Hewitt, Lleyton

▪ 2003

      Lleyton Hewitt ruled as the best male tennis player in the world in 2001 and 2002, displaying a match-playing maturity well beyond his years, earning a reputation as a competitor of the highest order, and exploiting his opportunities with uncanny regularity. The scrappy Australian moved past his premier rivals to the top of the game with his astonishing court speed, fierce determination, outstanding return of serve, and unrelenting ground strokes. In September 2001 he upended the formidable Pete Sampras of the U.S. 7–6 (4), 6–1, 6–1 on the hard courts at the U.S. Open in New York City to capture his first Grand Slam title. Ten months later Hewitt came through confidently on the grass courts of the All England Club, ousting Argentina's David Nalbandian 6–1, 6–3, 6–2 in the final at Wimbledon. At the 2002 U.S. Open, however, he failed to retain his title, losing in the semifinal to American Andre Agassi.

      In 2001 Hewitt was the most prolific winner on the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) circuit, claiming 80 match victories and becoming the youngest man to have finished a year at number one since the official ATP world rankings were introduced in 1973. He was the first Australian male to achieve preeminent status in that nearly 30-year span. Hewitt underlined his supremacy when he claimed the 2001 season-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Sydney, Australia. Moreover, he was rewarded handsomely, earning $4,045,618 for the year. Hewitt stayed at the top of the rankings all through 2002 despite sporadic health problems, including chicken pox early in the year and viruses that forced him to pull out of some tournaments later in the season. He managed to win five tournaments in 2002, including a successful defense of his Tennis Master's Cup crown. He earned $4,619,386 in prize money.

      Hewitt was born Feb. 24, 1981, in Adelaide, the same city where he grew up. His father, uncle, and grandfather distinguished themselves as players in Australian Rules football, and his mother was a physical education teacher who played netball. Hewitt played Australian Rules football until he was 13, when he dedicated himself to tennis. He became the leading Australian junior tennis player in 1996. Early in 1998, at age 16, he secured his first professional singles title. By the end of 1999, he had advanced to number 22 in the world and had helped Australia to win the Davis Cup. He concluded 2000 ranked number seven in the world after having swept 61 of 80 matches he contested that season, establishing himself as the first teenager since Sampras in 1990 to garner four singles titles in a year. Hewitt's impressive range of victories in 2000 fueled the intense Australian to record his major triumphs of the next two years. Hewitt did not dominate the game as had some of his predecessors, but his consistency and mental toughness were the twin motors driving his greatness.

Steve Flink

* * *

▪ Australian athlete

in full  Lleyton Glynn Hewitt 

born Feb. 24, 1981, Adelaide, Austl.

      Australian professional tennis player whose astonishing court speed, fierce determination, and unrelenting ground strokes allowed him to capture victories at both the U.S. Open (United States Open Tennis Championships) (2001) and Wimbledon (Wimbledon Championships) (2002).

      Hewitt was born into an exceedingly athletic family; his father, uncle, and grandfather distinguished themselves as players in Australian rules football, and his mother was a physical education teacher who played netball. Hewitt played Australian Rules football until he was 13, when he dedicated himself to tennis. He became the leading Australian junior tennis player in 1996. Two years later he secured his first professional singles title. By the end of 1999, he had advanced to number 22 in the world and had helped Australia to win the Davis Cup. He concluded 2000 ranked seventh in the world after having swept 61 of the 80 matches he contested that season, establishing himself as the first teenager since Pete Sampras (Sampras, Pete) in 1990 to garner four singles titles in a year.

      In 2001 Hewitt was the most prolific winner on the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) circuit, claiming 80 match victories and becoming the youngest man to have finished a year at number one since the official ATP world rankings were introduced in 1973. Hewitt defeated Sampras to win the 2001 U.S. Open, his first grand slam title. Ten months later Hewitt excelled on the grass courts at the All-England Club and ousted Argentina's David Nalbandian to win the 2002 Wimbledon tournament. Hewitt failed to retain his U.S. Open title that year, however, losing to American Andre Agassi in the semifinals. He won the Indian Wells ATP Tennis Master's Tournament in both 2002 and 2003, defeating England's Tim Henman and Brazil's Gustavo Kuerten, respectively. Though he failed to capture any grand slam titles in the ensuing years, he did advance to the finals in both the 2004 U.S. Open and the 2005 Australian Open.

* * *