One bad fan, two good sports September 2 2002 Lleyton Hewitt and James Blake were playing tennis at its best until they were rattled by a racist cry from the US Open crowd. Caroline Overington reports from New York. Lleyton Hewitt played American James Blake in the US Open on Saturday, and let me tell you what the similarity was: just like last year, they played a five-set match, Hewitt won and, to the dismay of both players, race became an issue. It happened in the fourth set, at a time when most of the crowd was enthralled. Blake had won one set, Hewitt had two. Hewitt went to serve and, in the silence, from a seat high in the stadium came a long, clear, female voice: "Don't let him beat you James. He's a racist." Blake turned around, in apparent horror. Hewitt dropped the ball. The crowd rumbled its disapproval, and then play continued. Hewitt served. He lost the next 12 points, and ultimately the set, which meant he had to play a fifth set, to advance to the fourth round. advertisement advertisement After the match, Blake approached Hewitt, put his hand on his shoulder, and apologised on behalf of the aberrant fan. "I just apologised for any fans that were speaking out negatively. I was embarrassed when some fans did that," Blake said afterwards. Both players were reluctant to talk about the incident, with Blake saying it was "nothing of importance". Asked if he was shocked, the sensible Blake tried to inject some humour, saying: "I think Heineken being a sponsor might have had something to do with it." When the laughter subsided, he said: "It's fun to be part of a rowdy crowd, but I like it when it's more just in good fun." Despite the woman's comment ringing clear across the stadium, Hewitt insisted he did not hear it. Asked why he stopped mid-serve, he said: "Because James turned around." When an American reporter told him what the woman had said, Hewitt shrugged: "You're always going to get some nutters in the crowd." The incident marred what was otherwise the most absorbing match of the tournament. The final score shows exactly how close the two men were: Hewitt won 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. The match was played under grey skies. A cold wind swirled through the half-full stadium. The fans were unashamedly for the charismatic Blake, who is a Harvard-educated African-American with magnificent hair. He saved a break point against Hewitt in the first set, which established a thrilling pattern for the match: both players were required to draw on reserves when set points were against them, to keep the match going for more than three-and-a-half hours. It was such lovely tennis, everybody stood and cheered when it was done. And it was not just the tennis that was so impressive: the spirit of the game was alive on centre court, moving the CBS commentators to suggest that this was a game for sportsmanship. Blake thought so, too. "It's good for the game of tennis," he said of the fact that there were no histrionics, no fist-pumps (well, perhaps one), no cursing, no debating line calls (not even when the replay on the big screen showed that the call was incorrect) and no bouncing of racquets on the hard court. "It was a great match for the sport," Blake said. "It was a match a lot of people wanted to see. We fought our hearts out. We both fought until the end. He came up with great shots, and I came up with great shots. "But I think the way we conducted ourselves, you know, any kid who was watching that could say, 'I want to be like either one of those guys'." Tennis writers who had previously seen Hewitt lose his cool on court seem perplexed by his new ability to control a notorious temper, even as the crowd was bar racking strongly for Blake, but Hewitt said he "went out there with the same attitude that I take into Davis Cup matches. I felt that I was playing for Australia out there." It must have seemed like that, since Blake's chanting fans were everywhere. Hewitt had his own cheersquad: a small bunch of Australians in yellow T-shirts. Their applause was drowned out by the sing-song Americans, but he thanked them after the match, by batting some balls in their direction. It is in matches such as this that Hewitt's talent becomes so obvious. He is remarkable under pressure, which was constant. With the exception of the sixth game in the fifth set, which Hewitt won to love, he had to fight for each and every point and he did, chasing balls even when he was 40-0 down in a Blake service game. It made the heart sing, to see somebody trying so hard. "It wears you down a bit," Blake said. "He scraps to win a point. Doesn't care about the situation. He gets so many balls. He's one of the fastest guys on the tour. A few breakpoints, he came up with aces, or service winners." Shaking his head, Blake said: "When you add a big serve to the rest of his game, it really makes it difficult to beat him." Watching from the wings was Andre Agassi, who has not dropped a set on his march to the fourth round. "He's a phenomenal competitor," Agassi said, of Hewitt. "He's got an all-around game that has no weaknesses. His greatest weapon is his speed. There's really no hole in his game. He's not making silly errors. His shot selection is very disciplined." All being well, Lleyton will meet Agassi in the semi-final. All being well, this will be the match that people call the real final. Hewitt wins over hostile crowd By Robert Lusetich, Tennis September 02, 2002 THEY may have been the 214 New York minutes that changed Lleyton Hewitt. Advertisement It was not so much that the defending US Open champion overcame gallant young American, James Blake, in an epic five-set match to move into the round of 16 – where he faces 14th-seeded Czech Jiri Novak. That was about winning and if Hewitt has taught us anything, it is he knows how to win big matches. What was remarkable about yesterday's 3½ tension-filled hours inside Arthur Ashe Stadium was the manner in which Hewitt, unveiling a new-found maturity, prevailed. If it were not for the backward cap and the reluctance to come to the net, it could have been Pat Rafter co-starring in a gripping two-man drama. Hewitt, whose tenacity and combativeness have driven him to the world No. 1 ranking but not necessarily into the hearts of fans, may have finally understood that he could combine unrelenting fight with commendable sportsmanship and still win. That he and Blake were cheered off court by the New York crowd showed how far Hewitt had come in an afternoon which began as if he were playing a Davis Cup tie behind enemy lines. "I think the way we conducted ourselves . . . if any kid was watching that, they could say, 'I want to be like either one of those two'," Blake said. Hewitt concurred, saying "we can both be proud" of the way the match was played. If Hewitt's sporting gestures were a cynical ploy to win support after the public-relations disaster that shrouded his match with Blake last year, then he would have been exposed. In the heat of battle and with the crowd cheering his mistakes, it is hard to believe Hewitt is that good an actor. Early in the pivotal second set, after losing the first in a tie-breaker, Hewitt hit what looked like a winner to Blake's weaker backhand. The American, flat-footed behind the baseline, instinctively ripped the ball down the line for a breathtaking winner. "Too good," said Hewitt, who is not renowned for praising opponents. No-one could recall a match in which Hewitt's trademark, "come on!", was uttered only once – and fairly muted, at that. The fist pumps were rare and each one restrained, and his only other emotional reaction was to acknowledge Blake's winners. Even when a woman in the crowd yelled at Blake not to let this "racist" win – a reference to their match at last year's US Open, which was marred by bickering and complaints about officiating – the Australian refused to take the bait. "I didn't hear what she said. I was pretty focused out there," he said. When told what the woman had yelled, Hewitt simply shrugged his shoulders. "You're always going to get some nutters in the crowd," he said. "Can't do much about it." Blake, who played down last year's incident and long ago made his peace with Hewitt over it, heard the comment and apologised to the Australian as they shook hands after the match. He said he was embarrassed by what some of the fans were yelling. He could be far from embarrassed by his play. Ranked at No. 26 in the world, Blake had a set point on Hewitt's serve in the first set, then held off Hewitt's own break point at 5-5 before playing some inspired tennis to come back in the tie-breaker. Hewitt, who held serve until the fourth set even when his first-serve percentage fell below 50, won the next two sets and it seemed he would win the match in four after he broke Blake and was up love-30 in the sixth game. But the American lifted and took four of the next five games to take out the fourth set 6-3. Both players served well in the final set, except for the sixth game when Hewitt broke Blake to love. It was all he needed. "It's really frustrating that the difference in the match is that one loose game I played," Blake said. "He just came up with some great shots, though." Like Rafter, who twice won the US Open, Hewitt is becoming a force in five-set matches. He has played 11 five-setters since beating Albert Costa in the 2000 Davis Cup in Spain and has won eight. He may have a hard time emulating Rafter in this statistic. From the 1995 Australian Open to the 1999 Davis Cup tie against the US in Boston, Rafter played in 11 five-setters and won them all – and he trailed two sets to one in all of those matches. Hewitt yesterday recalled one of them, Rafter's heroic comeback against Cedric Pioline in the 1997 Davis Cup tie in Sydney. He said watching the way Rafter overcame the odds inspired him. "You know, that basically said to me 'I want to be out there as soon as possible'. That was it," he said, "In that way, that five-setter of Pat's, maybe it helped Australian tennis a little bit." Day 6 - James Blake vs. Lleyton Hewitt The No. 1 seed won a match as thrilling as the five-set affair he and Blake played at the Open a year previous. Hewitt wins this one 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Hewitt held serve virtually all match, lacing 15 aces to go with 53 winners. Advancing to the round of 16, Hewitt dodges a bullet in dispatching the young American. Leaving everything on the court, James Blake came as close as you can get to upset a true champion in Lleyton Hewitt. Charging out to a one set lead that took nearly an hour to play, Blake was broken at key moments in the second and third sets that led to Hewitt gaining control of the match. Blake fought back admirably, but was done in by 86 unforced errors, 46 more than his adversary. 86 unforced errors won't win you too many matches if you're James Blake - and certainly not against the top-ranked player in the world. But then again, 60 winners certainly don't hurt, either! All those big backhands, forehands and drop shots helped Blake extend the match to a pulsating five sets. You just cannot attach a numerical value or statistic to the heart and guts Hewitt displayed on the court this afternoon. The highest complement you can give Hewitt is that he doesn't play or act like he's the number one player in the world. No matter how far ahead he is in a match, Hewitt will scrape, dive and hurdle for every point. A telling stat: Although he only converted 25% of his break points to Blake's 40%, Hewitt gave himself 11 more chances than Blake, all because of his endless hustle. Hewitt's four out of sixteen made more of an impact in the match than Blake's two out of five. At a critical juncture in the fifth set, Blake was let down by his own service game. On serve at 3-2, Hewitt broke Blake's serve to extend his lead in the set to 4-2. Hewitt then held serve and pushed the margin to 5-2. The deficit was more than Blake could overcome, and Hewitt closed out the set, 6-3. During one memorable exchange with the match still in the balance in the third set, Hewitt reached for an impossible shot that Blake thought was over. Hewitt's backhand lunge clipped the net and dunked softly in bounds on Blake's side. In mock frustration knowing there was nothing he could do to try to reach the ball in time, Blake flung his racquet like a Frisbee in the direction of Hewitt's shot, but to no avail. "I like the fact that any kid watching the match can say, 'I want to be like one of those guys.' I think it's great for tennis," said Blake, who is now eliminated from the US Open singles draw and will play at the end of September in Davis Cup competition against France for the United States. "I think a year ago I played above myself. I'm slightly encouraged that I didn't play above myself and that I pushed the number one player in the world to five sets." The No. 1 seed survives to advance to the round of 16, keeping hope alive to repeat as US Open champion. Hewitt will now face No. 14 Jiri Novak in the second week of play. Novak was up two sets to none when his opponent, Marcelo Rios, retired with injury. The crowd at sold-out Arthur Ashe Stadium were decidedly pro-Blake. Blake's players box was filled with his mother, Betty, doubles partner (and brother) David, coach and friends. The self-proclaimed "net-heads," an insane group of American supporters, chanted "Go Blake Go!" the entire match while another faction of female supporters dubbed the "Blake-etts," rooted on their favorite player. Hewitt's parents, Glynn and Cherilyn, made a rare appearance in the crowd. Lleyton's girlfriend Kim Clijsters, after winning her third round match against Vera Zvonareva, also sat courtside. An Aussie contingent of fans wearing yellow and waving the flag of Australia, sat high above in the promenade.   Hewitt Holds Off Blake in Another Five-Set Thriller by Douglas Robson Saturday, August 31, 2002 Defending US Open champion Lleyton Hewitt staved off hard-charging American James Blake in five sets Saturday at Arthur Ashe Stadium in a rematch of last year's second round classic. The 21-year old Hewitt, the No. 1 seed, prevailed to move on to the fourth round, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. The 3-hour, 34-minute match, contested in cool and blustery conditions, had none of the racial overtones that clouded last year's epic five-set encounter, also won by Hewitt. Instead, both players applauded the other on several occasions when the brilliant shotmaking was too good. Both players refused to yield serve in a stirring first set. Each had break points, but it went to a tiebreaker, in which Blake pulled out five straight points after being down 5-2. In sets two and three, the never-say-die Australian stood his ground at every Blake charge, picking up the aggressiveness of his own game and pressing Blake into numerous unforced errors. Hewitt also parried aside three break chances, coming up with key serves or scrambling corner to corner to get out of jams. Lleyton broke the former Harvard University player, who had 86 unforced errors (to just 40 for Hewitt), once in each set and that was enough. When Blake dropped his serve at 1-1 in the fourth set, it looked like his day was over. But the Yonkers, N.Y. native suddenly started to click, nailing several big forehands and making successful forays to the net. He finally broke Hewitt to even the set at 2-2, and then -- fist pumping -- broke again to take the set 6-3. Hewitt kept his tunnel-vision throughout, despite the rabidly pro-Blake crowd. Between points, he picked at his racket, head down, as if plucking the strings of a harpsichord. Blake, meantime, fed off the chants of "Jamie, Jamie, Jamie, Go! Go! Go!" In the final set, Hewitt, who doesn't possess any signature shot, but does everything well, took advantage of a sloppy service game by Blake at 3-2, zipping a forehand winner for a final break. He capped the contest with an ace on match point, and now leads their growing rivalry, 4-0. Should Hewitt retain his title, he will be the first back-to-back champion since fellow Australian Pat Rafter won in 1997-98. He would also be the first man to win Wimbledon and the Open in the same year since Pete Sampras in 1995. He next faces No. 14 seed Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic in the round-of-16.

Tour boss questions Hewitt's advisers
| Sports Watch ... 30 August 2002 |

Men's tennis tour chief Mark Miles said Lleyton Hewitt may have been misled by his advisers over the incident which threatens to cause a major rift with the world's No.1 player.

ATP Tour officials had refused to comment since Hewitt threatened to sue and to slash his playing schedule over the fine of $US103,000 ($A187,000) he faces for not doing a television interview two weeks ago.

However Miles made himself available after Hewitt took another crack during the US Open, saying tour officials had "lied" about the circumstances surrounding the missed interview with host broadcaster ESPN at the Cincinnati tournament.

Miles was at pains to stress the tour considered the young Australian a "great asset to the tour" and a "great champion and standard bearer for the game".

He also said the size of the fine was ludicrous and he was considering recommending a lower penalty to the ATP Stars program appeals committee, which is to hear Hewitt's appeal.

Hewitt told his port-match press conference that ATP officials were "making up stories to save their jobs".

He said Miles and an ESPN producer had agreed with Hewitt's management that the star could do the interview after his first round match.

But Miles rejected the claim and queried what Hewitt's advisers were telling him.

"He's been misinformed," Miles said.

"I don't know what the advisers around Lleyton told Lleyton in Cincinnati.

"I'm really in no position to know or to guess who says what to Lleyton and how he forms his opinions but we mean well by Lleyton Hewitt."

Miles rejected Hewitt's assertion that the ATP insisted the interview be done on the day of his first match, saying the Australian's advisers had known for a week that ESPN wanted a pre-tournament interview to screen on the day of the match.

"I don't know what Lleyton knew when, what the direct communications with him is because for the most part on this subject, most of the communication went through other people," Miles said.

"But from my perspective it had been made clear to his advisers that ... a relatively straightforward and not difficult interview with our host broadcaster would be done so that they had the footage on tape for their use prior to his first match.

"That did not mean anybody wanted him to be in a position where he had to do it immediately prior to his first match."

Miles said the fine amount was clearly too high and there were obvious precedents for fines being lowered on appeal.

He pointed to the cases of Andre Agassi, whose $US20,000 ($A36,300) fine for missing a CBS interview was reduced on appeal to $US10,000 ($A18,200) plus costs, and Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who did not appeal a $US29,000 ($A52,700) fine for a similar offence.

"It's the appeal panel's decision but I think it's obvious that this is not a $US103,000 offence," he said.

Hewitt, the US Open and Wimbledon champion, described the ATP as a "circus" and threatened to drastically cut back the number of ATP-organised tournaments he plays next year, sacrificing his ranking, to concentrate on the ITF-run Davis Cup and Grand Slam events.

Miles conceded it was a serious situation but said he hoped Hewitt would reconsider once the ATP Stars program's appeals committee had decided his case.

"I have to hope that eventually Lleyton understands that there's no-one that is out to get Lleyton Hewitt," he said.

"He's a great asset to the game, he is already - at a remarkably early age - a great champion and a standard bearer for the game and we want to help make his career absolutely successful beyond his wildest dreams in any ways that we can.

"I hope that eventually everything will sort itself out and he'll make good scheduling decisions for himself based on his objectives of being a champion for a long time to come."

The appeal is expected to be heard after the US Open, oncereplacements can be found for committee members Australian Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald and US former player and ESPN broadcaster Patrick McEnroe, who have declined to hear the case due to conflict of interest.

US OPEN Aug. 29, 2002

Rematch Set for Hewitt, Blake
The two met last year in the second round, and Blake fell victim to cramps in the five-set battle.

After rain delayed Thursday's play for more than five hours, defending champion Lleyton Hewitt thundered past qualifier Noam Okun 7-6(7), 6-4, 6-1, setting up a rematch with American James Blake, who overcame Nikolay Davydenko 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 in his weather-delayed, second-round clash.

Okun of Israel was ablaze in the first set, firing winner after winner past the top seed. But in the tie-break, he stumbled with nerves, double faulting and allowing the World No. 1 to take the crucial, early lead. From there, the Australian was never truly threatened and quickly advanced to the third round.

Blake, meanwhile, proved too powerful against his Russian opponent. The two were scheduled to play Wednesday night, but rain forced their evening in Arthur Ashe stadium to be postponed. Aside for a second-set concentration lapse, the American, who claimed his first title earlier this month in Washington, D.C., continues to show his game is improving by the month.

Fitter and more confident than ever, Blake now heads to war with the defending champion, who he nearly upset last year. The American was up two sets to one, but fell victim to cramps and eventually succumbed in their fifth-set marathon. The two have played two more times since, last fall in Tokyo and earlier this year in Miami, and the Australian has won every meeting. But with a rowdy, New York crowd behind him, Blake says he's primed for another shot at the world's leading player.

"I'm playing the No. 1 player in the world; I have no pressure," Blake said. "[But] it's so tough, he changes his game really well. I have to play like I have been playing, kind of carefree, going for my shots, just trying to dictate points with my forehand, really move him around."

Hewitt, however, is known to rise to unfathomable levels when under duress. Crowds cheering against him only seem to goad him on, and he says he's pumped for this showcase event.

"I know how to handle it," Hewitt said. "I played a young American [Andy Roddick] in the quarters here last year. i had to play Pete [Sampras], who obviously everyone wanted to see win another Slam in the final. I feel pretty comfortable that I can block out all the outside distractions, and get on with the job.

"Quite often, I rise to big matches."

Agassi, Fit and Fine

Anxious to get his second-round match out of the way on a ominous, gray day in New York, Andre Agassi zipped past fellow American Justin Gimelstob 6-0, 6-1, 6-1.

It was Agassi all the way in this lopsided affair that lasted just over an hour. The American hit 72 percent of his first serves and 27 winners, compared to Gimelstob's 6.

"I think you're thinking first and foremost about taking care of business in any amount of time that you're out there," Agassi said. "If the weather comes, you want to be up in the match. But the weather wasn't really on my mind. I was just trying to execute my shots and keep the momentum."

Kafelnikov Bows Out Early

Yevgeny Kafelnikov's struggles continued Thursday, as the No. 4 seed once again fell to Dominik Hrbaty early at the US Open.

This year, the Russian only secured five games in his 6-3 6-1, 6-1 loss. Two years ago, Kafelnikov also lost in straight sets to the unpredictable Slovak. Hrbaty now has a 8-4 record against Kafelnikov.

A semifinalist last year here, Kafelnikov has been in a slump for much of 2002. He now has a poor 27-23 record for the year.

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Defending champion Hewitt reached third round at U.S. Open
Thu Aug 29, 9:03 PM ET

NEW YORK - Defending champion Lleyton Hewitt had a shaky first set Thursday, but the top-seeded Australian overcame a five-hour rain delay and Noam Okun of Israel 7-6 (7), 6-4, 6-1 to advance to the third round at the U.S. Open ( news - web sites).

Hewitt, who won the Wimbledon ( news - web sites) title earlier this year, struggled early, losing two games in the first set to his unseeded rival. But he also broke his opponent's serve twice.

"It's always tough when you don't know the guy you're going to play," Hewitt said. "The first set was pretty much feeling him out."

Okun had a chance to serve out the set after breaking Hewitt to go up 6-5, but the Australian broke back to send the set into a tiebreak.

Hewitt again didn't look pretty, but he managed to win the tiebreaker 9-7 after 1 hour.

"He just got a little bit tight when he had a few opportunities to close out the first set," Hewitt said. "That's where I was able to get out of the first set and sort of take my game to another level."

The second set went better for the world No. 1, but it wasn't until the third set that Hewitt got back to dominating, breaking Okun in his first two service games to lead 4-0. He broke his Israeli opponent again in the seventh game to close out the match in just 27 minutes.

"It's a great thing to be into the third round, not having wasted too much energy so far," Hewitt said.

The 21-year-old Australian, who finished 2001 as the youngest year-end men's No. 1 player, also reached the quarterfinals at the 2002 French Open ( news - web sites). Two years ago, he made the semifinals at the U.S. Open.

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Notebook (cnnsi)

Players trying to pass time on a rainy day
Posted: Thursday August 29, 2002 4:11 PM

NEW YORK (AP) -- Kim Clijsters spent much of her spare time on a rainy Thursday playing video tennis in the player's lounge at the U.S. Open.

Clijsters, scheduled to play a second-round match with Mashona Washington, concentrated on the game with boyfriend Lleyton Hewitt, the defending champion and No. 1 seed, offering advice.

But Clijsters wasn't playing singles on the video, engaged instead in a high-pressure doubles match.

At the Open, Clijsters is seeded No. 7 in the singles draw and No. 15 in the doubles field, where her partner is Meghan Shaughnessy.

All doubles matches on Thursday were postponed by rain.

No. 1 seed Hewitt Advances