semifinal

2004 TENNIS MASTERS CUP
HOUSTON, TEXAS

November 20, 2004

L. HEWITT/A. Roddick
6-3, 6-2

Q. I think it's fair to say that pretty much you played in the zone today. Only six unforced errors for the entire match. Do you feel that you are playing as well now as when you were dominating as World No. 1?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Like every press conference I get asked that, I keep saying there's days when I do and days when I don't. Today was definitely one that I played as well. You know, I was ready to go out there today. Obviously, it's an awkward situation, not quite knowing if we're going to be on on time or whatever. As soon as the bell rang, I was up for it and ready to play my best tennis. I felt like I was moving extremely well out there. I felt like I was able to dictate play. I was just seeing the ball well. It makes it a lot easier playing against a guy, if you're in a zone like that, playing such a big hitter as Andy.

Q. How much was working on his new tactic and attacking the volley part of your game plan? Andy this week has set about attacking the net more, coming in more, volleying more. You seemed to expose that every opportunity you got. How much was that part of your game plan?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Not that much. You know, I just played my game and, you know, I think it matched up pretty well today. But, you know, he pulled the trigger a couple of times, I think more under pressure, desperate times more than anything. (Inaudible) second serve that I got a look at on breakpoint. He serve-volleyed. I made him come up with a half-volley (inaudible). Next couple times, when he was down Love-30, he came into the net a little bit in the next set, and I just made him play. If he's good enough, then he'll come up with volleying winners. But I feel like my passing shots can stand up with the best of the guys out there.

Q. (Inaudible)?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know. I can't remember. I was just trying to play.

Q. Did you get the sense you kind of broke his spirit a little bit?

LLEYTON HEWITT: A little bit. I think he just hadn't had that many opportunities on my service games. Even through the first set it could have been 6-1. I had opportunities to break and to go up 3-1, and he came up with three or four aces in a row. You know, I just felt like I was really on his serve right from the start today. Every time we got into a baseline rally, I was dictating play. I felt like I was really working the ball around the court well. You know, just made it hard for him to dictate play, obviously, with his big forehand, once we got in a rally as well.

Q. You must be very pleased with the way your serve has held up all week?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I didn't probably make as many first serves today as I would have liked, but I think my second serve held up extremely well. I'm not sure how many double-faults, maybe one or something, double-faults. But apart from that, I think my second serve, for a guy that Andy wants to hit, run around, and crack big forehands, I can really only remember one that he was able to do and that was still a freak shot, what he did from there. I felt like that held up well. I didn't give him too many chances on my service games.

Q. So much has been said and written about possibly Roger and Andy being 1 and 2, and having another rivalry up there. Is this a kind of "remember me" week? "Don't forget I'm still a decent player as well"?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know. I heard Cliff Drysdale talking, he sounded like there was only two players playing the game. I know there's been one stand-out, you know, for the last year and a half. But if you look at the points, I think there's a couple of us right up Andy's butt at the moment. There's definitely been one stand-out.

Q. What is it about this week that sort of motivates you so much? Clearly, your record in the Masters Cup has been terrific - two victories, now another final. Is it putting yourself up against the best, is that something that really gets you going?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I guess. Obviously, Sydney and Shanghai were different situations for me, knowing that No. 1 was on the line both years. This year I can probably come here and look at the big picture a little bit more and see how awesome it is for all eight guys to just get to the Masters Cup, and, you know, it's a very prestigious event. Whereas in the past, I probably focused more on the No. 1 than the actual Masters Cup. This year has been good in that sense. Obviously, I enjoy playing the best players in the world, though, too. You've got to be up for every match. It's very much like a Davis Cup tie. You don't get to play yourself into form too much out here. You've got to be ready to go right when the bell rings against every one of your opponents.

Q. If it's Roger in the final, on reflection after the group match you played here, is there one thing you take out of that match that would assist you in the final if you play him?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I'm not sure, but I won't tell you guys anyway (laughter). No, it's not going to be easy, you know. Obviously, Roger is playing extremely well. You know, as I said after my loss against him the other night, I had a couple of chances out there. Wasn't quite able to take them. Against especially Roger - the best players in the world, but especially Roger - you have to be able to take him right at the moment. I wasn't able to do that. I haven't been able to do that all year. So I'll just wait for my opportunities and sooner or later hopefully I'll take them.

Q. What if it's Marat getting through? What are your thoughts there?

LLEYTON HEWITT: It's still not that much easier than if it was Roger, I think. Marat's obviously the form player over the last few months. I think he's looking extremely confident. In my mind he probably should have beaten Andy the other day. He looks ready at the moment, I think. And, yeah, it'll be a tough match playing Marat. Obviously, he played extremely well against me in Paris, in the quarters there a few weeks ago. But I felt like if I got that second set there where I had a couple of set points, the whole match could have changed. So, yeah, it's two totally different players. Roger is obviously a lot more crafty out there on the court, with an all-court game, whereas Marat is going to try and hit through you a lot more.

Q. You won the US Open, Pat Rafter won it twice. He used to say there was quite a big difference between these courts and the ones in Melbourne for the Australian Open.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Courts?

Q. Yes, the court surface.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I think there's a massive difference. I think the US Open is a lot quicker. Ball stays a lot lower, obviously. Yeah, I think it's a huge difference. Obviously, there was one year back in 2000 where the Australian Open court played a lot quicker than it has in the past. But the last few years it's played more closer to clay than the US Open court.

Q. So, obviously, you prefer this type of speed of court?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, I think the US Open court is even quicker than this. This is medium to slow, I'd say, on the slower side. Whereas the US Open, that's medium to fast.

Q. Talking about court surfaces, will you be saying anything to Paul McNamee and Peter Bellinger about what you might like to see when you get to Melbourne?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Oh, I don't know just yet. You know, I've got my thoughts (smiling).

Q. When you're finishing the last 20 points, I know you're not counting them and saying, "Oh, that's 14 straight," but is there a feeling that, "My God, I'm on a cloud"? That you're just playing not out of your mind because you're a good player, but you've never quite experienced anything like this against a good player.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Not really. For me, it was more just about -- you know, I was just taking it, as the saying goes, one point at a time. I was really just focusing. Got Love-15 on his serve, I was just focusing on getting to Love-30 and obviously getting two points closer to getting especially a double-break there at 4-2. I was really just taking it one point at a time, just trying to make him play. Obviously, you don't expect to win that many points in a row, especially on a guy like Andy's serve as well. He's obviously going to get a lot of cheap points off his serve.

Q. Was there any down period after the US Open final, two bagels and so on, being beaten pretty badly - although you didn't play badly...

LLEYTON HEWITT: No, I didn't -- well, I didn't have a lot of time to have a down period. You know, I went back and, you know, it wasn't the easiest Davis Cup tie to play purely because on paper we're such big favorites. But against Morocco, I knew what I had to go out there and do and get us back in the World Group for next year and I was able to do that. Davis Cup is not easy at any stage. It takes a lot of mental effort out of you. You know, after that I was able to have a couple weeks off and just play in Tokyo and Paris. I haven't really been thinking about tennis too much.

Q. Lleyton, (inaudible). Are you afraid maybe you can make some dents in the surface?

LLEYTON HEWITT: No, I'm not hitting the ground, mate (smiling).

End of FastScripts….

2004 TENNIS MASTERS CUP
HOUSTON, TEXAS

November 19, 2004

match 3 L. HEWITT/G. Gaudio
6-2, 6-1

Q. Not a bad point there...

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it was a good point. I'm not quite sure what happened, but I was a bit knackered at the end of it. Took me about six points to get my breath back (smiling). It was good.

Q. If you had to compare your game now and the game when you were No. 1 in the world, what would be the difference? What are you lacking maybe in your game to regain that spot?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know. I think there's definitely been patches this year where I've played as well as I was when I was No. 1. I think the game just keeps improving. You know, whoever is No. 1 at the time tries to take it to a new level, and obviously that's what Roger has been doing for the last year and a half. That's what drives you, that's what motivates you to try and keep improving and be able to compete with the best players in the world. You know, Roger has obviously done it at the moment. Guys like Andy, myself, Marat have got to try to keep up with him and try to overtake him somehow. But I feel there's definitely been times this year when I played as well as I did in 2001, 2002.

Q. What do you need to improve if you want to keep up with Roger?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, it's hard to say. If you're just focusing on Roger, then it's just a matchup more thing, I guess. But, you know, you got to pretty much make the semi or final right at the moment if you're No. 1 and 3 in the world to actually have a crack at Roger. I feel personally for my own game, against no matter who it is, I try to be a bit more aggressive, come to the net a little bit more. I think I've done that really well this week. I think I've really stepped it up this week. And obviously at the US Open and right through the US summer I think I did that extremely well. You know, if I serve well, you know, that helps it out as well.

Q. Talk a bit about playing Andy and how that matchup compares to other ones at the top of the game for you, how you see that.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, well, obviously he's got a lot of firepower out there. He's got a massive serve and a huge forehand. He runs down a lot of balls for a big guy. He moves well for a big guy. He tries to come into the net a little bit more, I think. But, you know, you just got to try to make him play it one extra ball as well, I guess, and really make him move around as much as possible and obviously try and get as many of his big shots back as possible.

Q. You guys started a pretty good rivalry a couple years ago. You haven't played much really since then.

LLEYTON HEWITT: No, we only played once this year in Queen's where he got me. I felt like I was definitely the better player through the first set of that match. You know, served for the first set. Wasn't quite able to take it. Had set points in the breaker. You just got to take your chances. That's much like playing Roger the other night. You have your opportunities. And against the best players in the world, you're only going to get one or two chances, and you got to take them straightaway.

Q. You always seem to be incredibly pumped up when you're playing. How do you maintain that level of focus?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know. I think I'm motivated at the moment, I think. Obviously, when you're motivated out there and you're driven, especially with my style of game and I like to play with a lot of emotion out there, so it's pretty easy, just sort of happens naturally right at the moment. There's obviously times when you have a little bit of a downer. But right at the moment, I feel up for this event and I feel pretty motivated out there right at the moment. Obviously, if you play points like you did in the second-to-last game there, it's pretty easy to get pumped up.

Q. Over the course of the week, you sort of indicated that possibly the Australian Open was out there on the horizon and this could just be a step to it. Have you changed your attitude a bit as you've won matches?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Not really. You know, I was obviously motivated. I knew that the first match against Moya was a huge match, you know, when I looked at the groups. I knew I had to go out there and compete as hard as possible and, you know, put it all on the line for that match, I felt. I was able to do that. And, you know, I'm still very motivated here. Obviously, for me, though, the Australian Open in a couple of months' time, that's the big picture.

Q. Does the fact that it's 370 US on the line, does that make any kind of a little more spice to it?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Not really.

Q. Don't ever think about it?

LLEYTON HEWITT: No, not for me. I'm not going out there and playing for the money. You know, it's obviously a great event. I'm fortunate enough to be playing for this kind of money. But it's not even in the back of your mind. You come here for the Masters Cup to play against the best players in the world, and to try to play for that trophy at the end of the week.

Q. Does the fact that it's the 100th Australian Championship have a nice bearing on it for you?

LLEYTON HEWITT: You know, if you're able to win it, I guess, in that year, it would be fantastic. But I'll take the Australian Open any year I can get it. It's obviously 100 years. There's going to be a lot of celebration about it, I think. For me, it's just another Australian Open and a matter of going out there and trying to get past the Round of 16.

Q. After winning this cat-and-mouse point, you couldn't resist to go to your coach and exchange High 5s.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I was just trying to get a bit of extra time (laughing). I would have ran out to the bathroom if I could have.

Q. You have a good record on hard court - US Open, Masters Cup. But it's not the Australian Open. What's the difference? Do you have extra pressure on you?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, there's obviously extra pressure and extra expectation out there. But, you know, I don't think that's why. I do too much in Davis Cup ties in the past when there's probably more pressure. I think the last few years, when I've been playing well, obviously, when I was No. 1 that stage there, I got the chicken pox and that pretty much put an end to my hopes. I lost to Federer last year in the Round of 16, who was a standout player. Apart from that, I felt like I maybe could have been in the semis and final. Again, Roger was obviously the best player. The year before that I lost to El Aynaoui, I didn't break serve for a whole match, you know, five sets. That doesn't happen too often for me. There's been a few weird matches, I think, over the years. But I feel like this year I'm going to have a good crack at it.

Q. You talked about earlier how you've had stretches where you played like the No. 1 player in the world. Is this one of those stretches for you right now?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know. I think definitely during the US hard court season there were matches there that I played as well as I've ever played. I haven't played a lot of tennis since then. I only played a Davis Cup tie against someone ranked five or 600 in the world, I think. Then played Tokyo, played a couple of matches in Paris. I haven't really played a lot of tennis, I think. But to come out here and know you have to play your best tennis straight-up against every opponent because you're playing the best guys in the world, I think I've handled that situation pretty well.

Q. That extraordinary point, golfers seem to remember every shot they ever hit. Tennis players, do you let that go into your memory book, that point?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know. I'll probably remember it, but, I don't know. I can't even remember a couple of shots I played in it right at the moment. I can obviously remember the last shot, that was about it.

Q. You and Roger and Roddick and Marat are in the top four at the end of the year. Is that the way you would have figured it when the year started? What does that do for the game, to have all the former No. 1s at the top like that?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, there was probably always a chance, I think. I don't know right at the start of year. Obviously, guys like Andre and Ferrero and Moya, Coria, Nalbandian are probably the other guys I think who obviously had a chance, Henman. So, yeah, to actually say that, you know, you're going to be the four guys, I think it's great for tennis, though. Obviously, Marat had a fantastic start to the year and an unbelievable finish to the year. He's tough to beat on any surface as well. I think it's good going into 2005 to have us four guys at the top.

Q. Could you elaborate. Why is it great for tennis?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I think, you know, it's four guys from totally different countries. I think it's four guys that are obviously very young, who have won Grand Slams and have all been No. 1 in the world. I think that probably image-wise as well, we're all totally different characters.

Q. And how would you sort of define the way you guys all kind of interact and get along compared to other groups at the top in your time at the tour?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I haven't been around that long.

Q. You've been around.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, but I've only seen sort of Agassi, Sampras. I think we all get along pretty well. We all, I think, more so respect each other, you know, both on and off the court.

Q. Every player is impressed by Federer on court at the moment. Are you also impressed by the way he behaves off of the court? Can he give you some ideas, too?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know about giving me ideas, you know, we're all different people. But he's a great bloke. I get along really well with Roger. He's very down to Earth. I think that's probably the best quality he has. He's very easy to get along with. I always say G'day to him, have a chat. He's a really nice guy.

End of FastScripts….

2004 TENNIS MASTERS CUP
HOUSTON, TEXAS

November 17, 2004

match 2 R. FEDERER/L. Hewitt
6-3, 6-4

Q. I suppose it's no great surprise, the day you've had, that it took a little bit of time to get going, get into the match today. Did you feel that just at the outset, it was tough to get going?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, little bit. But I actually felt I had a lot of chances early. I had breakpoints. I was the one that had the first breakpoints and wasn't quite able to take. I was in a rally, ended up missing a backhand in a long rally. Yeah, then next game around, you know, I lost serve after having a game point there as well. So I felt like there were two huge games. And then the next game I had another two breakpoints and wasn't able to capitalize. Sort of been the story against Roger in the last few matches that I've played. I've had a lot of opportunities and haven't been able to take them at the right time. Even in the last game there tonight, you know, I had 15-30, had an opportunity; you know, 30-All, had another opportunity. You know, against the best players in the world, especially "the" best player in the world right at the moment, you got to take those.

Q. I mean, the last game, when you came off, you wanted to try to get the match done tonight as best you could. You played two superb games right at the end there. Probably the best tennis of the tournament so far. It's hard to raise yourself to the level to get the one shot you need against him, isn't it?

LLEYTON HEWITT: It's tough. Especially when you come out after a rain delay and you're down a set and a break against such a great player. He's tough enough, I guess, to break his serve at, you know -- when you're even sometimes, let alone when you're down a set and a break coming out after a rain delay and you don't have that many opportunities. So the first one, he won to love, I think. First service game after the rain delay. Then the next one I had opportunities. I wasn't quite able to take them. But, you know, against the best players, as I said, you got to take those chances.

Q. One of those breakpoints he faced in the first set, he hit the line with an amazing, ambitious forehand. Is that the sort of shot which sets him apart really?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, but, you know, it set him apart all year, I guess. Only so many lines you can hit. And, you know, he's obviously, you know, probably found a lot more than a lot of other guys this year, but that's why he's No. 1 in the world. And, yeah, he's got a sort of belief there at the moment to pull the trigger on the big points. That probably stands out more than anything else, I think, from being the best player in the world to, you know, the next five or six guys, is he really believes that, you know, he can go for it on those big points. And at the moment, in a lot of big matches, it's paying off.

Q. How do you feel now about the way the group is set up?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I know what I've got to do (smiling). So, yeah... Obviously, you know, I think it's -- probably the ball's in my court. Obviously, you'd think Carlos is going to have an extremely tough time against Roger, but, you know, you never know.

Q. When he's playing like this, serving as well as he is, does it cause you to alter your strategy or thinking, or do you just keep approaching it like you would any other opponent?

LLEYTON HEWITT: You know, at the start of the match, I guess you approach it like the same as you would. After having breakpoints and that, you start getting a feeling of where maybe he's going to go and that. But he's got such great variety on all his shots, not just his serve. His forehand can go all the way. He's got a great topspin backhand, a great slice backhand as well, and he can come to the net. He volleys well. So you've always got that in the back of your mind, I guess, because he's got so many options out there.

Q. With all the running around that you do in a match, do you find that with Roger, that he makes you move and run a lot more than any other opponent you've come up against in the last couple of years?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, it's hard to say. I think Andre has been probably the best that I've seen, especially since I came on tour. You know, Roger may be taking over a little bit of that but, you know, Andre is still a master of dictating play and working the angles and making your opponents, you know, even if he ends up losing the point, he sometimes gets four or five cheap points after that. Roger might be getting to that stage but, you know, still, Andre is one of the greatest that I've seen at that.

Q. Do you feel you just have to hit the ball much deeper than you would against other players?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. Yeah, Roger moves extremely well, you know. For a bigger guy and, you know -- he really moves, you know, smoothly around the court. Doesn't look like he's running that fast, but he gets to a lot of balls, and gives himself plenty of time on all shots. I think that's one thing that really stands out when you're playing against a guy like that. That sometimes makes you go for a little bit more than you would against other players. But, you know, he doesn't have that many weaknesses either. His forehand is obviously his stand-out shot from the back of the court. I got passed a couple of times tonight when I came in on his backhand as well. Sometimes you got to hit it a little bit deeper or work the angles a little bit more against a guy like Roger.

End of FastScripts….

pre match 2004 TENNIS MASTERS CUP
HOUSTON, TEXAS

November 13, 2004

Q. Lleyton, how does it feel to be back in the field for the year-end championship?

Q. And how important was it to get that one tournament at least under your belt before coming in here after taking a bit of a break since Davis Cup?

Q. What about Moya first up?

Q. Sounding a bit nasally.

Q. I sat and watched your quarterfinal, or the Round of 16 with Moya at Wimbledon this year.

Q. Then I also watched the final against Federer, with Federer playing Roddick. Just going into how you match up against Federer, what Roddick did early, and what you did really well against him was continually attack his backhand, starve the forehand. Is that something you think is a good tactic?

Q. Typically, when you break a player down, the way that you normally do, you attack the backhand, the forehand tries to do a little bit more because it's trying to cover for the backhand so that breaks down. The serve says, "Hey, guys, you're not doing so well, I'll try to do more." Then the last thing is the mind. Typically, backhand, forehand, serve and mind, how do you attack Federer and in what order?

Q. Against Nalbandian he served four aces, got out of that. He said that was the turning point.

Q. You know as well as he does when those big points come, they're the deciding factor in the match. What about throwing something different at him? What about serve and volleying?

Q. Pre-match, do you do anything differently now than earlier in your career? I know you used to watch "Rocky" movies to get pumped. Anything special this week to get you in the right frame of mind when you step on the court?

Q. With all the guys here, you used to be more animated, I think, on the court. Sometimes it comes and goes. I think that really, at times, pisses guys off. It's a great way to get inside their head. I mean, it's perfect. You keep thinking about that as well?

Q. Not really?

Q. So when is the last time you gave somebody the fist?

Q. Where did you pick that up from?

Q. Really?

Q. Do you know who actually created it? We just had a talk with Mats two weeks ago, reminiscing about the first time he did it. It was the semis of the Australian Open.

Q. Is there still that many Swedes around the tournament?

Q. It was.

Q. Could you please wrap up for us the season so far for you.

Q. Some people think that you don't show it, that you're pumped up as much. What do you think yourself?

Q. Just in general on court.

Q. I think you're one of the last guys that can win against Roger. They showed your head-to-head. Can you describe him, what he achieved this year so far?

Q. You have the weapons to beat him.

Q. How do you see the match against Moya?

Q. Gaudio, do you think his experience maybe can come into play a little bit?

End of FastScripts….