Rd 3 Lleyton defeated by Tommy Robredo 4-6 1-6 6-3 6-2 6-3

How do you explain the turnaround in the match there after being two sets up?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, he probably picked up his game a little bit, I think. He put probably, you know, more importance on getting off to a good start in the next two sets, which he had to. And I probably, you know, just took the foot off the pedal a little bit I guess at the start of the third and the fourth.
He probably played too well the start of the third. I think the start of the fourth I had a few chances to go up a break. You know, I think there was a 30-All point there, he hit a net cord. I had chances and didn't quite take them.
You know, it was the same in the fifth. I had a lot of chances and didn't play the big points well enough.

Q. What do you think about your serving today? What was your opinion of that?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Patchy. You know, I lost a few service games with soft double faults. You know, but then I felt like, you know, especially in the first set and even the second, I got myself out of a lot more trouble, you know, breakpoints down, I served quite well.
Actually, felt like I played pretty well for the first two sets. You know, I felt like probably that was some of the best clay court tennis that I've played in a long time, so...

Q. Is the serving rhythm something that's bothering you?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Now and then. Yeah, it's something that I feel will just click into place at some stage. I think with clay, you have a different sort of mindset when you go out there to serve because you can't get that many cheap points. So it's a strange sort of situation because, you know, quite often I hit some of my best serves out there in the last few matches.
You know, especially against Davydenko, I hit it for winners. It's more angles and kickers out wide, more trying to set up the point than trying to win the point off your first serve.
My rhythm is not there at the moment. Hopefully I can work on it and pick it up.

Q. Just in the last changeover, you were changing racquets. Was there something wrong with the racquet or just despair?
LLEYTON HEWITT: No, no, I was using string savers. Could have snapped at any stage. I went through just about seven racquets in five sets. You know, as I said in the last press conference, I use gut. Gut starts fraying after probably six or seven games on clay for me. You know, it's a matter of picking my times when I got to change racquets so I don't waste a big point snapping a string.

Q. In the context of your Grand Slam career, how disappointing is this loss? Is this one you sort of take on the chin or is it particularly disappointing because you were so far up in the match?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it's disappointing at the moment, I think. I think I'll look back on it and, you know, I won't be that disappointed, I don't think. You know, it's not something that -- I'm sure I'll get over it pretty soon.
Any loss in any tournament hurts straightaway, there's no doubt about it, you know, particularly in a Grand Slam. But, you know, I'm sure I'll bounce back.

Q. What do you have to add to your game or do to become a factor here?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Don't know (smiling). I think it's too soon after. It's something that you've got to sit down. I'm not going to put on the clay court shoes for nearly another year. I don't have to worry about it right now.

Q. Before coming into this tournament, you mentioned not being sure you could ever win this here. Has it changed? Maybe has it confirmed what you already thought? Is it too early for that?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Oh, I feel like, you know, today I played some of my best tennis. If I could have kept going in the third set and played like I did in the first two sets, took my chances, you know, I'm sure -- I was able to beat Tommy, there was no doubt about it. I felt like I was good enough to win today. Whether you can go another four matches, it's going to get tougher and tougher with every match you go. That's another question.
I think a lot depends on the draws. I don't think you can really put your finger on it and say you can win this or you can't. It's definitely going to be the toughest one for me to win, I think.

Q. Do you think, like some Wimbledon Champions, you might place less of an emphasis on this tournament?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Don't know. Hasn't even crossed my mind. For me, obviously Wimbledon's a bigger tournament than the French Open. Going out there and -- for me, I've got a better chance at winning Wimbledon than the French Open at the moment.
You know, I've been able to win Wimbledon. It holds a special place in my heart, as well, you know, walking back into that place. I don't know. I really can't say.

Q. Can you just confirm what your schedule will be for the two weeks?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Queen's, week off.

Q. At 3-Love up in the fifth. Did you think at any point you had it?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I never thought I had it in the bag, no way. I wasn't holding my service games easy enough to even think about that. I had two game points at 3-1 to go 4-1 up. If I could have kept my nose in front there, it was going to put a hell of a lot of pressure on his service games to come out already down a break knowing I was 3-Love, 15-30, to go 4-Love in the fifth.
You know, I had chances. I just didn't take advantage of them.

Q. Along the same lines, this match seemed to have a similar rhythm to your defeat last year. Did that match at all enter your thoughts during the match today?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Against Canas last year?

Q. Yes.
LLEYTON HEWITT: No, not at all actually. No, I didn't even think about it.

Q. As the top seed, were you surprised by the court assignment?
LLEYTON HEWITT: No, not at all.

Q. Didn't bother you?
LLEYTON HEWITT: No. You look at the -- I thought Costa was obvious pretty stiff. I think he played both his first two rounds on Court 1. I don't think Guga played on a big court yet either. If you look at the match-ups today, there were some pretty good match-ups.
I think Court 1 is a nice court to play on. They're their three major courts. I think it's fair enough that everyone swaps around.

Q. Going forward onto the grass, is it possible to compare where your game is at the moment compared to this time last year?
LLEYTON HEWITT: It's a bit hard coming off clay to grass, I think. I can't really compare how I'm going to be going into Wimbledon, I don't think, until I get on the grass and start feeling my footing on there and hitting on the grass. It's too different a surface to go out and say: I'm hitting the ball well on clay at the moment, but can you take that over to the grass?
In the past two years, I've been able to make that transition pretty well, pretty quickly. Hopefully I can do it again this year. Wait and see.

Q. There's obviously going to be more pressure on you defending over there. Are you feeling that already yet, not thought about it?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Not really. Wimbledon, when -- when you're playing a Grand Slam of a different kind, you know, Wimbledon hasn't really entered my mind. As soon as you get to London, playing Queen's, having the week off in London before Wimbledon, for sure it's going to enter my mind. You know, I don't think about the pressure going in. For me, it's a huge thrill to open up center court at Wimbledon. It's something that I think you can look back on in years to come, and there's not many people who have been able to do that. It's a nice thing to have down, I think.

Q. Your level dropped after 3-0. Were you fighting yourself the whole time? Was your confidence off? Did your rhythm go?
LLEYTON HEWITT: My rhythm went a little bit, I think. You know, I think when I got in front, I wasn't quite attacking enough, as I was when I was behind, or even when I was 1-Love, then to go up 2-Love. I was lucky, I had 40-15 at 2-Love. I was lucky to get out of that game. Gutsed that game out.
Next game I felt like I played a pretty good game. He had to come up with good shots to beat me in that one. Then at 3-1, I had two game points to go 4-1 up.
I had chances. You know, I probably had to try and be a little more aggressive, I think, to try and keep consolidating that break.

Q. You move as well as anyone on tour. You don't have an overwhelming serve. The courts have been baked pretty hard and dry this week. Can you describe why you think clay is a challenge for you?
LLEYTON HEWITT: No doubt that growing up on it, you just got to look at a guy like Coria and Ferrero, move on the stuff. They've been playing on clay since they were five or six years old. For us -- I started playing on clay when I was 15, 16. I only played a couple of tournaments a year.
We just don't have enough clay courts to work on in Australia. I think that's one of the main reasons why we don't have that kind of player.

Q. Doesn't sound like you're going to make much of an effort between now and the next clay court season to work on that?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I'm not going to go and practice on clay before grass or hard court tournaments.

Q. Why do you think the crowd was so against you today?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know. I thought the crowd was pretty fair out there. I felt like, you know, I was getting a lot of support. Even when I went up the break in the fifth, I felt like the crowd was behind me at that stage.
You know, I think they kept going for the person that looked like they were behind.

Q. Seems like it's shaping up to be a very open tournament. From what you've seen, how far do you think Tommy can go this year?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Probably the next round.

Q. I'm sorry?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Probably the next round he'll go.

Q. Do you think he can actually...
LLEYTON HEWITT: No.

Q. No?
LLEYTON HEWITT: No.

Q. The question about the crowd? Can you blank that noise out? Can you concentrate?
LLEYTON HEWITT: No, no, didn't worry about it. You know, I played enough big matches in Davis Cup ties where crowds get pretty loud. Yeah, you really don't hear a lot of the things. You got that many things going through your mind when you're out there, you know, you don't hear a lot of the stuff that is getting yelled out, how loud they are, whatever.

Q. Can you describe the difference in your feelings when you play Gustavo Kuerten and Albert Costa in a Davis Cup tie and beat them, and a third round match at the French Open, how differently do you feel about those matches?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, obviously I live for Davis Cup. You know, they're huge. Playing for your country's a totally different situation. There's probably a lot more pressure on your shoulders playing in Davis Cup. And it's like, you know, even though there's three matches, it's a little bit sort of a one-off match I guess in a lot of ways.
Coming into a Grand Slam, you're probably not thinking as much, you know, one match, if you're going to win it, you have to win seven matches. I guess that's probably the biggest difference.

Q. You've been in Belgium. You know Belgium is fond of Kim, expecting her to do really well in this tournament. How do you rate her chances? How are you going to spend next week with Kim here in Paris?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, she's got a huge chance. I think she's playing as well as anyone. It depends on probably how the draw opens up I guess in a lot of ways, how the Williams sisters go.
But, you know, Kim's got as good a chance as anyone.

Q. You being with her in the second week?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know what I'm doing, mate.

Q. Did you update on the present relationship you have with the ATP with regard to the legal struggle over the fine and your position towards the new players' union?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I'm not going to talk about it. Thanks.

Q. About the union?
LLEYTON HEWITT: About the union? What do you want to know about the union? I think we've gone through that.

Q. I've heard there is a new discussion next week, discussion on prize money distribution at the Grand Slams.
LLEYTON HEWITT: I wouldn't have a clue, mate.

Rd 2  LLeyton Hewitt
Thursday, May 29, 2003

Q. Seemed a little agitated about your equipment. Was it a problem with your string tension?
LLEYTON HEWITT: No. It was just now and then I felt like -- a couple of racquets, some were newer than other ones. Sometimes when I pulled it first out, they just felt a little bit looser at times than other ones, and the strings were moving a hell of a lot. They move a lot more on clay regardless. It was just, you know, now and then you find a racquet that sometimes, you know, feels a little bit better, you try to have them all exactly the same, but not all the time they're spot on. It's something you've got to deal with. You know, I guess something you get more frustrated with when things aren't going your way.

Q. How many racquets do you go through during a tournament and how often do you have problems?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Oh, no, normally you're stringing -- I'd get 10 to 12 racquets strung the night before my match, for a best-of-five set match. Sometimes, you know, I've got a couple in different tensions in there just in case I feel like the conditions are a bit heavy or depending on the weather, on the day, stuff like that.
But, yeah, normally you're carrying 10 to 12 out on court with you.

Q. My strings never moved.
LLEYTON HEWITT: No?

Q. Why do you suppose they move more on clay?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I think it's just more grinding, I think. What's on the ball, I think, as well, a little bit of clay on the ball. There's no doubt that, you know, I play with full gut in my racquets the whole year round, no matter what surface I'm on. There's no doubt they go a lot quicker when you're playing on clay, you know, probably twice as quick as they normally would if your strings start cutting. You're using string saver, so you're going through a lot more racquets on a clay court using gut.

Q. You're pretty hard on yourself out there. You got one code violation. Is it something you need to temper? You came close a couple times to perhaps another code violation. Do you think you need to temper that a little?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I didn't feel like I came close to another code violation. No, I don't think it's something that, you know, now and then, you know, I guess, you know, I get a little bit heated out there. You know, that's stuff you look back on and you probably, you know, feel like you didn't have to say or, you know, you regret saying it afterwards. But it's very tough out there in the heat of the moment, I think. Yeah, I don't think it affects my tennis, though, you know, when I'm out there. I feel like I can, you know, switch on and off. My concentration is pretty good when I'm out on the court.

Q. Does it spur you on when you get heated like that?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Oh, sometimes. You know, I don't think it's always a positive or a negative, you know, playing-wise.

Q. Are you a little bit sad that you can't see the matches from Kim?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, we've been scheduled twice, both first the other day, both second today. You know, it's a little bit disappointing, I guess, but I think it's probably better that we're both playing on the same day, as well. You know, it's a little bit easier I think for both of us when we don't have to prepare on, you know, the same day rather than one plays one day, the other plays the other day.
Yeah, I probably wouldn't be able to watch the match anyway live. If she was playing before me, I'd only be watching it on TV anyhow. Got to live with it.

Q. How tough a match was that for you? Looked very tough:
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it was a tough match. You know, I expected it to be a tough match going in. You know, he's a grinder. He's going to run a lot of balls down. He hits the ball very sweet from the back of the court. His backhand is probably slightly his strength, I'd say. And clay is probably his best surface. So, you know, I knew I was going to have to hit a lot of balls. I felt like at the start I was pretty aggressive, played some of my best tennis. Just lost a little bit of concentration there early in the second set when I was up a break.
I felt like I was in control of the match the whole time, but I couldn't quite finish it off. And, you know, a lot's got to do with him. I felt like he played a lot, lot better when he was down all the time rather than when he was actually in front. I think he got a little bit nervous and couldn't quite attack as much as he did when he sort of had nothing to lose and was down. I think that showed, you know, the match points that he came up with, there really wasn't much I could do about them, when he saved my match points. Tiebreak, 4-1 ahead, he didn't nearly play the same as he did on those match points.

Q. After that win, where is the state of your game at the moment going into the last 32?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Oh, it's getting better. I feel like I'm, you know, adapting myself to the clay, you know, better every time I get out there. But, you know, for me, I'm just taking it one match at a time and just trying to get, you know, the wins on the board, you know, get through every match that I've got to.
You know, I'm just sort of focusing on the next players I've got to play.

Q. Davydenko said before the match that he didn't think you could win the tournament. Were you aware of that comment?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I'd heard about it through a few of my guys. Yeah, I got more chance of winning it than he does.

Q. Especially now.
LLEYTON HEWITT: Exactly.

Q. Kim said the other day that she gets nervous watching your matches, so maybe it wasn't bad not being able to. Who gets more nervous watching the other play? Do you think she gets --?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Normally my matches are a lot tighter than hers (laughter). Yeah, sometimes I'm fortunate enough when I watch her matches, they only last 40 minutes to an hour. Obviously, with some of my matches in Grand Slams, you know, my first two matches have been over three hours.
You know, nervous-wise, I think there's a lot more obviously in men's tennis, as well. I think it's a lot bigger depth in the first few rounds than in the women's. You know, she's probably a little bit nervous more at the start of a tournament than I am.

Q. Are you a bit of a believer in not giving your opponent anything to sort of get some motivation from, like Davydenko saying that? That's almost good for you, isn't it? Just to have that extra?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it doesn't bother me.

Q. But you wouldn't say it hurt you? It maybe almost helps a bit?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it doesn't bother me. It doesn't hurt me at all. You know, it's only one person I think it can hurt: the person who opened their mouth. Yeah, for me, I knew he was a good player, but still, you know, he was going to have to play one of his best matches if he was going to win today.

Q. Have you and Kim Clijsters have helped each other to raise your game, improve your game?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I guess, you know, in some ways. You know, we don't talk about our games too much, though, with each other. She knows what she's got to do, and I know what I've got to do. We've both got individual coaches, and that's what they're paid for. You know, if there are areas, you know, sometimes when I hit with her or whatever, I think that's good for her to be hitting against a top male player, as well.

Q. You said when you came off court you didn't rate yourself a red hot favorite for the tournament. After two tough matches, where do you place yourself?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Don't know. Not sure. Still not red hot favorite. Don't know. Got no idea. I'm still going. I still got a fighting chance, though.

Q. When you play the French Open, do you make accommodations to the clay in the sense that you're consciously trying to put a little bit more air under the ball, more top on the ball, or do you just play your game and hope that it's good enough combined with your speed to pull you through?
LLEYTON HEWITT: There's definitely little areas in my game that I think, you know, you're very conscious that you're playing on a clay court, the sliding and the tactics that are a whole heap different than playing on grass or hard courts.
You know, there are shots, defensive shots, that you've got to put a little more spin on it, a little more height than you would on a grass court. There's probably no doubt with a serve, as well, using a kick serve out wide a lot more rather than your flat serve on a clay court because the flat serve's not as effective as it would be on hard court or grass.

Q. Robredo next?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, they're still playing, though.

Q. You have a history with him?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Never played him.

Q. What do you know about him?
LLEYTON HEWITT: He's a top clay courter. Clay's his best surface. He grew up on it. I'm going to have to play better than I did today and in my first couple matches to get past him.
He's going to be a very stiff challenge in the third round of the French Open, I think.

Q. Pete always took this tournament -- he was always very nervous.
LLEYTON HEWITT: Nervous?

Q. Yes, particularly early in his career. He didn't like coming here, didn't enjoy playing on the clay. What about yourself?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I enjoy coming here. I see it as probably a bit more of a challenge here, the French Open, I think for me, knowing that clay's not my best surface, and something that I'm still working towards becoming a better player on clay.
But, you know, I enjoy coming here. I enjoy the challenge of I guess going into a Slam and not being one of the big favorites.

Q. Today I think you came to net like eight or nine times. Why not, in order to try to shorten these matches, come in that many times a set?
LLEYTON HEWITT: You know, it's something I probably could, you know, work on a little bit more, I think. There were definite times today when I felt like, you know, I probably should have come in and didn't, and that gave Davydenko an extra chance to get back in the court, get back in the rally, sort of start the rally all over again.
It's something I've got to work on, especially trying the strategy of playing on clay, working out the best way to come to the net behind what shots.

Q. Does your body have five more three and a half hour matches left in it?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know. I hope so. I'm going to go and do a weight session in a minute. We'll see what happens.

Q. You obviously are in the middle of a run. Asking you about the lawsuit. Observers and fans ask basically why is he doing it? Prime years of his early career. Is it a matter of power or control or is there a deep principle at stake?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I'm not going to go into it. I've put out a statement. Until it comes up again, I'm not going to talk about it.

Q. You don't want to reflect?
LLEYTON HEWITT: No, I'm not going to talk about it. Thanks, mate.

Inside Lleyton's world

By LEO SCHLINK
The Advertiser
26may03

As Lleyton Hewitt starts his French Open campaign against American Brian Vahaly tomorrow night, he gives an insight into his health, the ATP Tour and marriage rumours

HEALTH

YEAH, it's not bad at the moment, feeling pretty good. It was after that Davis Cup (against Sweden at the start of April), I felt I needed a few weeks off, just a break to put the feet up and not go out there and grind myself into the ground. I was looking at the bigger picture as well because you go out in the first couple of weeks and play Monte Carlo and Barcelona and Rome and you're not quite as fresh as you want to be for Wimbledon.

I felt I just wanted to have a shorter stint and with two Grand Slams in this time, for me, I've probably got a better chance of winning Wimbledon than the French and I didn't want to wear myself out going into Wimbledon. I still want to be fresh as possible.

WIMBLEDON

I THINK about it a little bit, not a helluva lot. As soon as the French is over and I start preparing for Queen's and getting on the grass again, it's going to hit home a lot more.

Whenever I do think about it, I think it's just a great feeling to think that you've won that tournament. In my mind, it's the biggest tournament of the year and to think that I won it last year is fantastic and you're always going to be a Wimbledon champion no matter what happens in the future.

LEGAL BATTLE WITH THE ATP

I'VE put it to the side for a while. It doesn't really enter my mind too much. I haven't had to deal with it too much because I haven't been around too many ATP tournaments, which is nice.

HAMBURG CONTROVERSY

I READ something on the internet, which was an absolute joke and nobody had the facts right. I'm struggling a little bit with the media. I can't quite work it out. The whole facts were wrong. They had photos in there of me arguing with umpire Carlos (Bernardes) whatever his name is, the Brazilian umpire, which was actually in the second round against (Arnaud) Clement.

The whole story that I read was that I was quoted as saying the umpiring actually caused me to lose the match and get me that frustrated.

Not once in the whole tournament in Hamburg was I asked about umpiring, so I was baffled with the whole situation. It just goes to show most of the media don't have a clue and they pretty well make up whatever they want. Most of the times it is a heap of s..t.

The umpire came down to check a mark and in the end, Stolts went up to talk to the umpire after the match because he thought he'd made the wrong decision.

HUMANITARIAN WORK

I WORK with the Special Olympics world-wide at different tournaments when we can coincide their activities. I think there's one coming up in London at the Queen's tournament. If I'm not playing, I'll be going out to see the kids and hit with them and be inter-active.

ALTERNATIVE CAREER

I'D TRY and be a footballer. I don't know really. Nothing really crossed my mind and nothing really interested me that much. Sport, for me, is such a big part of my life and my family's life growing up as well.

I've got no idea of what I might be doing otherwise and luckily I haven't had to worry about it for the first part of my life anyway.

MONEY

I KNOW it's there and I'm very lucky to get paid to be playing tournaments I'd want to play anyway even if there wasn't the kind of money there is. Money is not the reason I play. I still feel like there are areas of my game where I can become a better player. It's fantastic that the money that comes along with it and we can make a great living out of something we love to do.

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS

FLIP'S as talented, when he's playing his best tennis, as anyone who hasn't won a major. But, then again, he's had a lot of injuries and hasn't played as nearly as many majors as he would have liked to.

I still think, if everything goes right for him, he's got a huge chance of winning a Grand Slam before his career's done.

AMBITION

I DON'T think about it too much. I know where my priorities are. Winning the majors is my main priority and the Davis Cup. More than anything, I just want to go out there and enjoy myself and enjoy playing and enjoy competing as well.

I'm always trying to prepare for the majors, but I'm not putting more pressure on any individual tournaments or on myself. Grand Slams and Davis Cup are what I peak for.

BURNOUT

IT'S something that doesn't enter my mind. I keep playing tournaments when I'm feeling like I can and like I'm physically able to. If there comes a time when I feel like I need a bit of a break to freshen up and not get too run down, then I'll do it and I'm not afraid of doing that.

TOUGHEST OPPONENTS

THERE'S guys all the time. The toughest thing is playing guys on their favourite surface, more than anything. There's certain guys who excel. You've got claycourt specialists, guys who play better indoors, that type of thing.

Playing Moya and Ferrero on clay is probably as tough an ask as anything.

MOST SIGNIFICANT NON-TENNIS EVENT

SEPTEMBER 11 was probably the closest I think. I was on a plane at exactly the same time it all happened and I'd just been in New York hours before it happened. I'd just won the US Open and been on the biggest high of my life, of my tennis and my professional level and then suddenly to think that so many lives had just been destroyed.

It hit home.

KIM CLIJSTERS

BOTH of us understand each other and we don't talk about tennis that often. It's not like a big deal for us and we both understand what each other is going through and the pressure that is put on each other and it's probably one of the reasons we don't talk about it. We both understand each other.

LIVING IN BELGIUM

I'M JUST playing it by ear. If I feel like going home to watch the footy in Australia, I will. Depends what tournaments I'm playing. It (Belgium) is definitely a place for me where I can have a break from everything. Sometimes it's nice to get away from everything and not have any hassles. I go there and nobody knows me.

ENGAGEMENT RING

NOT at the moment.