Lleyton Hewitt
Encyclopedia
Lleyton Glynn Hewitt is an Australian professional tennis player and former world no. 1.
In 2000, Hewitt had won ATP titles on all three major surfaces (hard, clay and grass) and reached one final on carpet. By 2001, he became the youngest male ever to be ranked no. 1 at the age of 20. His career achievements include winning the 2000 US Open men's doubles, the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon
men's singles, and back-to-back Tennis Masters Cup titles (2001 and 2002). In 2005, TENNIS Magazine
put Hewitt in 34th place on its list of the 40 greatest tennis players since 1965.
-playing father Glynn
. 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. Hewitt then left Immanuel College to concentrate on his tennis career.
. They lost the match, 4-6, 6-7, to Americans Kimberly Po
and Donald Johnson
. Hewitt later won his first Grand Slam
title at the US Open when he along with Max Mirnyi
claimed the men's doubles championship; thus becoming the youngest male (at 19 years, 6 months) to win a Grand Slam doubles crown in the open era. At the end of the year, Hewitt became the first teenager in ATP history to qualify for the year-end Tennis Masters Cup (ATP World Tour Finals).
. He captured his first Grand Slam singles title at the US Open in 2001, when he blitzed former world no. 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov
in the semifinals and defeated then-four-time champion Pete Sampras
the next day in straight sets. This win made Hewitt, Pat Rafter, and Kafelnikov the only active ATP players to win a Grand Slam singles and doubles title during their career. Hewitt is still the last player to achieve this feat. Lleyton went on to win the Tokyo Open and again qualify for the year-end Tennis Masters Cup held in Sydney. During the tournament, Hewitt won all matches in his group, before defeating Sébastien Grosjean
, 6–3, 6–3, 6–4, in the finals to take the title and gain the world no. 1 ranking.
The year 2001 is considered to be Hewitt's best year, winning a total of six titles. He was also nominated for the 2001 best sport's player award by state premier Isaac Narouz.
, Indian Wells
and London (Queen's Club). He followed his 2001 US Open win by capturing the Wimbledon singles title, dominating first-time finalist David Nalbandian
in straight sets; Hewitt lost only two sets throughout the championship. His victory reinforced the idea that, although the tournament had tended to be dominated by serve-and-volleyers, a baseliner could still triumph on grass (Hewitt was the first 'baseliner' to win the tournament since Agassi in 1992). Rafael Nadal
and Roger Federer
, who are also baseliners, won all titles between them from 2003 to 2010.
For his third straight year, He qualified for the year-end Tennis Masters Cup held in Shanghai and successfully defended his title by defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero
in the final, 7–5, 7–5, 2–6, 2–6, 6–4. Hewitt's win helped him finish the year as world no. 1 for a second straight year.
for the championship at Indian Wells. But at Wimbledon, as the defending champion, Hewitt lost in the first round to qualifier Ivo Karlović
. 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, in 1967, when Manuel Santana
was beaten by Charlie Pasarell
. Hewitt was only the third defending Grand Slam champion in the open era to lose in the first round, after Boris Becker
at the 1997 Australian Open
and Patrick Rafter
at the 1999 US 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 US Open, Hewitt lost in the quarterfinals to Juan Carlos Ferrero
, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(5), 1-6. Hewitt played only Davis Cup
matches for the remainder of the year, recording five-set wins over Roger Federer
and Juan Carlos Ferrero
in the semifinals and final respectively, as Australia went on to win the Davis Cup. Hewitt used much of his spare time in late 2003 to bulk up, gaining 7 kg.
. 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 US 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 .
. 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 during the Australian summer, when he defeated an in-form world no. 2 Andy Roddick
, 3–6, 7–6, 7–6, 6–1, to reach his first Australian Open
final. He was the first Australian player to reach the final since Pat Cash
in 1988. In the final, he faced fourth seed, Marat Safin
, who had defeated world no. 1 and defending champion Roger Federer
in the semifinals. After easily taking the first set, he was defeated by the Russian, 1–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4, despite being up a break in the third set. At Wimbledon, he reached the semifinals, but lost to eventual champion Federer. Two months later, Hewitt again lost to Federer in the US 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, who was due to give birth.
of Argentina. He then 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
, 6-7(5), 3-6, in the second round of the Miami Masters, 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 final of the Queen's Club Championships
. This was his fourth title there, equalling the records of John McEnroe
and Boris Becker
. During 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 the quarterfinals. At the 2006 Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C., Hewitt was defeated by Arnaud Clément
, 6-7(1), 4-6, in a quarterfinals, after defeating Vincent Spadea in the second round and Denis Gremelmayr
in the third round.
Hewitt participated at the 2006 US Open, despite having an injured knee. Hewitt won his first three matches in straight sets against, respectively, Albert Montañés
, 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, 3-6, 5-7, 4-6.
, Hewitt lost in the third round to tenth-seeded Chilean and eventual runner-up Fernando González
, 2-6, 2-6, 7-5, 4-6. With his win in Las Vegas
in March, Hewitt had won at least one ATP
title annually for ten consecutive years. This was a record among active players at the time.
Hewitt reached the 2007 Hamburg Masters
semifinals, where he pushed eventual finalist Rafael Nadal
to three sets. At the 2007 French Open
, Hewitt, for the second straight time lost in the fourth round to Nadal, 3-6, 1-6, 6-7(5). At the 2007 Wimbledon Championships
, Hewitt won his first three matches, including a four-set third round victory over Guillermo Cañas
. He then faced fourth seed Novak Djokovic
in the fourth round, which he lost, 6-7, 6-7, 6-4, 6-7.
After Wimbledon, it was announced that he had hired former Australian tennis pro Tony Roche
to coach him during Grand Slam and Masters tournaments in 2007 and 2008. At the Masters tournaments in Montréal
and Cincinnati
Hewitt reached the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. In both cases, he lost to Roger Federer
.
He was seeded 16th at the 2007 U.S. Open
, but for the first time in eight consecutive appearances at Flushing Meadows
, he did not reach the quarterfinals or further. He lost in the second round to Argentine Agustín Calleri
.
, he advanced to the fourth round as the 19th seed, defeating 15th-seeded and 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis
in a thrilling third-round match, 4–6, 7–5, 7–5, 6–7 (4), 6–3. The 282 minute match started at 11:52 pm and ended at 4:34 am the following morning. It was a characteristically "gutsy" performance and cemented Hewitt's reputation as a tough competitor.
Hewitt lost his fourth-round match in straight sets to third-seeded and eventual champion Novak Djokovic
, 5-7, 3-6, 3-6.
A hip injury Hewitt acquired in March 2008 affected his preparation for the French Open and forced the loss of 300 rankings points as Hewitt was unable to defend his semifinal appearance at the Hamburg Masters, as well as compete in supplementary tournaments. However, Hewitt made the third round at Roland Garros, before losing a five-set thriller to fifth seed David Ferrer
, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6.
Despite his ongoing hip problem, Hewitt was able to compete at the Queens Club Championship with moderate success, falling to second seed Novak Djokovic
in the quarterfinals, 2–6, 2–6. His good form continued into Wimbledon, Hewitt making the fourth round for the second successive year, before facing world no. 1 and first seed Roger Federer
and losing, 6-7(7), 2-6, 4-6.
After Wimbledon, Hewitt elected to miss the Montreal and Cincinnati Masters in an effort to give his hip sufficient rest to enable him to play at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he defeated Jonas Björkman in the first round, 7–5, 7–6(7–2), before losing to second seed Rafael Nadal
, 1-6, 2-6. However, the more notable incident in the Olympics occurred in Hewitt's opening-round doubles match with Chris Guccione
against Argentines Juan Mónaco
and Agustín Calleri
. The match went to an advantage third set with Hewitt and Guccione prevailing 18–16.
After the Olympics, due to the further damage Hewitt's hip sustained at the Olympics, he was left with no option but to pull out of the US open and skip the rest of the season to have hip surgery.
2008 was the first year since 1997 in which Hewitt did not win a title.
in three sets. Hewitt then participated in the Medibank International Sydney, winning his first two matches, but losing in the quarterfinals to David Nalbandian
. Hewitt then went on to play in the 2009 Australian Open
, where he was unseeded in a Grand Slam for the first time since 2000. He faced Fernando González
in the first round and lost in five sets, 7-5, 2-6, 2-6, 6-3, 3-6.
At the tournament in Memphis
, he caused an upset in the first round by defeating James Blake
in three sets, 3–6, 6–1, 6–4. He then defeated fellow Australian Chris Guccione
in the second round, 6–2, 7–6(4), and Christophe Rochus
in the quarterfinals, 6–2, 6–3. He faced Andy Roddick
in the semifinals, but lost in a close match, 6-2, 6-7(4), 4-6. Hewitt then lost in the first round of Delray Beach
to Yen-Hsun Lu, the eighth seed, 5-7, 6-2, 2-6. Hewitt also competed in the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells
, California, and reached the second round, being defeated by Fernando González.
At the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Hewitt played Israeli Dudi Sela
in the first round. Hewitt lost the first set, before recovering to win the match, 3–6, 6–4, 6–3. Hewitt was then defeated by seventh seed Gilles Simon
of France, 1-6, 2-6.
At the 2009 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
, Hewitt defeated seventh seed Diego Junqueira
, 6–0, 6–2. Hewitt advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating Sergio Roitman
, 6–1, 6–3, in just 57 minutes, and then defeated Guillermo García López
, 6–3, 6–4, to advance to the semifinals, where he defeated Evgeny Korolev
, 7–6(4), 6–4. He defeated Wayne Odesnik
in the final, 6–2, 7–5, for his first title since 2007 and his first clay-court title in a decade.
Hewitt entered the Monte Carlo Masters as a wild card. He lost in the first round, 4-6, 5-7 to Marat Safin
. Hewitt admitted to running out of energy in the second set.
At the 2009 BMW Open, Hewitt recorded his 500th career win after defeating Philipp Petzschner
in the first round, becoming one of only four active players to achieve this milestone; the others being Roger Federer
and Carlos Moyà
. Andy Roddick
would later achieve this feat at the 2009 Legg Mason Tennis Classic
Tournament in Washington, D.C..
In the 2009 French Open
, he defeated 26th seed Ivo Karlović
in five sets, 6–7(1) 6–7(4) 7–6(4) 6–4 6–3 in the first round, and then defeated Andrey Golubev
, 6–4, 6–3, 6–1, in the second. He lost to no. 1 Rafael Nadal
, 1-6, 3-6, 1-6, in the third round.
Lleyton's next tournament was the 2009 AEGON Championships
in London. He was 15th seed and drew Eduardo Schwank
in the first round, who he easily dispatched, 6–1 6–0. In the second round, he went three sets against Portuguese Frederico Gil
. Hewitt dropped the first set, but went on to win, 3–6 6–2 6–2. Former rival Andy Roddick
awaited Lleyton in the third round, and the match certainly did not disappoint. As they have many times in the past, the former world no. 1 players battled through a tough and intense match, which Roddick ended up taking. Hewitt lost in a thrilling 6-7(4), 6-7(2) match.
In the 2009 Wimbledon Championships
, Hewitt faced the prospect of Rafael Nadal
in the second round. However, Nadal withdrew due to injury, and his slot was replaced by world no. 5 Juan Martín del Potro
. Hewitt defeated American Robby Ginepri
, 6–4, 6–1, 6–1, in the first round. Hewitt used his strong service game to advantage, losing only one service game the entire match. He upended Del Potro in straight sets, 6–3, 7–5, 7–5. The third round also produced a straight-set victory for Hewitt, as he defeated Philipp Petzschner
, 7–5, 7–6(3), 6–3. He reversed a two-set deficit to defeat Radek Štěpánek
in the fourth round, 4–6 2–6 6–1 6–2 6–2. It was another classic Hewitt fightback to thrill the many Australians on hand to witness the match. His Cinderella run ended in the quarterfinals against sixth seed Andy Roddick
. It was a five-set thriller which featured two tiebreaks. Hewitt lost a heartbreaking 3–6, 7–6 (10), 6–7 (1), 6–4, 4–6 match. It was the first time Lleyton had reached the quarterfinals of a Major since the 2006 U.S. Open.
After an extended break, Hewitt began working his way into the U.S Open series by playing in Washington at the Legg Mason Classic. There Hewitt made it into the third round, before losing in a three-set battle with Juan Martín del Potro
, 6–4, 3–6, 6–7. At the Montreal Masters, Hewitt lost in the first round to former world no. 1, Juan Carlos Ferrero
, 1–6, 4–6. Cincinnati
saw Hewitt reach the quarterfinals for the sixth time, where he lost to Roger Federer
in straight sets. During the first round of the tournament, Hewitt showed his trademark fighting abilities by saving two match points to win against an in-form Robin Söderling
. At the U.S Open, Hewitt progressed into the third round, where he played Federer for the 23rd time of their decade-long rivalry. Hewitt managed to take the first set 6–4 from Federer, before the 15-time Grand Slam champion took control of the second. The third set was tight, and both players saved multiple break points. Federer eventually prevailed the match in four sets, 4–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–4.
In late September, Hewitt travelled to Malaysia for his first time to take part in the inaugural Malaysian Open held in Kuala Lumpur. The new tournament was part of the ATP's new dedicated Asian swing. Hewitt lost, 6-7, 3-6, in the first round to Swedish player Joachim Johansson
. In Tokyo, Hewitt was drawn to once again meet del Potro in the quarterfinals, but was given a clear path when del Potro was knocked out by qualifier Édouard Roger-Vasselin
in the first round. After defeating Fabrice Santoro
in the second round, Hewitt downed Roger-Vasselin, 6–4, 6–0, to reach his first semifinals since winning the US Men's Clay Court Championships in April, but lost to Mikhail Youzhny
, 2-6, 7-5, 5-7. He then competed in the 2009 Shanghai ATP Masters 1000
, where he won in the first round, defeating John Isner
, 6–2, 6–4, before losing to Gaël Monfils
, 6-4, 4-6, 2-6.
at the Hopman Cup
. The Australians were the top seeds for the exhibition tournament. They, however, fared worse than expected, losing ties against Romania and Spain, and therefore failing to reach the final.
He was seeded fourth in the Medibank International
and, like the previous year, reached the quarterfinals, losing to eventual champion Marcos Baghdatis
. At the Australian Open
, he lost to Roger Federer
in the fourth round, 2-6, 3-6, 4-6.
A week after his exit from the Australian Open, Hewitt announced at a press conference at Melbourne Park that he underwent another hip operation similar to his left hip operation this time on his right hip on 28 January 2010 in Hobart.
Hewitt returned to the tour at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
as the singles defending champion. He won his first match since the Australian Open, partnering coach Nathan Healey
in the doubles, defeating James Cerretani
and Adil Shamasdin
, 7–6, 7–5, but lost to top seeds the Bryan brothers in the semifinals, 2-6, 6-7. Hewitt received a first-round bye, as he was seeded fourth in singles. In his first match, against lucky loser Somdev Devvarman
, Hewitt dropped the first set, before battling to win in three sets, 1–6, 6–0, 7–6. He then lost to Juan Ignacio Chela
, 4-6, 3-6. Hewitt's next tournament was scheduled to be the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. However, he withdrew due to a recurring injury.
Hewitt then reached the second round in Barcelona, before losing to Eduardo Schwank
, and lost in the second round of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia to Guillermo García López
, 2-6, 3-6. Hewitt then travelled back to Australia to parcicipate in a Davis Cup tie against Japan, winning his two singles matches.
At the French Open
, Hewitt reached the third round, before losing 3-6, 4-6, 3-6 to Rafael Nadal
, who went on to win the title without dropping a set and take the no. 1 ranking.
On 13 June, Hewitt defeated Roger Federer
, 3–6, 7–6 (4), 6–4, in the final of the Gerry Weber Open
in Halle, Germany
, a grass-court tuneup for Wimbledon Championships. The win was Hewitt's first over Federer since 2003 and snapped a 15-match losing streak against the Swiss.
At Wimbledon
, Hewitt was seeded 15th and lost to third seed, Novak Djokovic
in the fourth round. After dropping the first two sets, Hewitt took advantage of a stomach illness had by Djokovic to take the third set. However, Hewitt could not mount a comeback, and ended up losing in four sets, 5-7, 4-6, 6-3, 4-6.
At the Atlanta Tennis Championship
, Hewitt lost in the first round to Lukáš Lacko
, 4-6, 2-6. After receiving a first-round bye at the Legg Mason Classic, Hewitt retired in the second round due to a leg injury. He pulled out of the Rogers Cup in Toronto in order to recover, and returned in Cincinnati. Hewitt defeated Yen-Hsun Lu in the opening round, 6–4, 4–0 retired, before losing in three sets to fifth seed Robin Söderling
, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7.
Hewitt was 32nd seed at the US Open
and lost his first-round match to Paul-Henri Mathieu
in five sets, 3–6, 4–6, 7–5, 6–4, 1–6. It was his earliest exit at the US Open. He withdrew from the Asian hard-court swing due to a wrist injury suffered during the Australian Davis Cup playoff loss to Belgium.
, 6–4, 6–3, and went on to win the tie for Australia with a three-set victory in the mixed doubles, partnering Alicia Molik
. He next played world no. 3 Novak Djokovic
, but lost in straight sets. For his final singles match of the tournament, he played Kazakhstani Andrey Golubev
, defeating him in straight sets, 6–3, 6–3.
After the Hopman Cup, Hewitt competed in the AAMI Kooyong Classic, an exhibitional tournament in the build-up to the Australian Open. He started the tournament solidly, taking out third seed Mikhail Youzhny
, 7–6, 4–6, 6–4. In the second round, he defeated Russian Nikolay Davydenko
6–3, 7–6. In the final, he defeated Frenchman Gaël Monfils
7–5, 6–3. It was the first time that Hewitt had played in the tournament.
At the Australian Open, Hewitt was defeated in the first round, 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 61-7, 7–9, by Argentina's David Nalbandian
. Hewitt was up two sets to one and during the fourth set had the chance to finish off the match, when the scores were 3–1 and 0–40 in Hewitt's favour, but failed to capitalise on the situation. Furthermore, Hewitt had two match point opportunities in the final set to close out victory. However, one of these was met with an excellent drop shot from Nalbandian, and he went on to save the other, securing victory.
After the Australian Open, Hewitt participated in the SAP Open
, an ATP World Tour 250 event. He defeated his first-round opponent Björn Phau
, 6–3, 6–3, and proceeded to the second round against Brian Dabul
. Hewitt had some problems with Dabul, losing the first set, but managed to defeat him, 3–6, 7–5, 6–3. In the quarterfinals, Hewitt played against former US Open champion Juan Martín del Potro
, who was on a comeback from a wrist injury. In a weak performance, Hewitt lost, 2–6, 3–6.
The next tournament that Hewitt took part in was the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup
, an ATP World Tour 500 event in Memphis, Tennessee
. Hewitt played Lu Yen-Hsun
in the opening round, which he won, 6–4, 7–6. He advanced to the second round against Adrian Mannarino
. Despite losing the first set, Hewitt defeated Mannarino, 6–7, 7–5, 6–0. In the quarterfinals, Hewitt played top seed Andy Roddick
. Despite being a set up, Hewitt lost the match, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6.
Hewitt then played in the 2011 BNP Paribas Open
, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event. His first-round opponent was Chinese Taipei's Lu Yen-Hsun
. This was the second time in a row the two had played each other in the first round, and he suffered a shock 2-6, 3-6 defeat. This was to be Hewitt's last event on the ATP Tour for over three months after he underwent surgery on his left foot.
Hewitt made his comeback at the 2011 Gerry Weber Open
in Halle, Germany
, where he returned as defending champion. He was originally scheduled to face top seed Roger Federer
in the opening round. However, the Swiss withdrew after reaching the final of the French Open. Hewitt therefore took on an alternate from Argentina, Leonardo Mayer
and came through the match comfortably winning, 6-2, 6-3. In the second round, he played Andreas Seppi
and defeated him, 6-4, 6-4. However, Hewitt's reign as champion of Halle came to an end at the hands of home favourite Philipp Kohlschreiber
, when the Australian went down in straight sets, 6-7, 3-6. During this match, Hewitt turned his ankle when he came in to the net to try and reach a net cord ball. The following week, Hewitt had to retire during a first round match at the AEGON International against Olivier Rochus
at 2-6, 0-3. This was a result of the niggling ankle injury he had picked up at Halle the week before.
Hewitt came into Wimbledon with doubts over his fitness and condition and furthermore was unseeded in the 2011 Wimbledon Championships draw. Hewitt faced Kei Nishikori
of Japan in the first round and won in four close sets, 6-1, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3. In the second round, Hewitt faced fifth seed Robin Soderling
. Hewitt won the first set in a tiebreak 7-6(7-5) and the second set 6-3. Soderling fought back to take the match in five sets, 7-6, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 4-6.
Hewitt's next tournament was the 2011 Atlanta Tennis Championships
, an ATP World Tour 250 event and first event on the US hard-court swing. Hewitt won his first-round match against the American qualifier Phillip Simmonds in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, to advance to the second round, where he lost to the American qualifier Rajeev Ram
, 5-7, 6-2, 2-6. After this defeat, Hewitt who had been scheduled to play in Los Angeles
the following week, opted not to take up the offer of a wildcard and withdrew from the event to recover from his foot injury. He then was offered a wild card to play at the 2011 US Open
, but he did not accept it due to a foot injury. After this, Hewitt announced his 2011 season was ended.
, where he will partner Australian tennis player Jarmila Gajdosova
. After this, he will play at the Australian Open, where he was awarded a wild card.
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 Belarusian 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 José Acasuso
, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 2-6, 1-6.
In the 2011 playoffs, he played against Roger Federer
and Stanislas Wawrinka
in a grass court in Sidney, losing both matches. In doubles, together with Chris Guccione
, he was able to defeat Federer and Wawrinka, but this was not enough to take Australia to the World Group.
, Jason Stoltenberg
, Roger Rasheed
, Scott Draper
, Tony Roche
, Nathan Healey
and Brett Smith are all former coaches of Hewitt. Hewitt is currently coached by Tony Roche. This is Roche's second spell as Hewitt's coach.
Lleyton Hewitt's coaches in his time on the ATP Tour:
Tony Roche became Hewitt's coach for the second time in November 2010.
during a rally
and will usually approach the net only to catch a short reply or drop shot
from his opponent. At the 2004 Cincinnati Masters Final, commentator MaliVai Washington
said that Hewitt was even more difficult to "ace" than Agassi because he gets more returns in play. Hewitt's 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.
Although he is known primarily as a baseline defender, Hewitt is a skilled volleyer
and is known for having one of the best overhead smashes
in the game. His signature shot, however, is the offensive topspin lob
, a shot that he executes efficiently off both wings when his opponent approaches the net. US Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe
and Jim Courier
have both described Hewitt's lob as being the best in the world.
In Andre Agassi's book "Open", Hewitt is described as one of the best shot selectors in the history of Men's Tennis.
, with whom he signed a "Head to Toe" deal in late 2005. Yonex provides all of Hewitt's clothing, racquets, shoes and accessories. Hewitt's Yonex shoes (SHT-306) are inscribed with his nickname "Rusty" along with an image of an Australian flag. As of 7 August 2007, his first appearance with a new racquet at the Montreal Masters, Hewitt used to use the Yonex RQiS 1 Tour. He used to use the Yonex RDS tour 90 Model, but switched to the Yonex RDiS 100 mid in 2009.
, having played the game earlier in his career and is the No.1 ticket holder for the Adelaide Crows
. He once had a close friendship with Crows star Andrew McLeod
, but this broke down over much public controversy in 2005. It was not long before this that Hewitt produced a DVD titled Lleyton Hewitt: The Other Side which precipitated the falling out between him and McLeod over certain filming of Aboriginal sites.
Hewitt and Belgian tennis player Kim Clijsters
started a relationship in January 2000, during the Australian Open. The two announced their engagement just before Christmas 2003, but separated in October 2004, cancelling a planned February 2005 wedding.
On 30 January 2005, shortly after losing the 2005 Australian Open final to Marat Safin, Hewitt proposed to Australian actress Bec Cartwright after they had been dating for just six weeks. They married on 21 July 2005 and have three children. Their first child, a daughter named Mia Rebecca Hewitt, was born on 29 November 2005. Their second child, a son named Cruz Lleyton Hewitt, was born on 11 December 2008. Their third child, a daughter named Ava Sydney, was born on 19 October 2010.
In late 2008, to extend his tennis career and reduce the amount of travel, the couple relocated for the European and North American season to their future holiday home in the Old Fort Bay estate, in Nassau, Bahamas
.
Hewitt maintains a second residence in Nassau, Bahamas
where he stays during off-time in the American hard court season.
at the 2001 U.S. Open. Hewitt protested: "Look at him (the linesman) and you tell me what the similarity is (beckoning towards Blake)", and "I want him off the court, I've only been foot-faulted up one end. Look at what he's done." Hewitt later denied accusations of racism, asserting that he was not "racial (sic) in any way."
At the French Open of the same year, Hewitt was involved in yet more controversy when he twice called match officials "spastic." Following his outbursts, a complaint was received from the Cerebral Palsy Association in Australia. Hewitt later apologised, stating "If I did say that in the heat of the battle, then I apologise. I didn't intend to offend anyone."
In 2000, Hewitt had won ATP titles on all three major surfaces (hard, clay and grass) and reached one final on carpet. By 2001, he became the youngest male ever to be ranked no. 1 at the age of 20. His career achievements include winning the 2000 US Open men's doubles, the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon
2002 Wimbledon Championships
List of the 2002 Wimbledon Champions:-Men's singles: Lleyton Hewitt def. David Nalbandian, 6–1, 6–3, 6–2*It was Hewitt's 4th title of the year, and his 16th overall. It was his 2nd career Grand Slam title, and his 1st Wimbledon title.-Women's singles: Serena Williams def...
men's singles, and back-to-back Tennis Masters Cup titles (2001 and 2002). In 2005, TENNIS Magazine
TENNIS Magazine
Tennis Magazine is an American sports magazine owned by the Miller Publishing Group, LLC. It is a monthly magazine which covers news from the world of tennis.-History:...
put Hewitt in 34th place on its list of the 40 greatest tennis players since 1965.
Tennis career
Hewitt might well have followed in the footsteps of his Australian rules footballAustralian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
-playing father Glynn
Glynn Hewitt
Glynn Maxwell Hewitt is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the SANFL and for Richmond in the VFL during the 1970s. He is the father of Australian tennis player Lleyton Hewitt....
. Instead, he became one of the youngest winners of an Association of Tennis Professionals
Association of Tennis Professionals
The Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
(ATP) tournament when, as an almost unknown youngster, he won the 1998 Next Generation Adelaide International, defeating Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi
Andre Kirk Agassi is a retired American professional tennis player and former world no. 1. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game...
in the semifinals. Only Aaron Krickstein
Aaron Krickstein
Aaron Krickstein , nicknamed "Marathon Man", is a former American professional tennis player, who competed on the ATP Tour from 1983 to 1996. Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, he currently competes on the Outback Champions Series Over-30 tour.Krickstein reached his career high ATP ranking of World No....
winning Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
in 1983 and Michael Chang
Michael Chang
Michael Te-Pei Chang is a former American professional tennis player. He is best remembered for becoming the youngest-ever male player to win a Grand Slam singles title when he won the French Open in 1989 at the age of 17....
winning San Francisco in 1988 were younger when claiming their first ATP title. Hewitt then left Immanuel College to concentrate on his tennis career.
2000
In 2000, Hewitt reached his first Grand Slam final at the Wimbledon mixed doubles partnering Belgian Kim ClijstersKim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
. They lost the match, 4-6, 6-7, to Americans Kimberly Po
Kimberly Po
Kimberly Po-Messerli is a former professional tennis player from the United States.During her career, Po won the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon in 2000...
and Donald Johnson
Donald Johnson
----Donald James "Don" Johnson is a former professional tennis player from the United States who reached the World No. 1 doubles ranking in 2002. Although born in Bethlehem, PA he was raised and learned the sport of tennis in the Pittsburgh suburb of Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania...
. Hewitt later won his first Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
title at the US Open when he along with Max Mirnyi
Max Mirnyi
Max Mirnyi is a professional tennis player from Belarus.Today Mirnyi is a doubles specialist, but he also enjoyed a good singles career, finishing in the top 50 in the world for seven straight years, as well as representing Belarus in Davis Cup competition since April 1994, where he holds a...
claimed the men's doubles championship; thus becoming the youngest male (at 19 years, 6 months) to win a Grand Slam doubles crown in the open era. At the end of the year, Hewitt became the first teenager in ATP history to qualify for the year-end Tennis Masters Cup (ATP World Tour Finals).
2001
Hewitt started off the 2001 season well by winning the Medibank International in Sydney, and went on to win tournaments in London (Queen's Club) and 's-HertogenboschOrdina Open
The Rosmalen Grass Court Championships, now sponsored by UNICEF and called the UNICEF Open, is a tennis tournament on the ATP Tour and WTA Tour held in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.-Singles:-Doubles:-Singles:-Doubles:-External links:*...
. He captured his first Grand Slam singles title at the US Open in 2001, when he blitzed former world no. 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov
Yevgeny Kafelnikov
Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Kafelnikov is a former World No. 1 tennis player from Russia. He won two Grand Slam singles titles , four Grand Slam doubles titles, and the men's singles gold medal at the Sydney Olympic Games. He also helped Russia win the Davis Cup in 2002...
in the semifinals and defeated then-four-time champion Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras is a retired American tennis player and former world no. 1. During his 15-year tour career, he won 14 Grand Slam singles titles and became recognized as one of the greatest tennis players of all time....
the next day in straight sets. This win made Hewitt, Pat Rafter, and Kafelnikov the only active ATP players to win a Grand Slam singles and doubles title during their career. Hewitt is still the last player to achieve this feat. Lleyton went on to win the Tokyo Open and again qualify for the year-end Tennis Masters Cup held in Sydney. During the tournament, Hewitt won all matches in his group, before defeating Sébastien Grosjean
Sébastien Grosjean
Sébastien René Grosjean is a retired tennis player from France. His career-high ATP Entry ranking is No. 4 . He retired from tennis on May 27, 2010.-Career:...
, 6–3, 6–3, 6–4, in the finals to take the title and gain the world no. 1 ranking.
The year 2001 is considered to be Hewitt's best year, winning a total of six titles. He was also nominated for the 2001 best sport's player award by state premier Isaac Narouz.
2002
The year 2002 was again a solid year for Hewitt, winning three titles in San JoseSAP Open
The SAP Open is a men's tennis tournament held annually in San Jose, California. It is the second-oldest tennis tournament in the United States, which is still played. It is an ATP World Tour 250 series event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour...
, Indian Wells
Indian Wells Masters
The Indian Wells Masters is an annual tennis tournament held in Indian Wells, California....
and London (Queen's Club). He followed his 2001 US Open win by capturing the Wimbledon singles title, dominating first-time finalist David Nalbandian
David Nalbandian
David Pablo Nalbandian is an Argentine professional tennis player and former world no. 3. He was runner-up at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships and the winner of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005.-Biography:...
in straight sets; Hewitt lost only two sets throughout the championship. His victory reinforced the idea that, although the tournament had tended to be dominated by serve-and-volleyers, a baseliner could still triumph on grass (Hewitt was the first 'baseliner' to win the tournament since Agassi in 1992). Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
and Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
, who are also baseliners, won all titles between them from 2003 to 2010.
For his third straight year, He qualified for the year-end Tennis Masters Cup held in Shanghai and successfully defended his title by defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat is a professional tennis player, and a former world no. 1 player, from Spain. He captured the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year, he became the 21st player to hold the world no. 1 ranking. He was also the runner-up at the 2002...
in the final, 7–5, 7–5, 2–6, 2–6, 6–4. Hewitt's win helped him finish the year as world no. 1 for a second straight year.
2003
In 2003 Hewitt defeated former world no. 1 Gustavo KuertenGustavo Kuerten
Gustavo Kuerten is a retired former World No. 1 tennis player from Brazil. He won the French Open three times between 1997 and 2001, and was the Tennis Masters Cup champion in 2000...
for the championship at Indian Wells. But at Wimbledon, as the defending champion, Hewitt lost in the first round to qualifier Ivo Karlović
Ivo Karlovic
Ivo Karlović is a Croatian tennis player. He has won four ATP singles titles: three in 2007 and one in 2008. Karlović is the tallest player ever on the ATP Tour at 208 cm . He is a serve-and-volleyer, Karlovic holds the fastest serve recorded in professional tennis, measured at 251 km/h ...
. 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, in 1967, when Manuel Santana
Manuel Santana
Manuel Martínez Santana, best known as Manolo Santana, is a former tennis champion from Spain. He was born in Madrid....
was beaten by Charlie Pasarell
Charlie Pasarell
Charlie Pasarell, Jr. is a former Puerto Rican tennis player and commentator...
. Hewitt was only the third defending Grand Slam champion in the open era to lose in the first round, after Boris Becker
Boris Becker
Boris Franz Becker is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from Germany. He is a six-time Grand Slam singles champion, an Olympic gold medalist, and the youngest-ever winner of the men's singles title at Wimbledon at the age of 17...
at the 1997 Australian Open
1997 Australian Open
The 1997 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at Melbourne Park in Melbourne in Victoria in Australia. It was the 85th edition of the Australian Open and was held from 13 through 26 January 1997.-Men's Singles:...
and Patrick Rafter
Patrick Rafter
Patrick "Pat" Michael Rafter is an Australian former World No. 1 tennis player. He twice won the men's singles title at the US Open and was twice the runner-up at Wimbledon. Rafter was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2006. He was known for his natural serve-and-volley style of...
at the 1999 US Open. After Wimbledon in 2003, Hewitt lost in the final of the tournament in Los Angeles, the second round of the ATP Masters Series
ATP Masters Series
The ATP Masters Series was a series of nine tennis tournaments that formed part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America...
tournament in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, and the first round of the ATP Masters Series tournament in Cincinnati. At the US Open, Hewitt lost in the quarterfinals to Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat is a professional tennis player, and a former world no. 1 player, from Spain. He captured the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year, he became the 21st player to hold the world no. 1 ranking. He was also the runner-up at the 2002...
, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(5), 1-6. Hewitt played only Davis Cup
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
matches for the remainder of the year, recording five-set wins over Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
and Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat is a professional tennis player, and a former world no. 1 player, from Spain. He captured the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year, he became the 21st player to hold the world no. 1 ranking. He was also the runner-up at the 2002...
in the semifinals and final respectively, as Australia went on to win the Davis Cup. Hewitt used much of his spare time in late 2003 to bulk up, gaining 7 kg.
2004
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 FedererRoger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
. At the French Open, he was defeated in a quarterfinal by Argentine Gastón Gaudio
Gastón Gaudio
Gastón Norberto Gaudio is a former tennis player from Argentina. His career-high ATP ranking was World No. 5 in 2005...
. At Wimbledon, he was defeated in a quarterfinal by Federer, and at the US 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
Tennis Masters Cup
The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals is a tennis tournament played at the end of each year, involving the top eight players in the men's tennis world rankings....
, Hewitt defeated Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....
to advance to the final, but was yet again defeated by defending champion Federer .
2005
In 2005, Hewitt won his only title at the Sydney Medibank International defeating little-known Czech player Ivo MinářIvo Minár
Ivo Minář is a professional male tennis player from the Czech Republic. On July 20, 2009, Minář reached his career-high singles ranking of World No. 62...
. Hewitt spent much time in the late stages of 2004 working with his former coach and good friend, Roger Rasheed
Roger Rasheed
Roger Rasheed is a former Australian rules football player, tennis player, tennis coach, and tennis commentator. He is Australian of Lebanese descent. Rasheed is perhaps best known as the coach of tennis player Lleyton Hewitt from June 2003 until January 2007...
, on bulking up his physique. His hard work paid off during the Australian summer, when he defeated an in-form world no. 2 Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....
, 3–6, 7–6, 7–6, 6–1, to reach his first Australian Open
2005 Australian Open
The 2005 Australian Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament held in Melbourne, Australia from 17 until 30 January 2005.-Men's Singles: Marat Safin def. Lleyton Hewitt, 1–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4...
final. He was the first Australian player to reach the final since Pat Cash
Pat Cash
Patrick Hart "Pat" Cash is a retired Australian professional tennis player who won the men's singles title at Wimbledon in 1987.-Early career:...
in 1988. In the final, he faced fourth seed, Marat Safin
Marat Safin
Marat Mikhailovich Safin is a retired Russian tennis player of Tatar descent. Safin won two grand slams and reached the world number 1 ranking during his career. He was also famous for his emotional outbursts and sometimes fiery temper on court. Safin also holds the record for most broken...
, who had defeated world no. 1 and defending champion Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
in the semifinals. After easily taking the first set, he was defeated by the Russian, 1–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4, despite being up a break in the third set. At Wimbledon, he reached the semifinals, but lost to eventual champion Federer. Two months later, Hewitt again lost to Federer in the US 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, who was due to give birth.
2006
Hewitt was defeated in the second round of the 2006 Australian Open by Juan Ignacio ChelaJuan Ignacio Chela
Juan Ignacio Chela is a professional male tennis player from Argentina. Like most Argentine players he is comfortable on Clay courts and owns all six of his career titles on the surface...
of Argentina. He then reached the finals of the San Jose and Las Vegas tournaments, losing to British youngster Andy Murray and American James Blake
James Blake
James Riley Blake is an American professional tennis player. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. As of August 2011, Blake is ranked no. 63 among active male players with 24 career finals appearances...
, respectively. But he lost to Tim Henman
Tim Henman
Timothy Henry "Tim" Henman OBE is a retired English professional tennis player and former British Number One. Henman played a serve-and-volley style of tennis that suited the grass courts of Wimbledon. He was the first player from the United Kingdom since Roger Taylor in the 1970s to reach the...
, 6-7(5), 3-6, in the second round of the Miami Masters, a player he had defeated eight times previously in as many matches. At the 2006 French Open
2006 French Open
The 2006 French Open was held in Paris, France from May 28 to June 11, 2006. Both defending champions, Rafael Nadal and Justine Henin-Hardenne, retained their titles. It is one of the four tennis Grand Slams. This edition made history as it became the first Grand Slam tournament to start on a...
, Hewitt reached the fourth round, where he lost to defending champion and eventual winner Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
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 final of the Queen's Club Championships
Queen's Club Championships
The Queen's Club Championships is an annual tournament for male tennis players, held on grass courts at the Queen's Club in West Kensington, London. Between 1970 and 1989 it was part of the Grand Prix tennis circuit. The event is now an ATP World Tour 250 series tournament on the Association of...
. This was his fourth title there, equalling the records of John McEnroe
John McEnroe
John Patrick McEnroe, Jr. is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. During his career, he won seven Grand Slam singles titles , nine Grand Slam men's doubles titles, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title...
and Boris Becker
Boris Becker
Boris Franz Becker is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from Germany. He is a six-time Grand Slam singles champion, an Olympic gold medalist, and the youngest-ever winner of the men's singles title at Wimbledon at the age of 17...
. During the 2006 Wimbledon Championships
2006 Wimbledon Championships - Men's Singles
The 2006 Wimbledon Championships - Men's Singles began on June 26 and finished on July 9, 2006. Roger Federer defeated Rafael Nadal 6-0 7-6 6-7 6-3 in the final to win his fourth successive Wimbledon title.- Schedule :-Seeds:...
, Hewitt survived a five-set match against South Korea's Hyung-Taik Lee that was played over two days. He then defeated Olivier Rochus
Olivier Rochus
Olivier Rochus is a Belgian tennis player. He was born in Namur, Belgium, and currently resides in Auvelais, Belgium.-Career:...
and David Ferrer
David Ferrer
David Ferrer Ern is a Spanish professional tennis player who lives in Valencia, Spain who is currently no. 5 in the ATP Rankings and the second-highest ranked Spaniard behind world no. 2 Rafael Nadal. He turned professional in 2000...
, before losing to Marcos Baghdatis
Marcos Baghdatis
At the French Open, Baghdatis lost in the second round in five sets to Frenchman Julien Benneteau, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 7-6, 4-6.At Wimbledon, Baghdatis defeated British player Andy Murray in the fourth round in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, Baghdatis beat the 2002 champion and former world no. 1...
in the quarterfinals. At the 2006 Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C., Hewitt was defeated by Arnaud Clément
Arnaud Clément
Arnaud Clément is a professional tennis player from France. His best achievement is reaching the final of the 2001 Australian Open.-Career:Clément was born in Aix-en-Provence, and currently lives in Geneva, Switzerland...
, 6-7(1), 4-6, in a quarterfinals, after defeating Vincent Spadea in the second round and Denis Gremelmayr
Denis Gremelmayr
Denis Gremelmayr is a German male tennis player. Gremelmayr turned pro in 2000 and reached #97 in August, 2006. He spent 2007 in the top 200 and finished the year at #119...
in the third round.
Hewitt participated at the 2006 US Open, despite having an injured knee. Hewitt won his first three matches in straight sets against, respectively, Albert Montañés
Álbert Montañés
Albert Montañés Roca is a professional tennis player from Spain.He first entered the top-100 in 2001 and has been in the top-100 for all but 20 weeks since then...
, Jan Hernych
Jan Hernych
Jan Mauda Hernych is a professional male tennis player from Czech Republic. Born in Prague, he turned pro in 1998 and achieved his highest ranking of World No. 59 on 27 April 2009. He is currently 241st in the ATP rankings.-External links:...
, and Novak Đoković. He defeated Richard Gasquet
Richard Gasquet
Richard Gasquet is a French professional tennis player. He won the mixed doubles Grand Slam title at the 2004 French Open, partnering Tatiana Golovin. His highest ranking in singles is #7. His best achievements in tennis are reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2007 and later that year...
, 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, 3-6, 5-7, 4-6.
2007
At the 2007 Australian Open2007 Australian Open
The 2007 Australian Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament held in Melbourne, Australia from 15 January until 28 January 2007.The total prize pool was set at exactly A$20 million, with the winners of both the men's and women's singles competition each receiving A$1,281,000. Over 500 players...
, Hewitt lost in the third round to tenth-seeded Chilean and eventual runner-up Fernando González
Fernando González
----Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi is a professional tennis player from Chile. He is known for having one of the hardest forehands on the circuit. In Spanish he is called El Bombardero de La Reina and Mano de Piedra...
, 2-6, 2-6, 7-5, 4-6. With his win in Las Vegas
Tennis Channel Open
The Tennis Channel Open was a tennis tournament on the ATP International Series which was held for the first time in Las Vegas, Nevada from February 27 to March 5, 2006. In the men's singles final, James Blake defeated Lleyton Hewitt 7–5, 2–6, 6–3...
in March, Hewitt had won at least one ATP
Association of Tennis Professionals
The Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
title annually for ten consecutive years. This was a record among active players at the time.
Hewitt reached the 2007 Hamburg Masters
2007 Hamburg Masters
The 2007 Masters Series Hamburg presented by E.ON Hanse was the 2007 edition of the Hamburg Masters. Roger Federer defeated Rafael Nadal, ending Nadal's 81-match winning streak on clay. Carlos Moyà reached his first Masters Series semi-final in three years, after languishing well outside the top-20...
semifinals, where he pushed eventual finalist Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
to three sets. At the 2007 French Open
2007 French Open
The 2007 French Open was held in Paris, France from 27 May through to 10 June 2007. Followed two weeks later, as usual, by Wimbledon in London, United Kingdom. Rafael Nadal became the first man to win the tournament 3 times consecutively since Björn Borg, 1978–81; and maintained his unbeaten run...
, Hewitt, for the second straight time lost in the fourth round to Nadal, 3-6, 1-6, 6-7(5). At the 2007 Wimbledon Championships
2007 Wimbledon Championships - Men's Singles
Roger Federer won his fifth consecutive Wimbledon to equal the record of Björn Borg, defeating Rafael Nadal in five sets in the final.-Seeds:# Roger Federer # Rafael Nadal # Andy Roddick # Novak Djoković ...
, Hewitt won his first three matches, including a four-set third round victory over Guillermo Cañas
Guillermo Cañas
Guillermo Ignacio Cañas , often referred to as Willy Cañas, is a retired Argentine professional tennis player. He was born in Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, and named after Argentine tennis star Guillermo Vilas. His highest singles ranking was 8th . After retirement Cañas took on coaching, he...
. He then faced fourth seed Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
in the fourth round, which he lost, 6-7, 6-7, 6-4, 6-7.
After Wimbledon, it was announced that he had hired former Australian tennis pro Tony Roche
Tony Roche
Anthony "Tony" Dalton Roche is a former professional Australian tennis player, native of Tarcutta. He played junior tennis in the New South Wales regional city of Wagga Wagga. He won one Grand Slam singles title and twelve Grand Slam doubles titles. He is also very well known for coaching...
to coach him during Grand Slam and Masters tournaments in 2007 and 2008. At the Masters tournaments in Montréal
Canada Masters
The Canada Masters , currently sponsored as the Rogers Cup, is an annual tennis tournament held in Canada. The men's competition is a Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour. The women's competition is a Premier 5 tournament on the Women's Tennis Association tour...
and Cincinnati
Cincinnati Masters
The Cincinnati Open is an annual outdoor hardcourts tennis event held in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason, Ohio, USA. The event started on September 18, 1899 and is the oldest tennis tournament in the United States played in its original city., Between...
Hewitt reached the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. In both cases, he lost to Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
.
He was seeded 16th at the 2007 U.S. Open
2007 U.S. Open (tennis)
The 2007 US Open was held from 27 August to 9 September 2007, at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, New York City....
, but for the first time in eight consecutive appearances at Flushing Meadows
Flushing Meadows
Flushing Meadows is an American short film by Larry Jordan, with director Joseph Cornell. The film is 8 minutes long, in color, 16mm, and silent....
, he did not reach the quarterfinals or further. He lost in the second round to Argentine Agustín Calleri
Agustín Calleri
Agustín Calleri Shaal is a retired professional male tennis player from Argentina. His nickname is Gordo which means Fat in Spanish. He is known as a hard-hitter and he prefers playing on clay....
.
2008
At the 2008 Australian Open2008 Australian Open
The 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 through 27 January 2008.After twenty years of playing on...
, he advanced to the fourth round as the 19th seed, defeating 15th-seeded and 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis
Marcos Baghdatis
At the French Open, Baghdatis lost in the second round in five sets to Frenchman Julien Benneteau, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 7-6, 4-6.At Wimbledon, Baghdatis defeated British player Andy Murray in the fourth round in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, Baghdatis beat the 2002 champion and former world no. 1...
in a thrilling third-round match, 4–6, 7–5, 7–5, 6–7 (4), 6–3. The 282 minute match started at 11:52 pm and ended at 4:34 am the following morning. It was a characteristically "gutsy" performance and cemented Hewitt's reputation as a tough competitor.
Hewitt lost his fourth-round match in straight sets to third-seeded and eventual champion Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
, 5-7, 3-6, 3-6.
A hip injury Hewitt acquired in March 2008 affected his preparation for the French Open and forced the loss of 300 rankings points as Hewitt was unable to defend his semifinal appearance at the Hamburg Masters, as well as compete in supplementary tournaments. However, Hewitt made the third round at Roland Garros, before losing a five-set thriller to fifth seed David Ferrer
David Ferrer
David Ferrer Ern is a Spanish professional tennis player who lives in Valencia, Spain who is currently no. 5 in the ATP Rankings and the second-highest ranked Spaniard behind world no. 2 Rafael Nadal. He turned professional in 2000...
, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6.
Despite his ongoing hip problem, Hewitt was able to compete at the Queens Club Championship with moderate success, falling to second seed Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
in the quarterfinals, 2–6, 2–6. His good form continued into Wimbledon, Hewitt making the fourth round for the second successive year, before facing world no. 1 and first seed Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
and losing, 6-7(7), 2-6, 4-6.
After Wimbledon, Hewitt elected to miss the Montreal and Cincinnati Masters in an effort to give his hip sufficient rest to enable him to play at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he defeated Jonas Björkman in the first round, 7–5, 7–6(7–2), before losing to second seed Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
, 1-6, 2-6. However, the more notable incident in the Olympics occurred in Hewitt's opening-round doubles match with Chris Guccione
Chris Guccione
Christopher "Chris" Luke Guccione , is an Australian professional tennis player from Greenvale, Victoria; his father is Italian and his mother is Australian....
against Argentines Juan Mónaco
Juan Mónaco
Juan Mónaco , nicknamed "Pico", is a male tennis player from Argentina. He reached a career-high ranking of World No. 14 on February 4, 2008. He is sponsored by Adidas and Yonex.-Biography:...
and Agustín Calleri
Agustín Calleri
Agustín Calleri Shaal is a retired professional male tennis player from Argentina. His nickname is Gordo which means Fat in Spanish. He is known as a hard-hitter and he prefers playing on clay....
. The match went to an advantage third set with Hewitt and Guccione prevailing 18–16.
After the Olympics, due to the further damage Hewitt's hip sustained at the Olympics, he was left with no option but to pull out of the US open and skip the rest of the season to have hip surgery.
2008 was the first year since 1997 in which Hewitt did not win a title.
2009
After returning from hip surgery, Hewitt played his first match in 2009 at the Hopman Cup, where he defeated Nicolas KieferNicolas Kiefer
Nicolas Kiefer , is a former German professional tennis player. His mother, Nicole, is French. He won a silver medal in men's doubles with partner Rainer Schüttler at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens....
in three sets. Hewitt then participated in the Medibank International Sydney, winning his first two matches, but losing in the quarterfinals to David Nalbandian
David Nalbandian
David Pablo Nalbandian is an Argentine professional tennis player and former world no. 3. He was runner-up at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships and the winner of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005.-Biography:...
. Hewitt then went on to play in the 2009 Australian Open
2009 Australian Open
The 2009 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 97th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 19 January through 1 February 2009. The 2009 men's...
, where he was unseeded in a Grand Slam for the first time since 2000. He faced Fernando González
Fernando González
----Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi is a professional tennis player from Chile. He is known for having one of the hardest forehands on the circuit. In Spanish he is called El Bombardero de La Reina and Mano de Piedra...
in the first round and lost in five sets, 7-5, 2-6, 2-6, 6-3, 3-6.
At the tournament in Memphis
2009 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup
The 2009 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup was an ATP World Tour and WTA Tour event held at the hardcourts of the Racquet Club of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee. It was the 34th edition of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the 23rd edition of the Cellular South...
, he caused an upset in the first round by defeating James Blake
James Blake
James Riley Blake is an American professional tennis player. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. As of August 2011, Blake is ranked no. 63 among active male players with 24 career finals appearances...
in three sets, 3–6, 6–1, 6–4. He then defeated fellow Australian Chris Guccione
Chris Guccione
Christopher "Chris" Luke Guccione , is an Australian professional tennis player from Greenvale, Victoria; his father is Italian and his mother is Australian....
in the second round, 6–2, 7–6(4), and Christophe Rochus
Christophe Rochus
Christophe Rochus is a retired professional male tennis player from Belgium.Rochus is the older brother of Olivier Rochus, also a tennis player who has been slightly more successful than Christophe. He reached the singles finals of two ATP tournaments: Valencia and Rotterdam but lost them both...
in the quarterfinals, 6–2, 6–3. He faced Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....
in the semifinals, but lost in a close match, 6-2, 6-7(4), 4-6. Hewitt then lost in the first round of Delray Beach
2009 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships
The 2009 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 17th edition of the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, and was part of the International Series of the 2009 ATP Tour...
to Yen-Hsun Lu, the eighth seed, 5-7, 6-2, 2-6. Hewitt also competed in the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells
Indian Wells Masters
The Indian Wells Masters is an annual tennis tournament held in Indian Wells, California....
, California, and reached the second round, being defeated by Fernando González.
At the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Hewitt played Israeli Dudi Sela
Dudi Sela
David "Dudi" Sela is an Israeli professional tennis player.Sela reached a career-high singles ranking of # 29 in July 2009. He is currently Israel's top men's singles player, ahead of Amir Weintraub.As a 17-year-old junior, he won the 2003 French Open boys' doubles championship with his doubles...
in the first round. Hewitt lost the first set, before recovering to win the match, 3–6, 6–4, 6–3. Hewitt was then defeated by seventh seed Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon is a French professional tennis player and former world no. 6. He is a nine-time winner on the ATP World Tour...
of France, 1-6, 2-6.
At the 2009 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
2009 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
The 2009 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships is a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It is the 41st edition of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, and is an ATP World Tour 250 event. It takes place at River Oaks Country Club in Houston, Texas, United States, from April 6 through...
, Hewitt defeated seventh seed Diego Junqueira
Diego Junqueira
Diego Junqueira is a professional tennis player who plays left-handed from Argentina...
, 6–0, 6–2. Hewitt advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating Sergio Roitman
Sergio Roitman
Sergio Andres Roitman in Buenos Aires, Argentina, nicknamed Escopeta is a retired professional tennis player from Argentina....
, 6–1, 6–3, in just 57 minutes, and then defeated Guillermo García López
Guillermo Garcia Lopez
Guillermo García López is a professional male tennis player from Spain.He is good friends with fellow Spanish tennis player Juan Carlos Ferrero, and both train at the JC Ferrero Equelite Tennis Academy in Villena, Spain.- Professional career :On November 23, 2009, García-López achieved his...
, 6–3, 6–4, to advance to the semifinals, where he defeated Evgeny Korolev
Evgeny Korolev
Evgeny Korolev is a Kazakhstani tennis player and the cousin of former Russian player Anna Kournikova. He began playing tennis at age four with his father, and picked up his first ATP points at age 15 in three German challenger events...
, 7–6(4), 6–4. He defeated Wayne Odesnik
Wayne Odesnik
Wayne Odesnik is a professional left-handed American tennis player, with a two-handed backhand.His career-high in singles was # 77, as of April 13, 2009...
in the final, 6–2, 7–5, for his first title since 2007 and his first clay-court title in a decade.
Hewitt entered the Monte Carlo Masters as a wild card. He lost in the first round, 4-6, 5-7 to Marat Safin
Marat Safin
Marat Mikhailovich Safin is a retired Russian tennis player of Tatar descent. Safin won two grand slams and reached the world number 1 ranking during his career. He was also famous for his emotional outbursts and sometimes fiery temper on court. Safin also holds the record for most broken...
. Hewitt admitted to running out of energy in the second set.
At the 2009 BMW Open, Hewitt recorded his 500th career win after defeating Philipp Petzschner
Philipp Petzschner
Philipp Petzschner is a professional German tennis player. He is known for his hard-hitting and incredible bursts of speed around the court, and now for controversy in the US Open Men's Doubles Final which he won partnered with Jurgen Melzer against the Polish team of Fystenberg/Matkowski...
in the first round, becoming one of only four active players to achieve this milestone; the others being Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
and Carlos Moyà
Carlos Moyá
Carlos Moya Llompart is a retired former world no. 1 tennis player from Spain. He was the French Open singles champion in 1998 and was the singles runner-up at the 1997 Australian Open. In 2004, he helped his country win the Davis Cup. He currently resides in Switzerland...
. Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....
would later achieve this feat at the 2009 Legg Mason Tennis Classic
2009 Legg Mason Tennis Classic
The 2009 Legg Mason Tennis Classic was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 41st edition of the event known that year as Legg Mason Tennis Classic, and was part of the ATP World Tour 500 series of the 2009 ATP World Tour. It took place at the William H.G...
Tournament in Washington, D.C..
In the 2009 French Open
2009 French Open
The 2009 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 108th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
, he defeated 26th seed Ivo Karlović
Ivo Karlovic
Ivo Karlović is a Croatian tennis player. He has won four ATP singles titles: three in 2007 and one in 2008. Karlović is the tallest player ever on the ATP Tour at 208 cm . He is a serve-and-volleyer, Karlovic holds the fastest serve recorded in professional tennis, measured at 251 km/h ...
in five sets, 6–7(1) 6–7(4) 7–6(4) 6–4 6–3 in the first round, and then defeated Andrey Golubev
Andrey Golubev
Andrey Golubev is a Kazakhstani professional tennis playercurrently living in Italy. His career high rank is #33, achieved on October 4, 2010. He has participated in all Grand Slam tournaments, the first being the 2008 US Open, as well in the main draw of ATP Masters Series and ATP International...
, 6–4, 6–3, 6–1, in the second. He lost to no. 1 Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
, 1-6, 3-6, 1-6, in the third round.
Lleyton's next tournament was the 2009 AEGON Championships
2009 AEGON Championships
The 2009 AEGON Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 38th edition of the event known that year as the AEGON Championships, and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2009 ATP World Tour...
in London. He was 15th seed and drew Eduardo Schwank
Eduardo Schwank
Eduardo Jonatan Schwank is a professional tennis player from Argentina on the ATP Tour. He is currently coached by Javier Nalbandian, the brother of David Nalbandian....
in the first round, who he easily dispatched, 6–1 6–0. In the second round, he went three sets against Portuguese Frederico Gil
Frederico Gil
Frederico Gil is a Portuguese professional tennis player who competes on the ATP Tour. In April 2011, he achieved a career-high singles world ranking no. 62, the highest ranking a Portuguese player has ever held until September when Rui Machado placed 61st in the rankings...
. Hewitt dropped the first set, but went on to win, 3–6 6–2 6–2. Former rival Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....
awaited Lleyton in the third round, and the match certainly did not disappoint. As they have many times in the past, the former world no. 1 players battled through a tough and intense match, which Roddick ended up taking. Hewitt lost in a thrilling 6-7(4), 6-7(2) match.
In the 2009 Wimbledon Championships
2009 Wimbledon Championships
The 2009 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, from Monday 22 June through to Sunday 5 July 2009...
, Hewitt faced the prospect of Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
in the second round. However, Nadal withdrew due to injury, and his slot was replaced by world no. 5 Juan Martín del Potro
Juan Martin Del Potro
Juan Martín del Potro is an Argentine professional tennis player. Del Potro achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on October 6, 2008. In January 2010, he reached a career-high ranking of world no. 4...
. Hewitt defeated American Robby Ginepri
Robby Ginepri
Robert Louis Ginepri is an American professional tennis player.-Early life:Robby Ginepri is of Luxembourgish ancestry....
, 6–4, 6–1, 6–1, in the first round. Hewitt used his strong service game to advantage, losing only one service game the entire match. He upended Del Potro in straight sets, 6–3, 7–5, 7–5. The third round also produced a straight-set victory for Hewitt, as he defeated Philipp Petzschner
Philipp Petzschner
Philipp Petzschner is a professional German tennis player. He is known for his hard-hitting and incredible bursts of speed around the court, and now for controversy in the US Open Men's Doubles Final which he won partnered with Jurgen Melzer against the Polish team of Fystenberg/Matkowski...
, 7–5, 7–6(3), 6–3. He reversed a two-set deficit to defeat Radek Štěpánek
Radek Štepánek
Radek Štěpánek is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic.-Career:Štěpánek turned professional in 1997. He started on tour as a doubles specialist, winning 12 ATP titles. Since 2002, Štěpánek has focused on being a better singles player while still playing top-level doubles...
in the fourth round, 4–6 2–6 6–1 6–2 6–2. It was another classic Hewitt fightback to thrill the many Australians on hand to witness the match. His Cinderella run ended in the quarterfinals against sixth seed Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....
. It was a five-set thriller which featured two tiebreaks. Hewitt lost a heartbreaking 3–6, 7–6 (10), 6–7 (1), 6–4, 4–6 match. It was the first time Lleyton had reached the quarterfinals of a Major since the 2006 U.S. Open.
After an extended break, Hewitt began working his way into the U.S Open series by playing in Washington at the Legg Mason Classic. There Hewitt made it into the third round, before losing in a three-set battle with Juan Martín del Potro
Juan Martin Del Potro
Juan Martín del Potro is an Argentine professional tennis player. Del Potro achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on October 6, 2008. In January 2010, he reached a career-high ranking of world no. 4...
, 6–4, 3–6, 6–7. At the Montreal Masters, Hewitt lost in the first round to former world no. 1, Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat is a professional tennis player, and a former world no. 1 player, from Spain. He captured the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year, he became the 21st player to hold the world no. 1 ranking. He was also the runner-up at the 2002...
, 1–6, 4–6. Cincinnati
Cincinnati Masters
The Cincinnati Open is an annual outdoor hardcourts tennis event held in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason, Ohio, USA. The event started on September 18, 1899 and is the oldest tennis tournament in the United States played in its original city., Between...
saw Hewitt reach the quarterfinals for the sixth time, where he lost to Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
in straight sets. During the first round of the tournament, Hewitt showed his trademark fighting abilities by saving two match points to win against an in-form Robin Söderling
Robin Söderling
Robin Bo Carl Söderling is a professional tennis player from Sweden who is currently ranked number 13 in the ATP rankings. Söderling reached successive French Open finals in 2009 and 2010...
. At the U.S Open, Hewitt progressed into the third round, where he played Federer for the 23rd time of their decade-long rivalry. Hewitt managed to take the first set 6–4 from Federer, before the 15-time Grand Slam champion took control of the second. The third set was tight, and both players saved multiple break points. Federer eventually prevailed the match in four sets, 4–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–4.
In late September, Hewitt travelled to Malaysia for his first time to take part in the inaugural Malaysian Open held in Kuala Lumpur. The new tournament was part of the ATP's new dedicated Asian swing. Hewitt lost, 6-7, 3-6, in the first round to Swedish player Joachim Johansson
Joachim Johansson
Joachim Johansson is a former professional male tennis player from Sweden.-Background:Johansson was born in Lund and currently lives in Södertälje, Sweden. His father, Leif Johansson, was also a tennis player and represented Sweden in the Davis Cup in the 1970s. He goes by the nickname "Pim Pim",...
. In Tokyo, Hewitt was drawn to once again meet del Potro in the quarterfinals, but was given a clear path when del Potro was knocked out by qualifier Édouard Roger-Vasselin
Édouard Roger-Vasselin
Édouard Roger-Vasselin is a male tennis player from France, the son of 1983 French Open semifinalist Christophe Roger-Vasselin.-2007:...
in the first round. After defeating Fabrice Santoro
Fabrice Santoro
Fabrice Vetea Santoro is a retired French professional male tennis player from Tahiti. Though not counted among the top ranked players, he had an unusually long professional career – with many of his accomplishments coming toward the end of his career – and he is popular among spectators and other...
in the second round, Hewitt downed Roger-Vasselin, 6–4, 6–0, to reach his first semifinals since winning the US Men's Clay Court Championships in April, but lost to Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Mikhailovich Youzhny , is a professional Russian tennis player, noted for his consistency and all-court play style. He has been coached by Boris Sobkin for 17 years....
, 2-6, 7-5, 5-7. He then competed in the 2009 Shanghai ATP Masters 1000
2009 Shanghai ATP Masters 1000
The 2009 Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 1st edition of the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000, and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2009 ATP World Tour...
, where he won in the first round, defeating John Isner
John Isner
John Robert Isner is an American professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high rank of no. 18 on July 5, 2010, and has been as high as the second-ranked American tennis player behind Andy Roddick...
, 6–2, 6–4, before losing to Gaël Monfils
Gaël Monfils
Gaël Sébastien Monfils is a French professional tennis player. he was the highest-ranked French tennis player, ranked no. 7 in the world ATP rankings. He was the runner-up at the Paris Masters in 2009 and 2010 and a semifinalist at the 2008 French Open.-2002:In 2002, Monfils finished 24th at the...
, 6-4, 4-6, 2-6.
2010
Hewitt began his 2010 season partnering Samantha StosurSamantha Stosur
Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...
at the Hopman Cup
2010 Hopman Cup
-Spain vs. United States:-Australia vs. United States:-Spain vs. Romania:*Pat Cash joined Cîrstea to take on the Spainsh duo in the doubles over a Pro Set. The Spanish pair won 8–4.-Spain vs. Australia:-Romania vs. United States:-Standings:...
. The Australians were the top seeds for the exhibition tournament. They, however, fared worse than expected, losing ties against Romania and Spain, and therefore failing to reach the final.
He was seeded fourth in the Medibank International
2010 Medibank International Sydney
The 2010 Medibank International Sydney was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 43rd edition of the event known that year as the Medibank International Sydney, and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2010 ATP World Tour, and of the WTA Premier tournaments of...
and, like the previous year, reached the quarterfinals, losing to eventual champion Marcos Baghdatis
Marcos Baghdatis
At the French Open, Baghdatis lost in the second round in five sets to Frenchman Julien Benneteau, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 7-6, 4-6.At Wimbledon, Baghdatis defeated British player Andy Murray in the fourth round in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, Baghdatis beat the 2002 champion and former world no. 1...
. At the Australian Open
2010 Australian Open
The 2010 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place in Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 18 to 31 January. It was the 98th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year....
, he lost to Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
in the fourth round, 2-6, 3-6, 4-6.
A week after his exit from the Australian Open, Hewitt announced at a press conference at Melbourne Park that he underwent another hip operation similar to his left hip operation this time on his right hip on 28 January 2010 in Hobart.
Hewitt returned to the tour at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
2010 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
The 2010 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 42nd edition of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, and was an ATP World Tour 250 event...
as the singles defending champion. He won his first match since the Australian Open, partnering coach Nathan Healey
Nathan Healey
Nathan Healey is an Australian tennis player.Turning professional in 1998, Healey has won 3 doubles titles....
in the doubles, defeating James Cerretani
James Cerretani
James Cerretani is an American professional tennis player. A doubles specialist, he has won three ATP World Tour titles in his career. He reached his career-high doubles ranking of World No...
and Adil Shamasdin
Adil Shamasdin
Adil Shamasdin is a Canadian professional tennis player who specialises in doubles tennis.-Career:Adil's junior career saw him finish ranked #5 in singles and #1 in doubles in Canada. He reached his highest doubles ranking of World No. 67 on 14 February 2011...
, 7–6, 7–5, but lost to top seeds the Bryan brothers in the semifinals, 2-6, 6-7. Hewitt received a first-round bye, as he was seeded fourth in singles. In his first match, against lucky loser Somdev Devvarman
Somdev Devvarman
Somdev Devvarman , is a professional Indian tennis player. Three of Devvarman's college conquests, John Isner, Kevin Anderson, and Jesse Levine have successful pro careers. He hit the headlines for being the only collegiate player to have made three consecutive finals at the NCAA, winning...
, Hewitt dropped the first set, before battling to win in three sets, 1–6, 6–0, 7–6. He then lost to Juan Ignacio Chela
Juan Ignacio Chela
Juan Ignacio Chela is a professional male tennis player from Argentina. Like most Argentine players he is comfortable on Clay courts and owns all six of his career titles on the surface...
, 4-6, 3-6. Hewitt's next tournament was scheduled to be the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. However, he withdrew due to a recurring injury.
Hewitt then reached the second round in Barcelona, before losing to Eduardo Schwank
Eduardo Schwank
Eduardo Jonatan Schwank is a professional tennis player from Argentina on the ATP Tour. He is currently coached by Javier Nalbandian, the brother of David Nalbandian....
, and lost in the second round of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia to Guillermo García López
Guillermo Garcia Lopez
Guillermo García López is a professional male tennis player from Spain.He is good friends with fellow Spanish tennis player Juan Carlos Ferrero, and both train at the JC Ferrero Equelite Tennis Academy in Villena, Spain.- Professional career :On November 23, 2009, García-López achieved his...
, 2-6, 3-6. Hewitt then travelled back to Australia to parcicipate in a Davis Cup tie against Japan, winning his two singles matches.
At the French Open
2010 French Open
The 2010 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 109th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
, Hewitt reached the third round, before losing 3-6, 4-6, 3-6 to Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
, who went on to win the title without dropping a set and take the no. 1 ranking.
On 13 June, Hewitt defeated Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
, 3–6, 7–6 (4), 6–4, in the final of the Gerry Weber Open
2010 Gerry Weber Open
The 2010 Gerry Weber Open was a tennis tournament to played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 18th edition of the event known that year as the Gerry Weber Open and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2010 ATP World Tour...
in Halle, Germany
Halle, North Rhine-Westphalia
Halle is a town in the German Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia and belongs to the district of Gütersloh....
, a grass-court tuneup for Wimbledon Championships. The win was Hewitt's first over Federer since 2003 and snapped a 15-match losing streak against the Swiss.
At Wimbledon
2010 Wimbledon Championships
The 2010 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament ran from Monday 21 June until Sunday 4 July 2010. It was the 124th staging of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand...
, Hewitt was seeded 15th and lost to third seed, Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
in the fourth round. After dropping the first two sets, Hewitt took advantage of a stomach illness had by Djokovic to take the third set. However, Hewitt could not mount a comeback, and ended up losing in four sets, 5-7, 4-6, 6-3, 4-6.
At the Atlanta Tennis Championship
2010 Atlanta Tennis Championships
The 2010 Atlanta Tennis Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 23rd edition of the event known that year as the Atlanta Tennis Championships and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2010 ATP World Tour...
, Hewitt lost in the first round to Lukáš Lacko
Lukáš Lacko
Lukáš Lacko is a professional Slovak tennis player. His highest ATP singles ranking was 60, which he reached on February 22, 2010. His career high doubles ranking was 213 on November 30, 2009.- Tennis career :...
, 4-6, 2-6. After receiving a first-round bye at the Legg Mason Classic, Hewitt retired in the second round due to a leg injury. He pulled out of the Rogers Cup in Toronto in order to recover, and returned in Cincinnati. Hewitt defeated Yen-Hsun Lu in the opening round, 6–4, 4–0 retired, before losing in three sets to fifth seed Robin Söderling
Robin Söderling
Robin Bo Carl Söderling is a professional tennis player from Sweden who is currently ranked number 13 in the ATP rankings. Söderling reached successive French Open finals in 2009 and 2010...
, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7.
Hewitt was 32nd seed at the US Open
2010 US Open (tennis)
The 2010 US Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts, held from August 30 to September 13, 2010 in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York City, United States....
and lost his first-round match to Paul-Henri Mathieu
Paul-Henri Mathieu
Paul-Henri Mathieu is a French tennis player.-Tennis career:Mathieu was born in Strasbourg, France. He first began playing tennis at age 3, with his older brother Pierre-Yves. Between 1997 and 2000 he trained at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida...
in five sets, 3–6, 4–6, 7–5, 6–4, 1–6. It was his earliest exit at the US Open. He withdrew from the Asian hard-court swing due to a wrist injury suffered during the Australian Davis Cup playoff loss to Belgium.
2011
Hewitt began his 15th season on the ATP Tour at the Hopman Cup in Perth. He defeated his Belgian opponent Ruben BemelmansRuben Bemelmans
Ruben Bemelmans , is a Belgian male professional tennis player. His career-high rank ATP singles ranking was No. 172 reached on October 26, 2009. His best doubles rank is No. 245....
, 6–4, 6–3, and went on to win the tie for Australia with a three-set victory in the mixed doubles, partnering Alicia Molik
Alicia Molik
Alicia Molik is a Australian professional female tennis player. She reached a career high singles rank of number 8 and also won a bronze medal for Australia at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Molik also reached a career high doubles ranking of number 6, and won two grand slam doubles titles, at the...
. He next played world no. 3 Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
, but lost in straight sets. For his final singles match of the tournament, he played Kazakhstani Andrey Golubev
Andrey Golubev
Andrey Golubev is a Kazakhstani professional tennis playercurrently living in Italy. His career high rank is #33, achieved on October 4, 2010. He has participated in all Grand Slam tournaments, the first being the 2008 US Open, as well in the main draw of ATP Masters Series and ATP International...
, defeating him in straight sets, 6–3, 6–3.
After the Hopman Cup, Hewitt competed in the AAMI Kooyong Classic, an exhibitional tournament in the build-up to the Australian Open. He started the tournament solidly, taking out third seed Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Mikhailovich Youzhny , is a professional Russian tennis player, noted for his consistency and all-court play style. He has been coached by Boris Sobkin for 17 years....
, 7–6, 4–6, 6–4. In the second round, he defeated Russian Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko is a Ukrainian-Russian tennis player. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the semifinals, which he has done on four occasions: twice each at the French Open and the U.S. Open. His biggest achievement to date was winning the 2009 ATP...
6–3, 7–6. In the final, he defeated Frenchman Gaël Monfils
Gaël Monfils
Gaël Sébastien Monfils is a French professional tennis player. he was the highest-ranked French tennis player, ranked no. 7 in the world ATP rankings. He was the runner-up at the Paris Masters in 2009 and 2010 and a semifinalist at the 2008 French Open.-2002:In 2002, Monfils finished 24th at the...
7–5, 6–3. It was the first time that Hewitt had played in the tournament.
At the Australian Open, Hewitt was defeated in the first round, 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 61-7, 7–9, by Argentina's David Nalbandian
David Nalbandian
David Pablo Nalbandian is an Argentine professional tennis player and former world no. 3. He was runner-up at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships and the winner of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005.-Biography:...
. Hewitt was up two sets to one and during the fourth set had the chance to finish off the match, when the scores were 3–1 and 0–40 in Hewitt's favour, but failed to capitalise on the situation. Furthermore, Hewitt had two match point opportunities in the final set to close out victory. However, one of these was met with an excellent drop shot from Nalbandian, and he went on to save the other, securing victory.
After the Australian Open, Hewitt participated in the SAP Open
SAP Open
The SAP Open is a men's tennis tournament held annually in San Jose, California. It is the second-oldest tennis tournament in the United States, which is still played. It is an ATP World Tour 250 series event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour...
, an ATP World Tour 250 event. He defeated his first-round opponent Björn Phau
Bjorn Phau
Björn Phau is a German tennis player and the son of a German mother and an Indonesian father. He reached a singles ranking of 59 in the world on 19 June 2006. He defeated Andre Agassi 7–5, 7–5 at the 2006 Dubai Tennis Championships. In an interview, Agassi cited Phau as one of the quickest tennis...
, 6–3, 6–3, and proceeded to the second round against Brian Dabul
Brian Dabul
Brian Dabul is a professional tennis player.-Juniors career:Dabul was an outstanding player in juniors tennis, reaching #1 in the world in January, 2002.-2003 to 2007:...
. Hewitt had some problems with Dabul, losing the first set, but managed to defeat him, 3–6, 7–5, 6–3. In the quarterfinals, Hewitt played against former US Open champion Juan Martín del Potro
Juan Martin Del Potro
Juan Martín del Potro is an Argentine professional tennis player. Del Potro achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on October 6, 2008. In January 2010, he reached a career-high ranking of world no. 4...
, who was on a comeback from a wrist injury. In a weak performance, Hewitt lost, 2–6, 3–6.
The next tournament that Hewitt took part in was the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup
Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup
The Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup are tennis tournaments held in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The Regions Morgan Keegan Championships is a men's ATP Tour event that has been held since 1976. In previous years it has been known as the U.S. Indoor Championships, the...
, an ATP World Tour 500 event in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
. Hewitt played Lu Yen-Hsun
Lu Yen-hsun
Lu Yen-hsun is a Taiwanese professional tennis player. He goes by the nickname Rendy. As of November 1, 2010, Lu is ranked #33 in the world and #1 in Asia. His favorite surface is hardcourt.- Junior career:...
in the opening round, which he won, 6–4, 7–6. He advanced to the second round against Adrian Mannarino
Adrian Mannarino
Adrian Mannarino is a professional tennis player from France. Mannarino competes predominantly on the ATP Challenger Series and Futures circuit. His career high rank is #53, achieved on 16 May 2011....
. Despite losing the first set, Hewitt defeated Mannarino, 6–7, 7–5, 6–0. In the quarterfinals, Hewitt played top seed Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....
. Despite being a set up, Hewitt lost the match, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6.
Hewitt then played in the 2011 BNP Paribas Open
2011 BNP Paribas Open
The 2011 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played at Indian Wells, California in March 2011. It was the 36th edition of the event, known as the BNP Paribas Open, and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the 2011...
, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event. His first-round opponent was Chinese Taipei's Lu Yen-Hsun
Lu Yen-hsun
Lu Yen-hsun is a Taiwanese professional tennis player. He goes by the nickname Rendy. As of November 1, 2010, Lu is ranked #33 in the world and #1 in Asia. His favorite surface is hardcourt.- Junior career:...
. This was the second time in a row the two had played each other in the first round, and he suffered a shock 2-6, 3-6 defeat. This was to be Hewitt's last event on the ATP Tour for over three months after he underwent surgery on his left foot.
Hewitt made his comeback at the 2011 Gerry Weber Open
2011 Gerry Weber Open
The 2011 Gerry Weber Open was a tennis tournament to played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 19th edition of the event known that year as the Gerry Weber Open and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2011 ATP World Tour...
in Halle, Germany
Halle, North Rhine-Westphalia
Halle is a town in the German Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia and belongs to the district of Gütersloh....
, where he returned as defending champion. He was originally scheduled to face top seed Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
in the opening round. However, the Swiss withdrew after reaching the final of the French Open. Hewitt therefore took on an alternate from Argentina, Leonardo Mayer
Leonardo Mayer
Leonardo Martin Mayer is an Argentine professional tennis player.Mayer achieved a singles career high of world no. 51 on June 7, 2010. His career high in doubles was world no. 94 on March 1, 2010.http://www.itftennis.com/mens/players/player.asp?player=100049039 He is coached by Emiliano Redondi...
and came through the match comfortably winning, 6-2, 6-3. In the second round, he played Andreas Seppi
Andreas Seppi
Andreas Seppi is a professional tennis player from South Tyrol, northern Italy, who turned professional in 2000. He considers clay and hard courts his favourite surfaces. and is coached by Massimo Sartori....
and defeated him, 6-4, 6-4. However, Hewitt's reign as champion of Halle came to an end at the hands of home favourite Philipp Kohlschreiber
Philipp Kohlschreiber
Philipp Kohlschreiber is a tennis player from Germany, who turned professional in 2001. The right-hander has won six doubles and three singles titles. He reached his highest singles ATP-ranking on 28 September 2009, when he achieved a ranking of World No. 22...
, when the Australian went down in straight sets, 6-7, 3-6. During this match, Hewitt turned his ankle when he came in to the net to try and reach a net cord ball. The following week, Hewitt had to retire during a first round match at the AEGON International against Olivier Rochus
Olivier Rochus
Olivier Rochus is a Belgian tennis player. He was born in Namur, Belgium, and currently resides in Auvelais, Belgium.-Career:...
at 2-6, 0-3. This was a result of the niggling ankle injury he had picked up at Halle the week before.
Hewitt came into Wimbledon with doubts over his fitness and condition and furthermore was unseeded in the 2011 Wimbledon Championships draw. Hewitt faced Kei Nishikori
Kei Nishikori
is a Japanese tennis player, currently ranked 25th in the world, as of 10 October 2011. He began playing tennis at the age of five, and on 17 July 2007 he qualified for his first ATP main draw event at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles, California at the age of 17.-Junior career:Nishikori won...
of Japan in the first round and won in four close sets, 6-1, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3. In the second round, Hewitt faced fifth seed Robin Soderling
Robin Söderling
Robin Bo Carl Söderling is a professional tennis player from Sweden who is currently ranked number 13 in the ATP rankings. Söderling reached successive French Open finals in 2009 and 2010...
. Hewitt won the first set in a tiebreak 7-6(7-5) and the second set 6-3. Soderling fought back to take the match in five sets, 7-6, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 4-6.
Hewitt's next tournament was the 2011 Atlanta Tennis Championships
2011 Atlanta Tennis Championships
The 2011 Atlanta Tennis Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 24rd edition of the event known that year as the Atlanta Tennis Championships and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2011 ATP World Tour...
, an ATP World Tour 250 event and first event on the US hard-court swing. Hewitt won his first-round match against the American qualifier Phillip Simmonds in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, to advance to the second round, where he lost to the American qualifier Rajeev Ram
Rajeev Ram
Rajeev Ram is an American professional tennis player on the ATP Tour. Rajeev is a tall, lanky player with a serve-and-volley style who is known best as a doubles specialist. He has advanced as far as the quarter-finals in doubles at three Grand Slams, most recently with Scott Lipsky at the 2011...
, 5-7, 6-2, 2-6. After this defeat, Hewitt who had been scheduled to play in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
the following week, opted not to take up the offer of a wildcard and withdrew from the event to recover from his foot injury. He then was offered a wild card to play at the 2011 US Open
2011 US Open (tennis)
The 2011 US Open was a tennis tournament played on the outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, of Queens, New York City, United States...
, but he did not accept it due to a foot injury. After this, Hewitt announced his 2011 season was ended.
2012
Hewitt announced he will start his 2012 season at the Hopman CupHopman Cup
The Hopman Cup is an annual international team tennis tournament held in Perth, Western Australia in early January each year, which plays mixed teams on a country by country basis...
, where he will partner Australian tennis player Jarmila Gajdosova
Jarmila Gajdošová
Jarmila Gajdošová , known as Jarmila Groth from 2009 to 2011, is an Australian tennis player...
. After this, he will play at the Australian Open, where he was awarded a wild card.
Davis Cup
Hewitt was a part of the Australian Davis Cup Team that won the Davis Cup in 19991999 Davis Cup
The 1999 Davis Cup was the 88th edition of the most important tournament between nations in men's tennis. A total of 128 nations participated in the tournament. In the final, Australia defeated France at the Acropolis Exhibition Hall in Nice, France, on 3–5 December, giving Australia their 22nd...
and 2003
2003 Davis Cup
The 2003 Davis Cup was the 92nd edition of the most important tournament between nations in men's tennis. A total of 135 nations participated in the tournament...
and reached the final in 2000
2000 Davis Cup
The 2000 Davis Cup was the 89th edition of the most important tournament between nations in men's tennis. A total of 135 nations participated in the tournament...
and 2001
2001 Davis Cup
The 2001 Davis Cup was the 90th edition of the most important tournament between nations in men's tennis. A record total of 139 nations participated in the tournament...
. 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
Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat is a professional tennis player, and a former world no. 1 player, from Spain. He captured the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year, he became the 21st player to hold the world no. 1 ranking. He was also the runner-up at the 2002...
in the opening rubber, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 7–6, 6–2.
In the 2006 quarterfinals in Melbourne, Hewitt defeated Belarusian Vladimir Voltchkov
Vladimir Voltchkov
Vladimir Nikolayevich Voltchkov is a Belarusian tennis player. Voltchkov reached the semi-final at the 2000 Wimbledon, where, as a qualifer, he lost to Pete Sampras in straight sets...
, 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
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
on clay, Hewitt lost to Argentine José Acasuso
José Acasuso
José Javier "Chucho" Acasuso is a professional male tennis player from Argentina. Like many of his fellow countrymen, he favours clay. He is known for his strong serve and his hard groundstrokes off both sides...
, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 2-6, 1-6.
In the 2011 playoffs, he played against Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
and Stanislas Wawrinka
Stanislas Wawrinka
Stanislas Wawrinka is a Swiss professional tennis player. He also holds German citizenship as his father is German. His career ranking high is no. 9, achieved on 9 June 2008. He considers clay his best surface and his backhand his best shot...
in a grass court in Sidney, losing both matches. In doubles, together with Chris Guccione
Chris Guccione
Christopher "Chris" Luke Guccione , is an Australian professional tennis player from Greenvale, Victoria; his father is Italian and his mother is Australian....
, he was able to defeat Federer and Wawrinka, but this was not enough to take Australia to the World Group.
Coaches
Peter Smith, Darren CahillDarren Cahill
Darren Cahill is a tennis coach and former professional tennis player from Australia.Nicknamed "Killer", Cahill turned professional in 1984...
, Jason Stoltenberg
Jason Stoltenberg
Jason Stoltenberg is a former professional tennis player from Australia.Stoltenberg began playing tennis at age ten on an antbed court where his father owned a cotton farm in the Far West of New South Wales. In 1987, he won the boys' singles title at the Australian Open and was ranked the World No...
, Roger Rasheed
Roger Rasheed
Roger Rasheed is a former Australian rules football player, tennis player, tennis coach, and tennis commentator. He is Australian of Lebanese descent. Rasheed is perhaps best known as the coach of tennis player Lleyton Hewitt from June 2003 until January 2007...
, Scott Draper
Scott Draper
-Personal life:Draper was born in Queensland, Australia. His first wife, Kellie, died in 1999 from cystic fibrosis. He is now married to Jessica and they have two children, a son Jayden Scott Draper and a daughter, Jaimie Draper .-Tennis career:...
, Tony Roche
Tony Roche
Anthony "Tony" Dalton Roche is a former professional Australian tennis player, native of Tarcutta. He played junior tennis in the New South Wales regional city of Wagga Wagga. He won one Grand Slam singles title and twelve Grand Slam doubles titles. He is also very well known for coaching...
, Nathan Healey
Nathan Healey
Nathan Healey is an Australian tennis player.Turning professional in 1998, Healey has won 3 doubles titles....
and Brett Smith are all former coaches of Hewitt. Hewitt is currently coached by Tony Roche. This is Roche's second spell as Hewitt's coach.
Lleyton Hewitt's coaches in his time on the ATP Tour:
- Peter Smith (January 1997 – December 1998)
- Darren CahillDarren CahillDarren Cahill is a tennis coach and former professional tennis player from Australia.Nicknamed "Killer", Cahill turned professional in 1984...
(December 1998 – December 2001) - Jason StoltenbergJason StoltenbergJason Stoltenberg is a former professional tennis player from Australia.Stoltenberg began playing tennis at age ten on an antbed court where his father owned a cotton farm in the Far West of New South Wales. In 1987, he won the boys' singles title at the Australian Open and was ranked the World No...
(December 2001 – June 2003) - Roger RasheedRoger RasheedRoger Rasheed is a former Australian rules football player, tennis player, tennis coach, and tennis commentator. He is Australian of Lebanese descent. Rasheed is perhaps best known as the coach of tennis player Lleyton Hewitt from June 2003 until January 2007...
(June 2003 – January 2007) - Scott DraperScott Draper-Personal life:Draper was born in Queensland, Australia. His first wife, Kellie, died in 1999 from cystic fibrosis. He is now married to Jessica and they have two children, a son Jayden Scott Draper and a daughter, Jaimie Draper .-Tennis career:...
(January 2007) - Tony RocheTony RocheAnthony "Tony" Dalton Roche is a former professional Australian tennis player, native of Tarcutta. He played junior tennis in the New South Wales regional city of Wagga Wagga. He won one Grand Slam singles title and twelve Grand Slam doubles titles. He is also very well known for coaching...
(July 2007 – August 2009) - Nathan HealeyNathan HealeyNathan Healey is an Australian tennis player.Turning professional in 1998, Healey has won 3 doubles titles....
(August 2009 – August 2010) - Brett Smith (August 2010 – November 2010)
- Tony RocheTony RocheAnthony "Tony" Dalton Roche is a former professional Australian tennis player, native of Tarcutta. He played junior tennis in the New South Wales regional city of Wagga Wagga. He won one Grand Slam singles title and twelve Grand Slam doubles titles. He is also very well known for coaching...
(November 2010 – Present Day)
Tony Roche became Hewitt's coach for the second time in November 2010.
Playing style
Hewitt is a defensive baseline counterpuncher. He typically likes to stay back towards the baselineTennis court
A tennis court is where the game of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles.-Dimensions:...
during a rally
Rally (tennis)
A rally in tennis is a sequence of shots within a point.A rally starts with serve and return of the serve, and a sequence of shots until the point is won by one of the players....
and will usually approach the net only to catch a short reply or drop shot
Drop shot
A drop shot in tennis is slicing, putting a backspin on the ball just over the net. A good drop shot travels such that the opponent is unable to run fast enough to retrieve it....
from his opponent. At the 2004 Cincinnati Masters Final, commentator MaliVai Washington
MaliVai Washington
MaliVai "Mal" Washington is a former professional tennis player from the United States. He is best remembered for reaching the men's singles final at Wimbledon in 1996.-Family:...
said that Hewitt was even more difficult to "ace" than Agassi because he gets more returns in play. Hewitt's 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.
Although he is known primarily as a baseline defender, Hewitt is a skilled volleyer
Volley (tennis)
A volley in tennis is a shot in which the ball is struck before it bounces on the ground. Generally a player hits a volley while standing near the net, although it can be executed farther back, in the middle of the tennis court or even near the baseline....
and is known for having one of the best overhead smashes
Smash (tennis)
A smash in tennis is a shot that is hit above the head with a serve-like motion. A smash can usually be hit with great force relatively safely and is often a shot that ends the point. Most smashes are hit fairly near the net or in mid-court before the ball bounces, generally against lobs that have...
in the game. His signature shot, however, is the offensive topspin lob
Lob (tennis)
A lob in tennis is hitting the ball high and deep into the opponent's court. It can be used as an offensive or defensive weapon depending on the situation.-History:...
, a shot that he executes efficiently off both wings when his opponent approaches the net. US Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe
Patrick McEnroe
Patrick John McEnroe is a former professional tennis player and the former captain of the United States Davis Cup team.Born in Manhasset, New York, he is the younger brother of John McEnroe...
and Jim Courier
Jim Courier
James Spencer "Jim" Courier, Jr. is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. During his career, he won four Grand Slam singles titles, two at the French Open and two at the Australian Open...
have both described Hewitt's lob as being the best in the world.
In Andre Agassi's book "Open", Hewitt is described as one of the best shot selectors in the history of Men's Tennis.
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
Equipment
Hewitt is currently sponsored by the Japanese sports manufacterer YonexYonex
is a Japanese manufacturer of sporting equipment for badminton, golf and tennis, producing racquets, clubs, shoes, shuttlecocks, and other equipment for those sports.-History:...
, with whom he signed a "Head to Toe" deal in late 2005. Yonex provides all of Hewitt's clothing, racquets, shoes and accessories. Hewitt's Yonex shoes (SHT-306) are inscribed with his nickname "Rusty" along with an image of an Australian flag. As of 7 August 2007, his first appearance with a new racquet at the Montreal Masters, Hewitt used to use the Yonex RQiS 1 Tour. He used to use the Yonex RDS tour 90 Model, but switched to the Yonex RDiS 100 mid in 2009.
Personal life
Hewitt is a keen supporter of Australian rules footballAustralian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
, having played the game earlier in his career and is the No.1 ticket holder for the Adelaide Crows
Adelaide Crows
The Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed The Crows, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Adelaide, South Australia, playing in the Australian Football League ....
. He once had a close friendship with Crows star Andrew McLeod
Andrew McLeod
Andrew Luke McLeod is a former Australian rules footballer for the Adelaide Football Club. He is the games record holder for Adelaide, having played 340 games....
, but this broke down over much public controversy in 2005. It was not long before this that Hewitt produced a DVD titled Lleyton Hewitt: The Other Side which precipitated the falling out between him and McLeod over certain filming of Aboriginal sites.
Hewitt and Belgian tennis player Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
started a relationship in January 2000, during the Australian Open. The two announced their engagement just before Christmas 2003, but separated in October 2004, cancelling a planned February 2005 wedding.
On 30 January 2005, shortly after losing the 2005 Australian Open final to Marat Safin, Hewitt proposed to Australian actress Bec Cartwright after they had been dating for just six weeks. They married on 21 July 2005 and have three children. Their first child, a daughter named Mia Rebecca Hewitt, was born on 29 November 2005. Their second child, a son named Cruz Lleyton Hewitt, was born on 11 December 2008. Their third child, a daughter named Ava Sydney, was born on 19 October 2010.
In late 2008, to extend his tennis career and reduce the amount of travel, the couple relocated for the European and North American season to their future holiday home in the Old Fort Bay estate, in Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...
.
Hewitt maintains a second residence in Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...
where he stays during off-time in the American hard court season.
Controversies
Lleyton Hewitt has been involved in a number of controversial incidents of which the most notorious was his protest to Swiss umpire Andreas Egli regarding an African-American linesman, who Hewitt insinuated was biased in favour of James BlakeJames Blake
James Riley Blake is an American professional tennis player. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. As of August 2011, Blake is ranked no. 63 among active male players with 24 career finals appearances...
at the 2001 U.S. Open. Hewitt protested: "Look at him (the linesman) and you tell me what the similarity is (beckoning towards Blake)", and "I want him off the court, I've only been foot-faulted up one end. Look at what he's done." Hewitt later denied accusations of racism, asserting that he was not "racial (sic) in any way."
At the French Open of the same year, Hewitt was involved in yet more controversy when he twice called match officials "spastic." Following his outbursts, a complaint was received from the Cerebral Palsy Association in Australia. Hewitt later apologised, stating "If I did say that in the heat of the battle, then I apologise. I didn't intend to offend anyone."
See also
- Wimbledon champions (Men's Singles)
- US Open champions (Men's Singles)
- List of Grand Slam Men's Singles champions