Wimbledon Interviews 2008

Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4

 

Rd 4 Monday, 30 June 2008

 

Roger Federer def. Lleyton Hewitt 7-6, 6-2, 6-4

Q. Do you feel that was one that got away, especially after the first set?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, I don't know about "got away." I lost in straight sets. You know, the first set could have gone either way. The tiebreak I had chances. I had a second serve, sort of went after it. He put a little bit more kick on it. I just didn't quite time it. That was a big point in the tiebreak. Yeah, then I came in on a ball, and he hit a pretty good pass. I came in on a pretty good slice. He hit a good backhand up-the-line passing shot to get up a mini break, and then hit a big ace to finish it off.

Then I just played a couple of, you know -- a loose double-fault at deuce first game of the second set, and that opened it up for him.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about his serving, what he does?

LLEYTON HEWITT: He served extremely well today. Yeah, any quarter chances that I did get, you know, I didn't have them for long. Yeah, he hit every line out there with his serve today. That's why he's the best player going around, especially on this surface. Serve is so important. He hit the target every time. I had a few breakpoint chances there late in the second set and early in the third set. I didn't do too much wrong with them.

Q. Is the daunting thing about playing him that he obviously gets the shots in so well, or is there also a psychological barrier for everyone that he has such a great record? Is that something you have to try to overcome as well?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, you don't focus too much on that. Once you go out there to play it's about what you can do to try to, yeah, upset his rhythm, not play into his comfort zone too much. But, yeah, when he's serving like that it's not easy on this surface purely because, as I said the other day, his serve sets up the point for him to play in his comfort zone. It's very hard to take him out of that zone.

Q. Must get very disspiriting. Seems like every time you get a bit close, he's able to step up another level. Does that get you down when you're playing like that?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know about "another level." He stayed pretty similar the whole way through. But, yeah, it was just the last five years or so he's played the big points extremely well. That's where the difference is.

Q. You did 14 aces against Bolelli. Today I think three or four. What does that mean? Does that mean you served worse or that Federer is much quicker in returning and moving and getting your serves?

LLEYTON HEWITT: A little bit of both. I didn't serve probably as well today. Roger's never gonna hit you off the court with his return of serve, though. He gets it back to start the point, whereas a guy like Bolelli is probably going after it a little bit more and swinging.So you can probably -- yeah, with Roger, you can probably go for your serve a little bit more on your first serve, because even on the second serve he's not going to hurt you with that first hit like a lot of other returners. Quite often he just blocks it back into play with a slice backhand. So I'm not sure. I didn't hit probably as many targets as I would have liked on the serve. But, you know, he handles Andy Roddick and Karlovic and all the big servers pretty well. You know, actually getting the ball back in play, he does extremely well from the return of serve. An actual attacking returner, he's not one of those.

Q. How far away do you feel you are from the best two or three guys at the moment?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Uhm, yeah, it's hard to say. Out there today I didn't feel like I was that far away. But then the big points, he played, you know, a lot better than I did. Yeah, even the first game I had Love-30, and then he hit four big first serves to win that game. Any time I tried to take a step I couldn't really, you know, put any momentum together, I guess, or put any pressure on his service games. Obviously he, Djokovic and Nadal are the three stand-outs at the moment, especially on a week-in, week-out basis. Yeah, I don't feel like I'm that far away.

Q. Do you feel you can get back into the top four, to get to the point where you're not drawing Roger in the first Monday of the second week?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, well, I've got to play a lot more matches to get the ranking back up there. That comes with, you know, being healthy and staying injury-free, too.

Q. Are you committed to doing that, playing that many matches, if you can?

LLEYTON HEWITT: If the body does, yeah. If the body holds up.

Q. What are your plans now? Are you going to look at Olympics and US Open, or are you going to have to assess the hip injury and possibly consider missing those for surgery?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I'm not sure yet. I've tried to not focus on it too much. But, yeah, this was the tournament that I wanted to play in. Now I'll probably try and focus more on, you know, career-wise, you know, trying to get the hip right because, you know, right at the moment it's not just getting any better. So I'm just gonna have to speak to more people and see what my best options are.

Q. Does it get worse through matches?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. As the match goes on it gets a little bit worse.

Q. So losing the first set was even more crucial to you?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. Against a guy like Roger it is. He's a pretty good frontrunner, too.

Q. Do you go back to Sydney straightaway?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't think so, no.

Q. How does it feel becoming a dad for the second time?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, good. Thanks.

Q. Is the baby due in January?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I'm not sure.

Q. Just given the hip and whatever you might do, as long as the body holds out, you'd be trying to come back next year to Wimbledon, that's the plan?

LLEYTON HEWITT: To where, sorry?

Q. Here next year.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, absolutely. This is one of the major tournament, so I hope to be back here.


 

 

Rd 3 L . Hewitt Interview - 27 June
Friday, 27 June 2008

 

Lleyton Hewitt def. Simone Bolelli 6-1, 6-3, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Lleyton Hewitt. We'll take the first question, please.

 

Q. Is it intimidating having to play Roger Federer, or do you treat him differently to any other player?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: Obviously, you treat him a little bit different. You know, you got to work out tactics. Last five years no one's been able to get it right here. Rafa's come close the last couple.

 

But, yeah, no one else has really got that close to him. So, yeah, you got to treat it a little bit differently.

 

Q. Do you go to bed thinking, I've got to play my best tennis? Is that what you have to aim for?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: I'm going to have to play extremely well, yeah. Whether my absolute best, I don't know. A lot depends on how he plays, as well.

 

Q. What will you need to do well to beat him?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, not sure. Obviously, you know, serve and return on grass are, you know, two huge keys. Yeah, if I can serve well and take care of my service games, you know, I'll get some opportunities. I won't get a lot obviously, you know, because of the caliber of player that he is.

 

But, you know, I'll probably get some chances. Against a guy like Roger, you really have to take those half chances when you get them, because you're not going to get a lot of them.

 

Q. Coming into this tournament there's a lot of talk about Roger going more susceptible or vulnerable. Do you buy into that at all?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: Not really. I think, you know, he feels very comfortable. He's played all his matches on Centre Court so far again this year. He feels right at home on that stage.

 

You know, we're probably going to be out there Monday. Yeah, he's won 60 something matches now on grass, on this surface. So, I think -- you know, whether if he plays Rafa on grass, you know, because of what Rafa did to him at the French Open.

 

But in terms of him playing anyone else, I think he's gonna, you know, still have that aura and that self-confidence, I guess, behind him.

 

Q. You've played through injuries here, of course. Did you see what Tiger Woods did recently at the U.S. Open, and what are your thoughts on what he did? Any parallels?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I love watching Tiger play. He's one of my favorite sportsmen. What he did was incredible. I don't really know if anyone else would have been able to do it. Yeah, not only to play four rounds and then go out and play a fifth day.

 

Yeah, that's the kind of stage that was set up perfectly for him. It really was. Yeah, no one else on this planet, I don't think, could have got through with the win, coming down the 18th in regulation like he did.

 

Q. Through the years, how has your approach to injuries changed in regards to letting on to opponents, not letting on, complaining about them or not complaining about them?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, I don't complain about injuries too much. Yeah, I think that comes from a football background. You don't show when you're hurt. It's the same out on the court. Very rarely do I give away signs if I'm hurting at all.

 

Q. How come?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: Signs of weakness.

 

Q. Does the extra day help?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: Doesn't matter either way, I don't think, for either of us. Yeah, after three straight sets against Montanes I felt comfortable out there today on the court. Felt like it's the best I've moved since I've been on grass today.

 

So, yeah, an extra day, it doesn't really matter.

 

Q. How would you compare your feeling about divulging information about injuries and the way you handle it with other people you've observed on the tour?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I'm not too sure. You know, I don't think a lot of people talk about injuries too much. You know, they sort of try to keep it to themselves.

 

Yeah, obviously there's not a lot I can do about my situation at the moment, because it's well-documented. After every match you're asked questions about it and you got to answer questions. Yeah, I try play the cards pretty close to my chest, though.

 

Q. Tactic-wise, how much of a difference can it make to have Roger's former coach on your side now?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, Rochey's obviously going to know a lot. There's no doubt about that. But, yeah, you've still got to go out there and execute it as well, and, you know, not play into Roger's hands too much.

 

Yeah, it can only help. Yeah, for sure. But it's not the absolute, you know, key to success. You've still got to go out there and do it.

 

Q. Concerning today's match, what do you think about Bolelli? Did you see any difference from last year?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, he's definitely improved. Like I said the other day, I think the last six to eight months he's really improved. He's had a lot more consistent results, week in and week out, on the tour.

 

He played really well at the French Open. Probably didn't quite grab the opportunity that was handed to him, though. I think he ended up losing to Llodra in a very winnable match.

 

So, you know, for him to take that next step he really has to take those chances. Yeah, I felt comfortable in the tactics that Rochey and I came up with. I executed perfectly out there today. I didn't do too much wrong.

 

Q. Both you and Roger are so experienced on grass. How do you think that's going to influence your match?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: Not a lot. We both know our strengths and weaknesses, I think, of each other. We've played enough times. We've played a couple of times here at Wimbledon, as well, in quarters and semis of this tournament.

 

So, yeah, not a lot. We both feel comfortable playing, you know, on the big stage here at Wimbledon.

 

Q. In terms of a mindset against him, do you go into the match thinking that this is the type of challenge you play for, or do you try and treat it like you would any other match mentally?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: Uhm, no, this is what you play for. There's no doubt about it. Especially in my situation, you know, these are the matches I enjoy. Yeah, it's good to get out there and play on Centre Court, play against the best player in the world.

 

Q. Do you think that helps you to find something more to bring to the match?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, I hope so. We won't know until Monday. But, yeah, I'm looking forward to it.

 

Q. Specifically, other than Roger just improving immensely since when you were getting over on him consistently, what parts of his game do you think really, really improved?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, the last five years or so he's been consistently at such a high level. His whole game's improved. But, you know, obviously his movement probably doesn't get a lot of credit really. He's a great mover on the court. He cuts down angles extremely well out there.

 

Yeah, we all know about his shot-making. But, you know, he changes pace extremely well, especially off his backhand, just to mix it up, which is probably better than anyone else on the tour.

 

And he serves to -- he serves well on big points, but he serves well to his game, you know, to set up the point in his favor, which he probably does better than anyone else.

 

Q. Do you feel like you have to play a little bit outside of yourself in the match, or is that sort of a risk, because you don't want to get out of your own comfort zone, too?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, to a degree maybe, yeah, play a little bit differently, or change it up against Roger. If you're just playing in his comfort zone then he's going to enjoy that. Yeah, he does enjoy dictating play, you know, playing off when the ball is in his court and he can dictate, have you going side to side and changing pace and changing direction and all that different stuff. That's when he's at his best.

 

Q. He remembers your first match at 15-year-olds. Do you?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, we played in Switzerland actually. Yeah, that was a long time ago, on clay.

 

Q. Do you remember who won?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: He won, yeah, in three sets, I think.

 

Q. You've played him since Tony Roche has been your coach?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: I played him. Rochey wasn't there. We just started working together end of last year.

 

Q. Of all the streaks that you're aware of in sport, and tennis specifically, how do you rate 62 straight wins on grass, five straight Wimbledon crowns?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, it's up there. It's hard to compare I guess with Rafa's run on clay there for a while. He got to 80 odd wins on clay, and now he's won nearly every Masters Series and four French Opens.

 

Yeah, they're both unbelievable feats. There's so many good players out there, not to have one bad day in those five years of big matches on grass going out there, especially when, yeah, everyone is trying to knock you off, as well.

 

So, you know, not to have a slip up over five sets is a lot harder, I guess. In those smaller matches where you have a couple of tiebreak sets, in Halle and that where Roger has played in the past, it's pretty impressive.

 

Q. When you watch Federer and Nadal, what strikes you the most in the way of differences and similarities?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, in similarity, probably the only similar thing between those two is they know how to win. Apart from that, their personalties, their games, everything is completely different. Yeah, that's good for tennis.

 

Q. A while back you had some really nice wins over Roger. At that time, if someone said that this guy was going to step it up and take it to you 11 straight times, what would you have said to them?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, he obviously had the potential to be a great player. Yeah, I don't think anyone could predict how good he was going to be, how many Grand Slams he'd win. Yeah, the last time I beat him was in Davis Cup, and that was after he'd won Wimbledon that year.

 

Last time I beat him I knew how good a player he was already then. He'd already won a Grand Slam, and won it quite convincingly.

 

Yeah, it was hard to sort of put a mark on how many he was going to win back then.

 

Q. In terms of greatest player of all time, how would you compare him and Pete?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: It's hard. You know, in different eras obviously between he and Pete -- you know, if he wins the French it's so many variables in it, I guess. Right at the moment, they're very similar with the Grand Slams that they've won, as well.

 

Q. You've been one of the best return of servers of your era. Facing Roger, he's not serving bombs like Sampras, but holds easily. What makes his serve so tough?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: As I said before, he hits the spots extremely well. It's more setting up for the next shot, as well, where he doesn't sort of let you dictate play on his service games. You know, so that's something you've got to try to get on top of somehow.

 

Rd 2 Wednesday, 25 June 2008

 

L. HEWITT bt A. Montanes 7-6, 6-0, 6-2

An interview with: LLEYTON HEWITT

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Lleyton Hewitt. First question, please.

 

Q. Given how tough it was the other day, how much of a bonus was it for you today to get through so quickly?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it was good to get through in straight sets. You know, first set was difficult, though, because it was such a different opponent to the other day. He was serving well. It was hard to get into his service games.

 

When I did get 15-30 or Love-30 a couple of times in the first set he came out with some good first serves. You know, he's got a very underrated serve. It's not the best serve, it's not the biggest out there, but it's very hard to do anything with.

 

As the match went on, though, I felt more and more comfortable with how I was playing.

 

Q. How is the hip feeling?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, same as it's been the last couple of months.

 

Q. Did it pull up all right from your first match? You said it all depended on how it pulled up.

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it pulled up like I expected, so...

 

Q. Would you be surprised if Bolelli gets through here?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: No, I wouldn't be surprised. I think it could go either way. González is hit-and-miss sometimes, as well. You're just not a hundred percent sure what you got.

 

I played Bolelli here in the second round last year. Even the score line says it was a lot easier than the match was, though. He's improved a lot over the last probably six, eight months, especially on clay.

 

You know, whichever guy I come up against I have to go up a notch or two on today.

 

Q. After the first set, what was the switch? You won nine games in a row from there.

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, for the most part I felt pretty comfortable on my service games. But I started, you know, just giving myself a little bit more time on his serve, like standing back a little bit further, just getting myself into the point.

 

I felt like through the first set I just wasn't picking his serve up enough. When I did get it back, I was giving him the chance to dictate straightaway. I wanted to try to get myself into the point a lot more, and I did that really well in the tiebreak, especially the end of the tiebreak, to win that.

 

He was a little bit more despondent, I guess, as well at the start of the second set after losing the close tiebreak.

 

Q. If it came down to it, do you think your body would have seven matches in it over these two weeks?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: I'd like to think so, yeah. I've played with pain before. As long as it doesn't get too much worse, you know, I can handle it.

 

Q. What do you do to block it out of your mind? Obviously it's always there. You've got to do something to get through it. What do you do?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: You know, I feel it most of the time when I'm out there. It's just a matter of blocking it out, not dwelling on it too much, I guess, not worrying about it. Unless it got to the stage where I actually couldn't walk out there, you know, I'm gonna keep trying.

 

Q. Just to try to get an understanding of what you are feeling, can you rate the pain on a scale of 1 to 10?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: It's hard. Yeah, sometimes it's worse than others. It's hard to put a finger on it.

 

Q. You're a guy who had a lot of success when you were young, like Novak. When you start to go consistently deep at majors and then have a setback, what do you do to regroup?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, well, I didn't see a point of the match, so it's hard to tell. Yeah, of course he'd be disappointed because he's been playing unbelievable tennis all this year.

 

When Marat's on, he's on, as well. I assume he must have played pretty good out there today. He's a tough player to come up against on any surface when he's on.

 

Yeah, I guess it will make him more hungry to come back here next year. You got to take some positives out of it. The way he played at Queen's was pretty positive, I think, on a grass court.

 

Q. You and Marat are sort of the same generation. Older guys still making a little bit of noise here.

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I'm really happy for Marat. I get along really well with him. I've practiced a lot with him the last couple of years, but probably more so this year, as well.

 

I played him in Las Vegas earlier this year. I kind of felt sorry for him on the court. He was terrible. So for him to come out and be able to turn it around and play like this in a big tournament, yeah, it's fantastic for him, really is.

 

Q. One of your old coaches, Stolz, has had a bit to say about Tennis Australia, what is and isn't being done at the moment. Do you have any thoughts on the current state of development in Australia, and is there something that's not being done that you'd like to see done or vice versa?

 

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it's hard. You know, Stolz, I respect Stolz a hell of a lot. I think he's very switched on. Yeah, you've got to listen to some of his comments. I think purely the fact that Stolz, he doesn't make comments that often. He's a very reserved guy. So, obviously, yeah, there's something there that he's not too happy with.

Yeah, Stolz is the kind of guy that wants the best for Australian tennis. He came up in a system where we had a lot of guys doing well.


 

 

Rd 1 L. Hewitt - June 23

Monday, 23 June 2008

 

Lleyton Hewitt def. Robin Haase 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (1-7), 6-2

Q. Obviously a very tough match. Good to get through.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, you know, tried to do as much homework before the match. Spoke to quite a few players. I'd never really seen him play that much before. And, you know, all the guys I spoke to and had played against him said he was a very dangerous player.

So, you know, I was expecting a tough match out there today. Yeah, he served extremely well for five sets. Perhaps, you know, lost his first serve percentage a little bit in the fifth set, which I had to take advantage of.

But apart from that, you know, he's got a lot of firepower from both sides as well.

Q. Does it get harder to come through five set matches like that as you get older, do you think?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yes and no. But, you know, if I get into a fifth set I'm feeling pretty confident. So, you know, obviously I was disappointed that I lost the fourth set because I felt like I had the whole momentum in the fourth set. I just wasn't quite able to get those, you know, little chances or take those chances throughout the fourth set.

But, you know, obviously he came out and won it in a tiebreak. You know, I was a little thankful that I was going to be advantage in the fifth set.

Q. Do you think it was your experience that counted against his maybe?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, a little bit. I lost serve once for the match, and that was only at 5-1 in the third set, I think. So apart from that I really didn't feel like I was under pressure a lot on my service games, and I felt like I was putting a lot more pressure on his.

That's the good thing about five sets out there. The fifth set is an advantage set. Even though he played a couple of great sets where I couldn't break his serve, I was still able to get, you know, through.

Q. These are pretty crucial times for the ATP. Are you satisfied with the board election that took place this weekend? Do you favor retaining Etienne de Villiers as the chairman or would you like to see a change at the top?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I didn't I still don't know anything about the board, who is on the board or the council. To tell you the truth, I haven't been that worried about it, especially this week.

Yeah, right at the moment I haven't been on the tour leading into the French Open, whatever, when the guys were having a lot of talk about what should probably be going on in that. Right at the moment I'm not too fussed.

Q. Does it worry you that it was that hard a game on day one? Does it affect your confidence at all about how far you can go this time?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Not really. When you sit down at the start of the tournament, to win the tournament, you have to win seven best of five matches. You got to get through those seven matches somehow.

Every opponent's different, and my opponent on Wednesday's gonna be it's gonna be chalk and cheese with the guy that I played today in terms of my whole strategy against him. They're both styles of play as well. You really have to focus on that match that you have to come up against.

Q. Do your expectations lower as you get further away from 2002?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Not really, no.

Q. When you say "chalk and cheese," what do you remember of Montanes from the last time you played him two years ago?

LLEYTON HEWITT: On grass he doesn't have the biggest serve. He's not going to serve me off the court like this guy could potentially today. Yeah, he's got a sneaky sort of slice serve out there and then a pretty good kick second serve, but you're always going to have a shot at it.

The toughest thing, he's a clay court specialist, there's no doubt about that. He's going to have a good forehand and he moves well. But, you know, he's not going to feel that comfortable on grass, which is a good thing.

Q. How, specifically, does the hip affect you when you're playing? Is it about speed? Is it about direction?

LLEYTON HEWITT: A little bit of everything, yeah. It's sort of yeah, every shot pretty much at different times. Obviously, when I've got to move and get in certain positions, then it's a lot worse obviously.

But it's not just one position that, you know, I sort of say, yeah, that's it. That's where I feel it, so...

Q. Could you estimate what percentage fitness you are at at the moment?

LLEYTON HEWITT: It's hard to put a number on it really. Right at the moment I'm probably a little worse than four hours ago (smiling). But, yeah, it's hard to put a number on it. But come Wednesday I'll be fine.

Q. What do you do treatment wise between now and then?

LLEYTON HEWITT: There's not a whole lot I can really do to turn it around in such short notice. It's more ice, massage, yeah, just stretching, trying to not make it any worse in the next 24 hours, 48 hours.

Q. How many foot faults were you called for? How distracting is that to you?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I'm not sure how many got called in the end. The more distracting part is probably, yeah, after you get called once you stand back a bit further obviously, because for some reason there's only one person that kept calling. We played two and a half sets without that one person when they changed people, and then the same bloke came back again and I got done again.

That was my query to Fergus Murphy in the chair. Even when that other person down the other baseline end wasn't calling foot faults. And then we swapped and got two totally new people when they changed linespeople and they both didn't call it.

Then this bloke's come back again and called it, so that was my biggest query.

Q. Was he right to call your conduct unsportsmanlike?

LLEYTON HEWITT: When I tapped the ball over to him?

Q. Whatever the guy in the chair called you unsportsmanlike for.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. After I held serve I just tapped the ball across. It didn't touch him.

Q. Was it a fair call by him, or not?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I would doubt it. No, I would be fighting that.

Q. When you come back each year, do you have any sense of how many more Wimbledons you have left in you?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Not really. I guess more so probably with injuries you're just never sure what's around the corner. Obviously coming here this year, yeah, for me two months ago, there were probably a few doubts that I'd be able to play here. Speaking to doctors and getting scans and that.

I had to make decisions on where I felt I was at and whether it was, you know, too much risk to come and play here and the French Open.

So, yeah, probably more so from an injury front you just don't know what's around the corner. But in terms of playing, yeah, doesn't cross my mind. I'm thankful that I'm here this year and enjoying it.

Q. I think I'm right that you were hitting with Andy Murray over the weekend here.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, we warmed up one day.

Q. Can you give us an indication, did his game seem pretty sharp to you?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, we didn't do anything the day we hit. It was blowing a hurricane yesterday, so... It was very hard to judge where Andy's at just on that hit. Obviously he's got an outside chance of doing well here and going into the second week of a Grand Slam.

I don't think he's made a quarterfinal of a Grand Slam yet. I have no idea what his draw's like. But potentially with the way that he plays, he moves extremely well on this surface, he's got a shot.

Q. Do you have any advice for Gooch, whose Grand Slam record is a bit underwhelming at this point, and he had another disappointing loss today. Do you speak to him at all about how he can turn things around? He is obviously the successor to you clearly when you do go.

LLEYTON HEWITT: I only just found out before I walked in here that he'd lost today. Yeah, it's a tough one. Playing a lucky loser, I don't know when he would have found out that he's playing a different guy. I don't know if he knew much about the guy, as well.

It's a tough situation in that, but there's no doubt that he's got to take advantage of that, as well. So, yeah, he's been a little under the weather this whole week, as well, which isn't the best thing. But over five sets on this surface, he'd have to like his chances.

Yeah, even if he's not feeling a hundred percent he's got to try and find a way to get through those matches in Grand Slams. That's where he's really got to get to that next level, that's what he needs to do.

Q. What do you think of your draw with Federer in the fourth round?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Not even focused on that at the moment. I got to get there.

Q. Doesn't wake you up in the middle of the night?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I might play him in the final if I was in the other half. I'm not sure what you're getting to.

Q. Do you spend much time with the sort of up and coming kids in Australia like Bernard Tomic?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I haven't spent a lot with Bernard. He was at our last Davis Cup tie. That was pretty much the first time I met him, seen him around at all. I probably spent more time. Out of the juniors, probably Brydan Klein over the last couple years, purely because he's been at Davis Cup ties, I've been able to hit with him quite a bit.

You try and help them out as much as possible. I've had some of the younger guys come across to my house in Sydney and hit there as well. Yeah, when it fits in, it's good for them, and it's good for me, as well.