Lleyton Hewitt
 | |
| Country (sports) |  Australia |
|---|---|
| Residence | Sydney, Australia |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) [1] |
| Turned pro | 1998 |
| Plays | Right, two-hand backhand |
| Prize money | $16,655,412 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 431-134 |
| Career titles | 25 |
| Highest ranking | 1 (November 19, 2001) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | F (2005) |
| French Open | QF (2001, 2004) |
| Wimbledon | W (2002) |
| US Open | W (2001) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 63-44 |
| Career titles | 2 |
| Highest ranking | 18 (October 23, 2000) |
| Last updated on: September 13, 2006. | |
Lleyton Glynn Hewitt (born February 24, 1981, Adelaide, Australia), is a former World No. 1 tennis player from Australia. In 2001, he became the youngest male ever to be ranked number one. His career best achievements are winning the 2001 U.S. Open and 2002 Wimbledon men's singles titles.
Hewitt is known for his competitiveness[1][2][3] and wins most of his matches with relentless aggression, fitness, consistent shots, and highly skilled footwork. His serve improved greatly in 2004 and 2005. Hewitt spent much time in the late stages of 2004 working with his former coach and good friend, Roger Rasheed, on bulking up his physique. His hard work paid off after he made it to the final of the 2005 Australian Open, before falling to Marat Safin.
Tennis career
Born in Adelaide, South Australia, Hewitt might well have followed in the footsteps of his Australian rules football-playing father. Instead, he became one of the youngest winners of an Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tournament when, as an almost unknown youngster, he won the 1998 Next Generation Adelaide International, defeating Andre Agassi in the semifinals. Only Aaron Krickstein winning Tel Aviv in 1983 and Michael Chang winning San Francisco in 1988 were younger when claiming their first ATP title.
In 2000, Hewitt won his first Grand Slam title when he and Max Mirnyi won the men's doubles championship at the U.S. Open. Hewitt's first Grand Slam singles title was at the U.S. Open in 2001, when he defeated then-four time champion Pete Sampras in straight sets.
He followed his U.S. Open win with a victory at Wimbledon in 2002, defeating David Nalbandian in the final. His victory reinforced the idea that although the tournament had tended to be dominated by serve-and-volleyers, a baseliner like Hewitt or Agassi could still triumph on grass. (Hewitt was the first baseliner to win the tournament since Agassi did it ten years earlier.)
In 2003 as the defending champion, Hewitt lost in the first round of Wimbledon to qualifier Ivo Karlovic. Hewitt became the first defending Wimbledon men's champion in the open era to lose in the first round. Only once before in the tournament's 126-year history had a defending men's champion lost in the opening round, when in 1967 Manuel Santana was beaten by Charles Pasarell. Hewitt also was only the third defending champion to lose in the first round of a Grand Slam singles tournament, after Boris Becker in the 1997 Australian Open and Pat Rafter in the 1999 U.S. Open.
After Wimbledon in 2003, Hewitt lost in the final of the tournament in Los Angeles, the second round of the ATP Masters Series tournament in Montreal, and the first round of the ATP Masters Series tournament in Cincinnati. At the U.S. Open, Hewitt lost in the quarterfinals to Juan Carlos Ferrero 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-1. Hewitt played only Davis Cup matches for the remainder of the year, using his time off to add 7 kg of muscle to his physique.
In 2004, Hewitt became the first man in history to lose in each Grand Slam singles tournament to the eventual champion. At the Australian Open, he was defeated in the fourth round by Swiss Roger Federer. At the French Open, he was defeated in a quarterfinal by Argentine Gastón Gaudio. At Wimbledon, he was defeated in a quarterfinal by Federer. And at the U.S. Open, he was defeated in the final by Federer, losing two out of the three sets at love.
At the year ending 2004 Tennis Masters Cup, Hewitt defeated Andy Roddick to advance to the final but was yet again defeated by defending champion Federer.
In 2005, Hewitt won his only title at the Sydney Medibank International. He reached his first Australian Open final by defeating World No. 2 Roddick but was defeated by Marat Safin. At Wimbledon, he lost to Federer in a semifinal. Federer went on the win the event for the third time. Almost three months later, Hewitt again lost to Federer in a U.S. Open semifinal, although this time he was able to take one set from the Swiss. Hewitt had at this point lost to the eventual champion at seven consecutive Grand Slam tournaments he played (he missed the 2005 French Open because of injury).
Hewitt pulled out of the Tennis Masters Cup tournament in Shanghai in November 2005 so that he could be with his wife Bec as the birth of his first child grew near. He was replaced by Gastón Gaudio.
After a fairly frosty start to 2006, Hewitt was defeated in the second round of the Australian Open. After some time away from the tour, his results improved. He reached the finals of the San Jose and Las Vegas tournaments, losing to British youngster Andy Murray and American James Blake, respectively. But he lost to Tim Henman 7-6(5), 6-3 in the second round of the ATP Masters Series tournament in Miami, a player he had defeated eight times previously in as many matches.
At the 2006 French Open, Hewitt reached the fourth round where he lost to defending champion, and eventual winner, Rafael Nadal in four sets.
Hewitt won his first tournament of 2006 (after a 17 month hiatus from winning a tournament) when he beat Blake 6-4, 6-4 in the finals of the Queen's Club Championships. This was his fourth title there, equalling the records of John McEnroe and Boris Becker.
At the 2006 Wimbledon Championships, Hewitt survived a five-set match against South Korea's Hyung-Taik Lee that was played over two days. He then defeated Olivier Rochus and David Ferrer before losing to Marcos Baghdatis in a quarterfinal.
At the 2006 Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington D.C., Hewitt was defeated by Arnaud Clement 7-6(1), 6-4 in a quaterfinal after defeating Vincent Spadea in the second round and Denis Gremelmayr in the third round.
At the 2006 U.S. Open, Hewitt participated despite having an injured knee. Hewitt won his first three matches in straight sets against, respectively, Albert Montanes, Jan Hernych, and Novak Đoković. He defeated Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3 in the fourth round to advance to the quarterfinals for the seventh consecutive year. He then lost to Roddick 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.
At the 2007 Australian Open, Hewitt lost in the third round to the tenth seeded Chilean and eventual runner-up Fernando Gonzalez 6-2, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.
World ranking
On November 19, 2001, Hewitt became the youngest male ever to be ranked number one (20 years old). He stayed No. 1 until June 16, 2003, a streak of 64 weeks. After two weeks of being No. 2, he returned as No. 1 for four weeks. Since then, his highest ranking has been No. 2. As of January 29, 2007, his ranking is No. 17.
Davis Cup
Hewitt was a part of the Australian Davis Cup Team that won the Davis Cup in 1999 and 2003 and reached the final in 2000 and 2001. By the age of 22, he had recorded more wins in Davis Cup singles than any other Australian player.
In 2003, Hewitt led the Australian team to victory when he defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero in the opening rubber 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6, 6-2.
In the 2006 quarterfinals in Melbourne, Hewitt defeated Belarussian Vladimir Voltchkov 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 in just 91 minutes. Voltchkov said before the match that "Hewitt has no weapons to hurt me." Hewitt responded, "Voltchkov doesn't have a ranking [of 457] to hurt me." In the semifinals in Buenos Aires on clay, Hewitt lost to Argentine Jose Acasuso 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Honors
In 2005, TENNIS Magazine put Hewitt in 34th place in its list of the 40 Greatest Players of the TENNIS era.
Playing style
Hewitt is a defensive baseline counterpuncher. He typically likes to stay back towards the baseline during a rally and will usually approach the net only to catch a short reply or drop shot from his opponent. His tactics typically involve putting difficult service returns in play, consistently chasing down attempted winning shots from his opponent, and waiting for his opponent to make an error.
Hewitt's serve in recent years has become more of a weapon. He is now capable of serving at 125mph/200kph and hits aces at key moments in the match. Hewitt also has excellent placement on his serve, enabling him to hit aces without a tremendous amount of speed. Despite not being a power player, he will usually go for an ace or a service winner for his first serve and settle for a slower, more consistent serve for his second serve.
Although he is known primarily as a baseline defender, Hewitt is actually a skilled volleyer and is known for having one of the best overhead smashes in the game. He also has underrated variety in his shots and will occasionally use a drop shot or drop volley to win a point. His signature shot, however, is the offensive topspin lob when his opponent approaches the net.
Hewitt is known for his tenacity. More than once, he has been close to losing a match in straight sets only to come back and win. For example, in the 2003 Davis Cup semifinal against Switzerland in Melbourne, Australia, Roger Federer had match points in the third set. Hewitt came back to win 5-7, 2-6, 7-6(4), 7-5, 6-1.
Controversies
Hewitt's intense demeanour on and off court and his characteristic shouts of "COME ON!" when winning a crucial point have won him detractors as well as fans.
After defeating Yevgeny Kafelnikov in a 1999 Davis Cup quarterfinal match, before which Kafelnikov had publicly vowed to teach Hewitt a lesson, the latter said he had enjoyed "sticking it to somebody who mouths off."
In January 2000 while competing in a home town event in Adelaide, Hewitt played against a fellow townsman. Upset after being heckled by members of the crowd when he disputed a line call, Hewitt claimed that he could not believe some people in the crowd were cheering for his opponent. "It's weird, but I think that's just the stupidity of the Australian public; you always knock the better players." A month later, the readers of Australian sports magazine, Inside Sport, rated Hewitt Australia’s least admired sports person.
In a five set match with James Blake at the 2001 U.S. Open, Hewitt complained to umpire Andres Egli and asked for a black linesman to be moved after being called for two foot-faults in the third set. "Look at him," Hewitt said, gesturing at the linesman. "Look at him and you tell me what the similarity is." Some witnesses, including Blake, had suggested that the "similarity" referred to the color shared by Blake and the linesman. [2] Hewitt claimed he had merely pointed out that the same linesman had foot-faulted him on both occasions, while other officials had made no such calls.
In late 2005, Hewitt was voted No. 5 on a La Nacion newspaper poll from Argentina listing the most hated sporting figures in that country. The poll results were published in the months after an explosive Davis Cup quarterfinal between Australia and Argentina with insults traded by both sides.
In January 2006, Hewitt was voted in a survey conducted by GQ magazine as the 10th most-hated athlete in the United States. He was the only non-U.S. athlete to make the list.
Hewitt blamed his losses at the 2005 and 2006 Australian Open on uncooperative maintenance of the courts by the tournament bosses. "I don't think there's been a lot of homework done on how the balls play on this surface," he said. "It seems to be bouncing higher and playing a lot slower even this year [2006] from last year. Mate, it could be slower than the French Open." Hewitt said he was disappointed Australian Open organisers had ignored his concerns about the courts. "I feel like I'm fighting with people that we should be working together to try and make Australian tennis better," he said. [3] Since then, long-time Australian Open chief executive and Hewitt adversary Paul McNamee has resigned, leaving new tournament director Craig Tiley to confirm that the main aim for 2007 was to provide "uniformity and consistency" when the stadium's match and practice courts were resurfaced in November 2006. The courts will be as fast as they were in the second week of the 2006 tournament, which should suit Hewitt's game better. [4]
Other facts about Hewitt
Hewitt has won at least one ATP title annually for nine consecutive years, currently a record among active players.
Hewitt is a keen supporter of Australian rules football, having played the game earlier in his career and is no.1 ticket holder for the Adelaide Crows. He once had a friendship with Crows star Andrew McLeod, however this recently broke down over much public controversy.
Hewitt had a four year relationship with highly-ranked Belgian tennis player Kim Clijsters. The two announced their engagement just before Christmas 2003 but then separated in October 2004. The reasons for the split were not revealed.
Shortly after losing the final of the 2005 Australian Open, Hewitt proposed to Australian actress Bec Cartwright on January 30th after they had been dating for six weeks. They married on July 21, 2005. Their first child, a daughter named Mia Rebecca Hewitt, was born on November 29, 2005.
Awards
- 2001 - ATP Player of the Year
- 2001 - Most Popular South Australian
- 2002 - ATP Player of the Year
- 2002 - Australia's Male Athlete
- 2002 ESPY Best Male Tennis Player
- 2003 - Young Australian of the Year
- 2003 - Vogue Australia Sportsman of the Year
- 2003 - Most Popular South Australian
Grand Slam singles finals
Wins (2) / Runner-ups (2)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Result | Score in Final |
| 2001 | U.S. Open (1) |  Pete Sampras |
Win | 7-6, 6-1, 6-1 |
| 2002 | Wimbledon (1) |  David Nalbandian |
Win | 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 |
| 2004 | U.S. Open |  Roger Federer |
Loss | 0-6, 6-7, 0-6 |
| 2005 | Australian Open |  Marat Safin |
Loss | 6-1, 3-6, 4-6, 4-6 |
Tennis Masters Cup singles finals
Wins (2) / Runner-ups (1)
| Year | Venue | Opponent in Final | Result | Score in Final |
| 2001 | Sydney |  Sébastien Grosjean |
Win | 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 |
| 2002 | Shanghai |  Juan Carlos Ferrero |
Win | 7-5, 7-5, 2-6, 2-6, 6-4 |
| 2004 | Houston | Roger Federer |
Loss | 3-6, 2-6 |
Masters Series singles finals
Wins (2)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 2002 | Indian Wells |  Tim Henman |
6-1, 6-2 |
| 2003 | Indian Wells (2) |  Gustavo Kuerten |
6-1, 6-1 |
Titles (27)
Singles (25)
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Singles Runner-ups (14)
Grand Slam finals in bold text.
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Singles performance timeline
To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through the 2007 Australian Open, which concluded on January 28,2007.
| Tournament | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | Career SR | Career Win-Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | 1R | 1R | 2R | 4R | 3R | 1R | 4R | 4R | F | 2R | 3R | 0 / 11 | 21-11 |
| French Open | A | A | 1R | 4R | QF | 4R | 3R | QF | A | 4R | 0 / 7 | 19-7 | |
| Wimbledon | A | A | 3R | 1R | 4R | W | 1R | QF | SF | QF | 1 / 8 | 25-7 | |
| U.S. Open | A | A | 3R | SF | W | SF | QF | F | SF | QF | 1 / 8 | 38-7 | |
| Grand Slam SR | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 1 / 4 | 1 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 1 | 2 / 34 | N/A |
| Grand Slam Win-Loss | 0-1 | 0-1 | 5-4 | 11-4 | 16-3 | 15-3 | 9-4 | 17-4 | 16-3 | 12-4 | 2-1 | N/A | 103-32 |
| Indian Wells Masters | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | SF | W | W | 3R | F | 3R | 2 / 9 | 24-7 | |
| Miami Masters | A | 1R | 2R | SF | SF | SF | 2R | 3R | A | 2R | 0 / 8 | 14-8 | |
| Monte Carlo Masters | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | 3R | A | A | 0 / 2 | 2-2 | |
| Rome Masters | A | A | A | SF | 3R | 2R | A | 2R | A | A | 0 / 4 | 8-4 | |
| Hamburg Masters | A | A | A | 2R | SF | QF | 3R | SF | A | A | 0 / 5 | 14-5 | |
| Canada Masters | A | A | A | 2R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 3R | 1R | 2R | 0 / 7 | 6-7 | |
| Cincinnati Masters | A | A | A | 1R | SF | F | 1R | F | SF | A | 0 / 6 | 18-6 | |
| Madrid Masters (Stuttgart) | A | A | 1R | F | SF | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 3 | 7-3 | |
| Paris Masters | A | A | 3R | A | 2R | F | A | QF | A | A | 0 / 4 | 8-4 | |
| Tennis Masters Cup | A | A | A | RR | W | W | A | F | A | A | 2 / 4 | 13-5 | |
| ATP Tournaments Played | 1 | 10 | 19 | 19 | 21 | 20 | 12 | 19 | 10 | 16 | 2 | N/A | 149 |
| ATP Finals Reached | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | N/A | 39 |
| ATP Tournaments Won | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | N/A | 25 |
| Hardcourt Win-Loss | 0-1 | 7-6 | 22-10 | 37-11 | 50-10 | 33-9 | 26-6 | 45-9 | 28-6 | 21-11 | 3-2 | N/A | 272-81 |
| Clay Win-Loss | 0-0 | 0-0 | 6-5 | 11-5 | 14-5 | 10-5 | 8-2 | 13-6 | 0-0 | 3-3 | 0-0 | N/A | 65-31 |
| Grass Win-Loss | 0-0 | 1-2 | 10-3 | 8-2 | 16-2 | 14-0 | 3-2 | 8-2 | 9-3 | 9-1 | 0-0 | N/A | 78-17 |
| Carpet Win-Loss | 0-0 | 2-1 | 6-2 | 5-1 | 0-1 | 4-1 | 0-0 | 2-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | N/A | 19-7 |
| Overall Win-Loss | 0-1 | 10-9 | 44-20 | 61-19 | 80-18 | 61-15 | 37-10 | 68-18 | 37-9 | 33-15 | 3-2 | N/A | 434-136 |
| Year End Ranking | 722 | 100 | 25 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 3 | 4 | 20 | N/A | N/A |
A = did not participate in the tournament
SR = the ratio of the number of singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played
Davis Cup and World Team Cup matches are included in the statistics.
ATP Tour career earnings
| Year | Slams | ATP wins | Total wins | Earnings ($) | Money list rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 411,771 | 54 |
| 2000 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1,642,572 | 8 |
| 2001 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 3,770,618 | 1 |
| 2002 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4,619,386 | 1 |
| 2003 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 873,598 | 15 |
| 2004 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2,766,051 | 2 |
| 2005 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1,459,437 | 8 |
| 2006 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 642,425 | 25 |
| 2007* | 46,275 | ||||
| Career | 2 | 23 | 25 | 16,469,137 | 10 |
- *As of February 12, 2007.
See also
- Wimbledon champions (Men's Singles)
- US Open champions (Men's Singles)
- List of Grand Slam Men's Singles champions
References
- ^ "Profile, statistics and background", lleytonhewitt.biz. URL accessed on July 1, 2006.
- ^ "Hewitt — superhero or superboor?", The Tribune, October 6, 2001. URL accessed on July 1, 2006.
- ^ "Australia Leads Argentina at Davis Cup", San Francisco Chronicle, July 15, 2005. URL accessed on July 1, 2006.