week and maybe beyond, so he's
going to be a good favorite.
``The guy moves unbelievably well on this stuff. He's very tough to beat. I'd
almost rather play him on a hard court. I don't mind playing him on grass,
but it's a good surface for him. It helps out his serve.
``If you look at all the Wimbledon champions, you look at their movement. You
look at Bjorn Borg, look at John McEnroe, all the great champions have always
moved well on grass, and that's half the battle.''
Henman, who faced Hewitt less than two hours after beating South African
Wayne Ferreira in his semifinal, took the Australian to two tiebreakers, but
lost 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3).
``He's a tough competitor on any surface,'' Henman said. ``I eventually break
his serve for the first time in the match and he hits four winners to break
me. But that's one of his qualities, the way he bounces back.
``I was certainly the one under pressure on my serves. He finds a way to get
the ball back and sometimes get winners. That's when you can't question
yourself, you've got to give your opponent credit.''
Hewitt said that anyone who would have predicted his form on Sunday would
have been dreaming.
``It's unbelievable to win the title in this way and beat two of the best
grass-court players in the world,'' said Hewitt, who also reached the
quarterfinals of the French Open on clay.
As for Wimbledon, Hewitt is wary of predictions after he downed Sampras to
take the Queen's title, then lost in the first round at Wimbledon. His best
result was the third round in 1999.
``They said I was a chance last year, but I lost in the first round,'' he
said. ``I've got nothing to lose this year.''
Sampras agreed.
``After he beat me pretty good in the final (last year), I thought he would
go a little further than he did. But I think this year, he'll break through
and do well,'' Sampras said.
Greg Rusedski, another grass-court specialist beaten by Hewitt in the
quarterfinals, is also a fan of Hewitt.
``He reminds me of Jimmy Connors,'' Rusedski said. ``He is the consummate
professional, so when you win, you know you have beaten him and he hasn't
beaten himself.''