Lleyton Hewitt is a true fighter, not ready to hang his boots yet – Tennis Special
Former world number one, Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, celebrated his 31st birthday in last February and has gone outside the top 100 in rankings but the veteran is not ready to retire from professional tennis yet.
The Australian had received a wild card for the French Open but he lost at the hands of Slovakia’s Blaz Kavcic in the first round.
Hewitt was coming into this event straight after getting rid of the toe injury. The Australian was not expected to be fit for Roland Garros but made quick recovery to be able to play the second Grand Slam of the season.
The Adelaide, Australia born is a true fighter and one hopes that he can get success again at the highest level. He has seen all the highs and lows in his 14-year of career so far. Currently going through a low phase, the 5ft 11in
tall warrior is expected to shine one last time by his fans.
Giving an interview after the loss, Hewitt said, "I had to bite the bullet. Yeah, so it was a last ditch effort. Hopefully it gets better and better from here and I get more used to it as well."
He added, "I was still hungry enough to have a shot. I feel like the last couple of years has been ruined by surgeries and trying to come back and playing within injections and the works.
The Australian continued, "This was a last effort surgery that I had straight after the Australian Open. A lot of people didn't think it could be done, and here I am at a Grand Slam."
Hewitt turned pro in 1998 and won his first title in the same season, grabbing the Brisbane International. The Australian captured five more titles in the next couple of years to become one of the top contenders on the ATP World
Tour.
However, the best season of his career was in 2001, as he won six titles throughout the year. The right-hander, who was also famous for his fighting spirit, clinched his first Grand Slam title by stunning American legend, Pete
Sampras, in the US Open final in that year.
Further success was in store for Hewitt, as he won the year ending championships, the Tennis Masters Cup, to end the season on the highest note. By winning the coveted crown, the Australian also rose to the top position in the
ATP Singles Rankings, becoming the youngest player in the tennis history to be ranked number one.
Success for Hewitt continued in 2002, as he won the Wimbledon Championships and defended his title at the Masters Cup. He also won three other tournaments including the BNP Paribas Open.
Hewitt could not match that level of his performances in the following two years but he still advanced to titles matches at the 2004 US Open and 2005 Australian Open, losing to Roger Federer and Marat Safin respectively.
The Australian started to face injuries later on and they continued to hinder his game every year. He won a single title in all of the season except 2008 and 2011 but the once top ranked player could not replicate his past successes.
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