Hewitt wins Australian Hardcourt title for second time
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA (TICKER) -- Australian teenager Lleyton Hewitt captured the $350,000
Australian Hardcourt Championships for the second time in three years today with a 3-6,
6-3, 6-2 victory over defending champion Thomas Enqvist of Sweden.
Hewitt, the sixth seed, struggled with his serve in the first set but came back to avenge
a loss to Enqvist in last year's final.
Hewitt, 18, was appearing in his third straight final here. In 1998, he recorded a
three-set victory over countryman Jason Stoltenberg to become the lowest-ranked player to
win on the ATP Tour. That victory came six weeks before his 17th birthday.
Today's triumph made Hewitt the fifth player to win this Australian Open tune-up twice.
Australia's Mark Woodforde, Sweden's Niklas Kulti, American Mike Bauer and Russia's
Yevgeny Kafelnikov are the others.
Enqvist, who finished last year ranked fourth in the world, reached the final with a 3-6,
6-2, 6-2 triumph over third-seeded countryman Magnus Norman. Hewitt rallied past No. 8
Nicolas Escude of France, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.
The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year, begins on January 17 in Melbourne.
Hewitt wins over crowd and
Enqvist
By JOHN HOGAN
(The Australian)
THOMAS ENQVIST believes Lleyton Hewitt is ready to become a genuine threat at
major tournaments after the home-town boy deservingly won his second
Australian Men's Hardcourt title in Adelaide yesterday.
Hewitt, 18, fought tenaciously to overrun the Swede, who began to falter
midway through the second set, and win 3-6 6-3 6-2 before blowing kisses to
his home crowd.
"He's a top player already but he can be even better," said top seed Enqvist,
the 1999 Australian Open runner-up at the who finished the year ranked No.4
in the world.
"He's very talented and has a good attitude. I think he's ready to take the
next step."
Hewitt seized his third singles title by beating the defending champion to
end the most difficult week of his short but impressive career.
Hewitt is back in favour with the crowd after being criticised for calling
Australian sports fans "stupid" during the week, a statement he retracted on
Thursday.
The premier of South Australia, Mr John Olsen, presented Hewitt with the
trophy and told the crowd: "Lleyton, you're a great role model for young
South Australians taking up the sport."
Hewitt twice thanked the crowd "for supporting me this week" and said later
that he never felt he had lost their support during the event.
He accepted the winner's cheque of $30,285 and joined a small group of
players who have won the title twice: Mike Bauer (1982-83), Mark Woodforde
(1988-89), Nicklas Kulti (1991 and '93) and Yevgeny Kafelnikov (1994 and '96)
The young Davis Cup representative became the lowest-ranked player (550) to
win an ATP Tour singles title when he won this event in 1998 at the age of 16
years and 10 months.
He was runner-up to Enqvist last year.
Hewitt contested four finals last year, winning only at Delray Beach,
Florida, but he is again the king of Adelaide after Enqvist lost his grip on
the match.
Hewitt is among the leaders in the ATP Champions race under the new ranking
system that began last week. His win gained him 35 points but the winner of
the more valuable Qatar Open gets 50. The winner of the Chennai tournament
also received 35 points.
Success in Sydney this week would place him in the lead.
"I struggled early then came back after just taking my time," said Hewitt,
who overcame a one-set deficit to beat Nicolas Escude 3-6 6-3 6-2 in their
semi-final on Saturday.
"I had to regroup and I think I played two pretty good sets in the second and
third. I had him under pressure as I was seeing the ball a lot quicker off
his serve because he was serving bombs at the start.
"The way I played the match tactically, I was pretty happy with. He gave me
some cheap points on his service games and that gave me confidence.
"I'm trying to get as close as I can to the top 10 this year and I think this
is the perfect start. If I keep hitting the ball well and maintain the self
belief then I think I'm a good chance."
Hewitt rated the win as good, but not his best, saying his victory over
Kafelnikov in the Davis Cup semi-final against Russia during September was
his most cherished result.
Enqvist was untouchable in the early stages, winning his opening three
service games without conceding a point. He broke Hewitt to lead 3-1 and
pocketed the first set after 31 minutes of top strokeplay.
The Swede lost his rhythm and range, however, and began making errors soon
after Hewitt treated the crowd with a superb lob.
Uncharacteristic errors crept into Enqvist's game and the teenager broke him
in the sixth game of the second set to lead 4-2; from that point Hewitt was
in control.
Hewitt broke again to lead 2-1 in the third and showed his fighting spirit by
saving three break points in the next game.
Both men executed an array of marvellous shots in piecing together a
wonderful rally soon after, in which Hewitt used his speed to hit three
seemingly irretrievable balls.
The tennis was of time-capsule quality and earned the players nearly 30
seconds of applause after Enqvist had finally notched the point.
But Hewitt had the measure of Enqvist and delivered the coup de grace in the
seventh game, breaking for a 5-2 lead before serving the match out as the
Swede continued to mishit his shots.
"He was the better player," said Enqvist who has 16 singles titles to his
credit.
"He's fast and good at getting the ball back. He's a fast player and keeps at
you. He kept getting the ball back and I kept missing."
Hewitt has risen in the world rankings from 550 to 22 (at the end of 1999) in
two years and, if he keeps improving, his goal of being in the top 10 by the
end of 2000 is possible.