Lleyton Hewitt: Chronicles of the Australian Tennis Talent’s Career
Born on February 24th, 1981, in Adelaide, Australia, Lleyton Glynn Hewitt amused himself with Australian Rules Football before turning to tennis at the age of 13. In 1998, Hewitt assumed the distinction of becoming one of the least aged victors of an ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Tour, when, as a virtually unknown teenager, he shocked the well-established Andre Agassi at the semifinals of the Next Generation Adelaide International event. The Australian then decided to concentrate fully on a career in tennis.
In 2000, Hewitt carved the path to his first Grand Slam finals showdown at the All England Club Championships, Wimbledon mixed doubles event. Paired alongside Belgian Kim Clijsters, the Australian lost to the American duo Kimberly Po and Donald Johnson. Hewitt then went on to land his first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open later that year, when he clinched the men’s doubles championship teamed with Max Mirnyi. Hewitt also made news after qualifying for the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup as the first teenager in the annals of ATP Tour to have done so.
The Australian made an assured start to the 2001 season by triumphing at the Medibank International event in Sydney and then marched on to seal the Ordina Open (now named the UNICEF Open) and the London Open titles. Hewitt also seized the 2001 U.S. Open title after overcoming once world number one Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the semifinals and Pete Sampras in the final showdown, marking his first ever Grand Slam victory. The seemingly unstoppable Australian then took the Tokyo Open title and once again booked a place at the season-concluding Tennis Masters Cup. Here on home soil, Hewitt got the better of all his opponents, decisively demolishing Sebastian Grosjean in straight sets (6-3, 6-3, 6-4) in the final clash to grab the trophy and finish the year ranked number one in the ATP world rankings.
The following year, Hewitt kept up his winning form by adding the San Jose, Indian Wells, and London (Queen’s Cup) titles to his name. He then emulated his previous year’s Grand Slam success by taking the prestigious Wimbledon singles trophy after defeating David Nalbandian without the loss of a set. Hewitt also made it into the Tennis Masters Cup event for a third year in the running, and guarded his title with panache after overcoming Spain’s Juan Carlos Ferrero and ensuring he concluded the year ranked the world’s top player for a second consecutive season.
In 2003, the Australian routed Brazil’s Gustavo Kuerten to take the Indian Wells trophy. Although unable to defend his Wimbledon title, Hewitt played a key role in Australia’s march to the 2003 Davis Cup title. In 2004, Hewitt’s progress at the Grand Slams was thwarted more than once by the legendary Roger Federer. It was his Swiss nemesis that would once again see Hewitt off at the year’s Tennis Masters Cup final showdown. The next year, Hewitt bagged his only title at the Sydney Medibank International event. He battled all the way to the season’s Australian Open final, where he was overshadowed by Russia’s Marat Safin. Hewitt also reached the 2005 Wimbledon and U.S. Open semifinals, and his progress was halted on each occasion by none other than Roger Federer. In 2006, the Australian took his first title of the year at the Queen’s Club Championships, and also managed to progress to the San Jose and Las Vegas tournament finals where he eventually bowed out to Andy Murray and James Blake respectively. In 2007, Hewitt was able to defend his Las Vegas crown successfully; however his year 2008 progress was hindered to great measure by fitness issues, and he uncharacteristically ended the season without a title to his name. Recuperating from hip surgery, the Australian returned in 2009 to mount a challenge for the top rankings once again, and made steady progress despite not winning a title. In 2010, Hewitt had another operation on his hip. Yet this June, he finally overcame long time rival Roger Federer, demolishing him at the final of the Gerry Weber Open event in Germany. The Australian now prepares for the upcoming U.S. Open showdown.
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