| Quarterfinal
defeated by Ferrero
Q. Maybe not too many guys would have beaten him
today, the way he was playing?
|
Rd 3 L.
HEWITT/R. Stepanek
6-1, 3-0 (ret.)
LLEYTON HEWITT
THE MODERATOR: Questions for Lleyton.
Q. Is that a positive to spend 30 minutes on court in the middle of a Grand Slam
for you?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. I would have liked to have kept going. I felt like I was
in a pretty good routine out there today. I was hitting the ball really cleanly.
It was a big step up from my first two matches. It was in the right direction.
You know, in some ways you want to keep going; in other ways you want to save a
bit for the second week.
Q. Did he give you any indication that that was going to happen? Was he moving
badly?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I couldn't tell anything. But, yeah, I didn't have a clue.
Q. Would it be fair to say, certainly the first set, into the second set, it's
as good as you've played maybe since Scottsdale or Indian Wells?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it was up there. I probably played maybe my best tennis
that I've played all year in the World Team Cup, to tell you the truth. I beat
Novak, Blake, and Moya all on clay. This was up there with that probably today.
Q. Got to make you feel good.
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. I was seeing the ball. I was very aggressive. I served
great, I felt, out there today. You know, I just had good rhythm on everything.
Q. Will you attempt to make up for that lost time on court today by doing more
practice?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I went and hit a few balls straight after the match. But not a
lot. Just sort of, you know, grooving it a little bit, trying to keep that
rhythm going.
Q. Who did you hit with?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Roger.
Q. Paradorn, you've played him a number of times now. Talk a little about what
sort of an opponent he's going to be.
LLEYTON HEWITT: He's a tough player, extremely talented. He's got every shot in
the game. You know, he's a very aggressive player. Obviously got a big serve,
probably a big forehand. He moves great around the court. He can come in and
volley, as well. You know, the matches -- I think I've only lost to him once.
The matches that we've had were probably -- we played in the semis of Paris
Indoors last year in a tight three-setter, I got up. Before that, he was sort of
not where he is quite at the moment. We had a lot of tough matches in the past.
I don't expect any different on Monday.
Q. How will you change your game?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I won't change a lot. I'll go out there with my game. If I have
to alter things during the match, so be it. At the start I'll just go out there
with my game plan and see what he's got on the table.
Q. Are you pleased with the progression?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Not out of the tournament yet, so... Yeah, as long as you're
still in the draw. Everyone's happy at the moment. I feel like I'm hitting the
ball well.
Q. You talked a lot about getting through the early rounds of a Grand Slam to
make the charge for a title. Do you feel like you are now past the early rounds
and are ready?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I think when you get through the first week, it's a huge
bonus for everyone. As I said in the past, you can't win the tournament in the
first week, you can only lose it. You've just got to find a way to get through
those matches and put yourself in a good preparation-wise. You know, I still
feel like I've got plenty left in the tank, as well, going into the second week.
Q. Are you surprised at all sort of how the tournament has shaken out? Top seeds
are still in. Does that surprise you?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, every Grand Slam's different. You know, I think a lot of
the top guys had tough matches, though. Agassi probably hasn't had too tough a
match the other night. Vinciguerra apparently played pretty good. Roddick had a
pretty tough match last night. I know Moya had a very tough match against Draper
in the first round. Ferrero has had a couple tough matches. Obviously, that
little bit of inexperience by the lower-ranked players over five sets...
Q. In Cincinnati you said you felt a bit tired, your legs were quite heavy. Is
that completely gone? There's no sign of that?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I felt good in my first three matches. Obviously, it wasn't an
issue today. I'm feeling good.
Q. John Newcombe said after the first set that, "Lleyton could be
back." He thought you played well. I kind of get the sense you don't think
you've really been away. Is that fair? Are you frustrated that everyone seems to
have an opinion that you're down in your form?
LLEYTON HEWITT: A little bit. I guess when you look at the results I've had over
two years, they're not quite up to that form. Probably everyone's expectations
just rose that much over the last couple years. Hitting the ball-wise, I feel
like I'm hitting the ball well. There's just a couple of things in my game, you
know, that I've got to probably alter. I've been able to, you know, work on
little areas of my game. I feel like I'm, you know, hitting the ball well at the
moment. As I said, you know, my first two rounds, I didn't feel like I played
exceptionally well. I feel like I've been hitting well in practice. I need to
take that on court.
Q. Last night Ljubicic took offense to Andy Roddick's tactics on the court.
First of all, has that ever bothered you? Two, he said Andy is not well liked in
the locker room.
LLEYTON HEWITT: I didn't see anything last night. Andy seems fine with me. You
know, I've never had a problem with him. You know, I think he hangs around with
most of the American -- young American guys anyway. I don't know him that well.
I've never had a problem with anything he's done on court.
Q. That American brashness that can come out here, maybe the European or
Australian players might take offense.
LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't think so. Not that I'm aware of.
Q. Do you think there's a line on a player's actions on the court that at times
can be influential when it comes to a linesman? That's a lot of what Ljubicic
had a problem with last night, that a certain action that Andy did on court
might have influenced a linesman's call. Do you ever feel that way?
LLEYTON HEWITT: You know, I can't say that I've really felt that way in my
matches. You know, I've seen times in other matches I think, you know, when I've
been watching on TV and that, when sometimes maybe it has happened, where a
linesman, overrules, whatever. What I heard of last night's was obviously on a
huge point. Most of the time they're not on that big a point, whereas that could
have gone to the fifth set. I haven't seen the call or anything, so I wouldn't
have a clue.
Q. Have you ever been in a match where you felt like a certain action might have
influenced a call that went against you?
LLEYTON HEWITT: No, not an action, no. I feel like there's been times where I've
had close calls go against you, which you don't agree with. But I've never felt
like an action or player or anything's turned a call in my matches.
Q. Yesterday, I asked Mark Philippoussis on a scale of 1 to 10 where he would
place himself. He said a 7. Considering about the way you said you feel about
the way you're playing, where would you place yourself on that scale?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, 7 is good, too (laughter).
Q. The other night when you were playing your first-round match, John McEnroe
said during the commentary that he had spoken to your dad, and your dad said
maybe the problem is maybe Lleyton is too happy. Do you feel like you're too
happy?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know. Some days I feel happier than others. I don't know
where that's come from. You know, as I said, I don't think "too happy"
has got anything to do with it. I still feel hungry and the will to win is still
there, so...
Q. You came to this tournament with people saying you have been in a slump. You
described Wimbledon as a hiccup. Is it a slump or a hiccup? How would you
characterize where you've been as opposed to where you are now?
LLEYTON HEWITT: As you said, I said "hiccup." I've never said
"slump."
Q. There is a game of football with Adelaide. Are you going to monitor that?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I'll get the result.
Q. Will someone ring you? Will you get up in the morning, check the Internet?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I'm not sure. Depends how late I'm up tonight, whether I turn on
the Internet and see the score. Yeah, the boys will be all right, though.
Q. You said how Andy acts on court doesn't bother you. You're someone whose
court demeanor is sometimes criticized. Is that sour grapes from a losing
opponent, what Ljubicic said?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know. I didn't see the match. It's very hard for me to
comment on that. I know Andy likes to play with a lot of emotion, and likes to
get the crowd involved. I think, you know, we've played in enough big matches to
realize obviously when he's playing in America, the crowds are going to get
behind him. Same as if we were playing in France against the French guys. It's
exactly the same. And maybe Ivan was just disappointed at how the crowd was for
Andy and against him, it felt like maybe. I'm not sure.
Q. Fanatics are here. Did you feel them?
LLEYTON HEWITT: No, yeah, it was a great crowd out there today. Yeah, you know,
pretty much packed I think out there. Obviously, a Saturday as well, the
weekend. It's a really good atmosphere, a lot of Aussies out there, which is
good.
Q. Are you playing better now than when you won it two years ago?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Sometimes. I think there's definitely matches where I'm a better
player. But then there's other matches... Grand Slams, you got to play seven
matches and you got to go against the opponents you're playing against.
Obviously, towards the end of 2001, quarters onwards, I probably played, you
know, pretty much faultless tennis. It's very hard to repeat that week in and
week out.
Q. There's been some reports in Australia over the last few days of maybe you're
looking at Peter McNamara as a perspective coach. Is that what's going on?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Don't know anything about it.
Q. He's not someone you're looking at?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I'm not looking at anyone.
End of FastScripts….
LLEYTON HEWITT
THE MODERATOR: Questions for Lleyton.
Q. He was really going for his shots. Hard opponent to get a rhythm against.
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. I knew he was a talented player. I actually watched him on the TV a little bit when he won Sydney earlier in the year.
Yeah, he's a shot-maker. He plays very flashy. He's a great mover. He hits the ball very flat out there. Felt like actually the better I played, the better he played. I think, you know, the standard sort of showed. You know, the best game of the match was obviously the last game. I would have liked to have went out a little bit easier. But, you know, still happy to get through.
Q. Was that a step up from your first round?
LLEYTON HEWITT: The opponent was a lot tougher today. You know, he's had big wins. As I said, he beat Ferrero in Sydney, Roddick. He's beaten a lot of tough players. I didn't take him lightly at all. You know, I just didn't feel like I was probably as aggressive at the start, and that's probably where I changed the match around in the second set.
Q. Even though it's only the second round, it seems like it's a nice evolution to move from a fairly easy first-round match? Only four sets, but felt like it was five.
LLEYTON HEWITT: It was a tough match. Yeah, even in the first set, I was down a break twice and I had to fight back from it. You know, in the end, 5-All, he hit sort of a shank dropshot. Then he played a good game to break me at 6-5.
Yeah, it was tough tennis. I felt like when I stepped it up, you know, took the initiative a little bit more, you know, I played some of my best tennis in the second and third sets.
In the fourth, he started serving a lot better.
Q. How would you describe your form, the way you think you're playing in this hard court swing?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I played some good matches. In LA, I played pretty well the whole tournament, I felt. Against Ferreira, I didn't play my best tennis, but still a point away from winning.
Where did I go then? Montreal, played great against Bob Bryan the first round. Second round against Mirnyi, one of those matches where he served big, I lost five in the third. I lost five in the third to Ferreira the week before, five in the third to Mirnyi. Went to Cincinnati, didn't play a great match against Malisse.
Q. What was your sort of mental attitude coming in here? How did you feel?
LLEYTON HEWITT: You know, you walk into this place, it's not like walking into Cincinnati or Montreal. This is a Grand Slam. You know, this is what you play for. This is what tennis is all about.
Yeah, not many people will remember what happened in Montreal or Cincinnati if you go out and win this tournament.
I walked into the place, trained as hard as possible the last week and a half since I lost in Cincinnati. You know, I felt like I've given myself every opportunity of playing well here, whether it happens or not. I've started well enough, got to keep going.
Q. You practiced a bit with Federer.
LLEYTON HEWITT: I practiced one day with him.
Q. Is it good to practice with a guy that good?
LLEYTON HEWITT: You know, obviously I hit with Flip down in Florida for a few days down there, then came here. The guys I pretty much hit with, Federer, Flip. That's about it pretty much. You know, but they're two classy guys. Henman, as well.
It wasn't like I was hitting against the best players. I felt like I was grinding, getting my game going coming in here anyway.
Q. Even when you were No. 1, I think you probably said many times you wanted your first serve to get better. Is that an area you'd like to improve in?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. I didn't serve great today. I felt like my ball toss was all over the shop today. It's an area that, yeah, I want to work on. Then again, you're sort of between a rock and a hard place a little bit. You go for it. A guy my size, you either can kick it in, get the point started, get a high percentage in, or you can go for it and try to get a lot of cheap points. You're going to have a lower percentage.
There's some matches I feel I served great in the past. When I won here two years ago, towards the end of the tournament, I probably served as well as I ever served, even at Wimbledon last year. I do have times where I feel like my motion is good. Right at the moment, I don't feel that comfortable with it. But I'm getting through matches.
If that comes together, I feel like I'm playing pretty well.
Q. What is a happy medium, you play more difficult opponents, come against people like Agassi with a great return, what's a happy medium? Do you go for it more then, just get them in?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I'll do it depending on how I'm feeling, how the match probably starts a little bit. Yeah, Andre is probably one in a million, return of serve, as well. If you got to play him, it's going to be tough no matter how well you're serving - I think for anyone.
At the time, you play with instinct once you get out there.
Q. You've done great without a huge serve. Have you thought about tinkering with technology, longer racquet, trying it out?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Not really. I've picked it up before. It just doesn't feel right to me, picking it up. You know, I think for what I'd get out of maybe helping my serve, I'd probably lose in -- you know, I think it would probably take a while to change, if you were going to change to something like that.
I don't know how easy -- when you sort of hold it, volleying with a longer racquet, it feels a bit weird. It feels like it gets in the way. It feels a lot more than an inch, inch and a half longer.
Q. Three match points, failed on, is there a danger of frustration creeping in at that point?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. For sure, I think for anyone. It's hot enough out there, you want to get back in the locker room as soon as possible. Especially when I played a good game to break, to finally break at 4-All, to come out. Yeah, I felt like I played a pretty good game, yet I wasn't in the locker room. He really stepped it up.
As I said before, the better I played, the better he ended up playing. You know, he took it to me. I just had to hang tough there. Obviously, I came up with a huge backhand up the line on one of the breakpoints.
Q. With time you get experience, savvy about how to play. Is there something about the Lleyton Hewitt of 2001 that you would like to have back, something that you sort of miss a little bit?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Not really (smiling). You know, I still feel like I've got all the weapons and all the strengths that I had back then. You know, right at the moment, I just feel like I'm not quite peaking at the moment. I think one match can turn that all around.
Q. None sort of that reckless, fearless stuff of youth?
LLEYTON HEWITT: No. I don't think too many guys would have gone for the backhand up the line on breakpoint today.
Q. There are wins and wins in guy's careers. Hindsight, this might be an important one for you, do you think?
LLEYTON HEWITT: You know, it's pretty important to get through any early rounds of Grand Slams. You know, I know that as well as anyone after Wimbledon.
You know, for me to keep fighting, obviously you could have got down a little bit on yourself, after losing the first set and having chances. I had to put my head down and grind back. In the end, I'm happy to come through this one. I can't look too far forward, though.
Q. Yesterday ScottDraper was saying to him the only difference in 2000, 2001, under pressure you hit every line. He said maybe now you're missing it by just a little bit. That's enough to lose a point here and there. Is that sort of the way you see it? Is it that simple?
LLEYTON HEWITT: You know, I think there are times like that, yeah. I feel like I'm hitting the ball as well as I've ever hit it in practice. I just got to try and take that over to the match court.
Yeah, tennis is such a funny game. I felt like I've had a lot of breakpoints; even today I had a lot of breakpoints, didn't quite capitalize on them. I think probably in the couple years before that, I probably made a lot more of those chances. That's something that you can work on, to a certain extent, but there's still a little bit of luck involved, I guess, seeing whether the guy makes a big first serve on a breakpoint or not.
Q. Is it fair to say the one thing you probably miss this year is being right at the heart of a Grand Slam, right in there challenging?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, well, I think if I get towards the quarters or the semis, that's probably when I'm at my most dangerous. You know, I know what you got to do to win slams. I think if -- I've always said, even with my game, I guess, is my personality to a certain extent, if I can get through the first couple of rounds, sometimes they're the toughest.
If I can get through this one, obviously get myself into the second week, hit the ball, have that confidence going, I've been in that situation before.
Q. Talk about the long-term absence of Marat, what that's done for the game,
the negative impact?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it hasn't done much positive. I think at the end of the
day, you just got to look at how many tournaments he's had to play. Yeah, in my
opinion, he's one of the best players around when he's on. He has the perfect
physique for tennis; I think, he's got every shot in the game. It's
disappointing that he's hardly been able to play since the Aussie Open
basically. You know, the game needs a guy like that around. He's a great
personality for the game of tennis. I think at the end of the day, you look at
how many matches he had to play last year. You know, I lost to him in the Paris
final, he played incredible tennis, had to fly straight off to Shanghai, he
plays in the Masters Cup, has to fly back to Paris to play in the Davis Cup
final on a totally different surface. That takes a lot out of you, both
physically and mentally. For a guy like him, it's disappointing. I think there's
got to be a way that the ATP or the ITF or everyone has to sit down and work it
out and get the schedule. I think the reason I got the chickenpox at the end of
2001 was because I was run down from playing so many matches and a Davis Cup
final.
Q. You having been No. 1, Kim being No. 1 now, what are your thoughts on her
being No. 1?
LLEYTON HEWITT: It's an incredible effort. What comes with being No. 1, for me
it was just a dream to grow up and be No. 1 for a week. For her to hold No. 1,
it's something no one can ever take away from you. I know both of us, when we
were growing up, our dream, our goal, was to one day be No. 1. There's not too
many couples that can say they've both been No. 1.
Q. With you inviting Fitzy onto some of your practices here in New York, what
are you sort of looking for by way of feedback to you and Roger? Is he helping
with any tactical things here?
LLEYTON HEWITT: It's more for a Davis Cup point of view, I think, as well. He's
been out scouting a lot of -- obviously watching Roger play a fair bit. He's
going to be the main guy in the Davis Cup tie coming up. You know, he wants to
get a feel, I think, of little things that he can say on the court - positive
reminders and stuff like that that he can say to both Flip and I that are going
to trigger something when we're out there. I think it's great that Wally and
Fitzy are both here. I know that both Flip and I are pleased to have them
around. We enjoy their company. I think we both enjoy -- the more support we
have from the Davis Cup guys, the better.
Q. You and Karlovic, when you pass him now, do you have a nodding acquaintance?
Do you ever talk about what a goofy kind of match it was?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I haven't really seen him actually. Haven't spoken to him.
Haven't seen him. I haven't played in any tournaments until here where he's at.
Q. Your next opponent, Stepanek or Santoro?
LLEYTON HEWITT: They're both weird kind of players a little bit. Stepanek, he's
had a great couple of years. I played him in the Aussie Open I think in the
third round. He started really well, sort of lost his way halfway through the
first set. I was able to get confident and play some of my best tennis in that
match. He returns extremely well. He moves very well. He has an all-court game.
He mixes a lot. Hasn't got the biggest serve, but it's a very effective serve.
He likes coming in and playing with a bit of bluff, as well. Santoro, we all
know he's a different kind of player. You got to go out there, though, and back
yourself, you know, take your A game. If you're a little bit off, these guys can
make you look silly out there. I've got to go out there and stay aggressive and
play my game.
Q. What means more to you this year, Davis Cup or the individual tournaments?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, they're both -- obviously, Grand Slams and Davis Cup, it's
very hard to separate them.
Q. Has this year been different in any way with your priorities?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I'd love to win the Davis Cup. It's probably sitting number one
at the moment. Haven't won it for a few years, so...
Q. If you do well here and you do well in Davis Cup, in a sense would you feel
like the rest of the year has been a success, forget about the rest of it?
LLEYTON HEWITT: If we win the Davis Cup, I'll be happy. You know, if I can do
well here, it's a bonus, as well. Obviously, we don't want to get too far ahead
of ourselves, though.
FastScripts by ASAP Sports...
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THE MODERATOR: Questions. Q. Pretty convincing. How are you feeling? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it's a good one to get under my belt, I think. You know, obviously turned out to be a late night with all the ceremonies. That's why I wanted to try to get out there and get off to a good start, put up some pressure on him early. I was able to do that. Only lost my serve once for the night, sort of the second game where I was 30‑Love up. I lost a little bit of concentration there. Apart from that, I played pretty well. Q. Fitzy said you have been hitting the ball exceptionally well in practice. You agree with that? LLEYTON HEWITT: I've been hitting the ball well. I've got to take that over into the match court, match situation. I felt like tonight was a start. Obviously, I'm going to have to play a lot tougher and better players than I did tonight. Hopefully as the two weeks goes on, you just got to sort of deal with whoever is put in front of you. This guy, to his credit, he would have been in qualifying a few months ago. He made third round in the French, and Wimbledon, beat some decent players in the French especially. For me to take care of him that easily, I was pretty pleased. Q. Why is it not transferring always into match conditions? Has that affected your confidence a bit? LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, not really actually. I feel like, you know, this is a different tournament to Cincinnati or Montreal or even LA. Obviously, this is a Grand Slam, this is what you play for. This is the big time. This is what gets you motivated. You want to go out there and save your best for these tournaments. Thankfully tennis, we have four Grand Slams, not like the Olympics, obviously for athletics and that, they've got to wait four years to get their big chance. We get a few every couple of months. For me, it's a good opportunity to forget some of those losses. I feel like I'm hitting the ball a lot better in practice. Week and a half after Cincinnati, I was sort of, you know, going into LA and that anyway. Q. Where do you think you need to improve your game, lift the level to win a Grand Slam again? LLEYTON HEWITT: You know, I feel like I'm hitting the ball pretty well at the moment. You know, I think you need a little bit of luck with the draw probably opening up a bit and taking your chances when you get them. You know, I feel like even the matches I lost over the last couple weeks, I feel like I've played a set, set and a half of real good tennis. I just haven't taken my chances. Probably especially obviously losing to Mirnyi and the final. I had match points in LA. Apart from that, I played a pretty good tournament. Q. Do you feel any different when you get in New York, the site of your first Grand Slam title, atmosphere? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it's a nice feeling, I guess, to know. But, you know, I look forward to, you know, all Grand Slams. I think it's a buzz walking into any one of the four Grand Slams. Yeah, I still have to say probably just the Aussie, because I grew up there. When I walk in there, it's probably even more special. But to come back to places that you've played well at, especially big tournaments, it's always ‑‑ probably gives you a little more confidence when you get out there and the memories come back. Q. Fitzy said to us the other day that he thought you were trying from now on to play more aggressively on short balls, perhaps volley more when you can. Is that the case? When did you sort of come to that frame of mind? LLEYTON HEWITT: It's not something that I'm really working on. I'm trying to work on little areas of my game, you know, in the future. I think, you know, obviously when I'm playing well, I take advantage of short balls and am aggressive. You know, I think still obviously first serve percentage and stuff like that, getting cheaper points on my first serve, that's one of the main key aspects. Even when I was No. 1 and won two Slams and the Masters and everything else, that was still an area of my game I felt like I could work on. Still at the moment, that's an area. So it's just little things, trying to piece it all together, I guess, trying to get it together so everything's working for these two weeks ‑ if not these two weeks, then hopefully Davis Cup or the Australian Open. Q. Given the consistent success you've had the last two years, summer has been kind of up and down results‑wise. Has it been frustrating for you? How do you deal with that? LLEYTON HEWITT: With losses? Q. Just with trying to deal with inconsistent results after being so consistent for two years. > LLEYTON HEWITT: As I said, we're fortunate enough as tennis players, you lose one week, you've always got another tournament to sort of redeem yourself, I guess. You know, that's the good thing. As I said, we've got four majors. Obviously, my goals at the start of the year, the priority are the four majors and Davis Cup. I'm fortunate enough that after my Wimbledon loss, coming through the American stretch, I've got the US Open to look forward to, then obviously a semifinal in Davis Cup back home, the possibility of playing a final in Davis Cup. I think those things sort of try to put the losses to the back of your mind because it makes you go out there and work even harder to try to perform better in those bigger events. Q. Are you fairly happy with the draw? LLEYTON HEWITT: I'm taking it one match at a time at the moment. Hyung‑Taik Lee, he's a tough player. He's played well on these courts before at this tournament a couple years ago. Q. Not being the defending champion this year, does it feel better, less pressure? LLEYTON HEWITT: You know, I guess people are probably talking more about the guys who are in better form going into it. It doesn't bother me really, you know, either way. I felt like last year, even as the defending champion, I put up a great effort. I felt like I had a bloody tough draw last year. When you look at playing Blake in the third round, to play Novak, El Aynaoui in the quarter, then Agassi. In the end, I probably ran out of a bit of steam against Andre. I gave everything I had. Hopefully this year I can just go out there and give everything I got again. Hopefully might be good enough. Q. Could you give a comment about Pete Sampras' retirement? LLEYTON HEWITT: It was a great ceremony. I was watching it in the locker room, in the gym. For us I think every tennis fan, to actually witness that tonight, I think is incredible. As they all said, everyone who went out there kept saying the kind of guy like Pete Sampras only comes around once probably in our lifetime. I'm fortunate enough, I can boast that I was the last person to beat him here. I'm pretty happy. You know, yeah, if you could write a fairytale ending, I think this is pretty much it. Beating his long‑time rival in the US Open final, doesn't get much better. Q. A guy like Hanescu, was it good to get a guy like him, a little awkward, get into a rhythm? As the match went on, you get better and better. LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I got better, but he's an awkward player because he doesn't give you a lot of rhythm either. Yeah, he had a great backhand up the line. I felt like I was setting up a lot of points. Out of the blue, he'd come up with a huge backhand winner as good as anyone. It was just sort of awkward. He had service games where he was kicking most of his serves in, then games where he had bigger serves. It was an awkward game, but I felt like I was in control. I hadn't seen him play. I watched a few practice sessions. For me to go out there the way I did and start, I was happy. Q. You came to the net 23 times, you won 18 of those points. Pretty impressive stat. LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, obviously he doesn't have ‑‑ when you rush him, as you said, he's not the most fluent guy moving around, so it was always going to be tough. I tried to put a lot of pressure on his second serve, as well. Q. Are you sort of one that gets rattled or loses a bit of self‑belief if things aren't going particularly well at work or in your career, or are you able to say, "I'm still the bloke who won two Grand Slams and was No. 1"? LLEYTON HEWITT: I think when I've had little hiccups, I think I've bounced back from them pretty well. I'd like to think that I'm pretty mentally tough, probably one of the more mentally tough players out there, I'd say. I think with my style of game, you know, that's one advantage or one edge that I probably have over a lot of guys. That's one of the reasons why I've been able to get and do everything and achieve everything that I've had to so far. You know, you still need goals, I guess things to motivate, dreams to follow, as well. Q. You said you were working on little things in your game. Some people say if you have some small problems in your game, you have less margin for error than other guys in the Top 10. LLEYTON HEWITT: Less margin for error? Q. If a few things are off in your game, some will say you have less margin for error than some of the other guys in the Top 10. Is that fair? LLEYTON HEWITT: I think everyone has strengths and weaknesses. That's the great thing. You look at a guy like Marat Safin. He's built possibly the perfect tennis player. He's got every shot in the book. Sometimes little things let him down. You know, there's always those things I guess which aren't quite working. That's the great thing about tennis. It's on a daily basis. If my strengths aren't working, I've got to go back to my more percentage game, I guess, try to make them play a lot more and keep running and use, I guess, my basic strengths. Q. You just mentioned dreams to follow. Is it as straightforward as winning more Grand Slams or something beyond that? LLEYTON HEWITT: No, pretty much. Obviously, you know, I'm not looking too far ahead, looking at winning this one. I'm taking it one match at a time. That keeps driving you to try to get better in Grand Slams, keep winning matches in Grand Slams. Obviously the Davis Cup coming up is very high on the list. FastScripts by ASAP Sports... |