WESTERN AND SOUTHERN FINANCIAL GROUP MASTERS

August 18, 2005

Lleyton Hewitt

THE MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, Lleyton Hewitt. Questions, please.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Just getting another match under my belt, I think. You know, just went out there, served a lot better today the whole match. Against Andreev I served a bit patchy in the first round, and against Rusedski I served ordinary the whole match. So that was definitely something I felt like I needed to do a lot better today. You know, Ancic takes a lot of cuts on second serves, so I felt like I had to get a high percentage in. You know, I served great for most of the match.

LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know. You know, I think maybe I'm feeling a little bit better. It's hard to tell when you're out there. I felt pretty good out there today. I was happy the way I hit the ball. I think I moved a lot better as well, you know. Not playing a lot of matches the last couple of weeks, I think that's the biggest thing in my game, is the movement side of it.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Not really. I'd rather be on the side of getting that first set 6-1 than losing it. But, you know, it wasn't something that I deliberately planned on, you know, doing any different today. I planned on doing it yesterday as well; it just didn't quite work.

LLEYTON HEWITT: A little bit probably a few days ago. I'd say not so much now. You know, I feel pretty good when I've woken up the last two or three days now. So, you know, hopefully the virus is fully out of the system.

LLEYTON HEWITT: No, not -- no, now it's a lot easier to eat, you know, whatever I feel like basically.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Uhm, pretty similar, I think. You know, humid conditions. You know, my first round against Andreev it was really heavy conditions out there, and I think that played a totally different part. Whereas I haven't quite felt that in New York quite as much, you know. Even if it's overcast or whatever, it doesn't quite get as heavy as it did here in my first match. Normally the ball, you know -- it's a different ball, the Wilson ball compared to the Penn. Normally, the Wilson ball at the US Open flies a fair bit through the air as well and can be sometimes a lot tougher to control.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I think so. I mean, in a whole week in and week out, I think so, yeah.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I think so. I've probably got a little bit more weight behind most of my shots as well now. My movement's still -- you know, I don't think there was too much wrong with my movement back then, and, you know, it's not a whole different now. You know, it's probably a bit more weight, probably a little bit more variety as well, and I'm probably definitely serving a lot better.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it does. I guess when you're out there, you know, a lot of the guys these days are pretty one-dimensional. There's not a whole heap of guys like Greg Rusedski or Tim Henman, these guys that are capable of chip-charging, serve-volleying. So, you know, if I can throw in a little bit different tactic now and then, you know, you never know; that element of surprise can sometimes help.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I think I've always probably got my stock standard, you know, not a lot of unforced errors out there, move extremely well, make my opponents hit a lot of balls. And, you know, I think that's definitely an area of my game that I've tried to work on the last couple of years, to try and dictate a little bit more and be aggressive when I need to and step up on the court. You know, I think it's definitely helped my game overall on every surface.

LLEYTON HEWITT: It actually felt pretty cool out there with a hat on today.

LLEYTON HEWITT: I'm not sure. Yeah, it was a little bit strange not wearing a hat in hot conditions because I've just -- I've always been, especially with white, I think, reflecting the sun as well. So who knows what I'll do in the future.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Just men's depth, I think. You know, we've said it for a number of years now that, you know, it's hard for any top player to go out; that you don't get given easy first-round or second-round wins. You've got to go out there and earn it every time you step on the court. You know, we see that whether it's Roddick last week, you know, losing in the first round in Montreal; Nadal this week. There's never any easy matches and, you know, you've got to bring your A game every time you step on to the court. I think that's making it tougher and tougher. You know, there are no easy matches. I think that's on all surfaces as well.

LLEYTON HEWITT: More doubles?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it's hard to say. I think in these kind of tournaments where you got to win six matches in seven days against Top 50 opponents in this kind of heat, I wouldn't really want to be doing it. Yeah, I think your recovery time you need, especially leading into a Grand Slam as well. So, you know, every week is different. Some of the smaller tournaments, you know, maybe it can help out. I play, you know -- when I pick and choose when I play doubles is more preparation when I haven't played a lot of matches and felt like I want to get a match before a singles. So a lot depends on the timing. But, you know, with so many tough matches, it does make it hard to ask the top singles players to play week-in and week-out doubles.

LLEYTON HEWITT: They've probably got something, you know, a little bit extra, something a bit special, I guess, you know, that sets them apart from, you know, the big group that everyone can hit a tennis ball over the net and move pretty well on the tour these days. You know, a guy like Federer's got every shot in the game. You know, he moves extremely well. He's got a great serve. You know, everything. A guy like Roddick, obviously, his power serve and forehand. Yeah, I think everyone's different in certain ways. I think everyone outside of, you know, 20 to 50 to 100 in the world, you know, they're great tennis players, but maybe they don't have quite that something special that a guy like Roger Federer does.

LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know. I don't know if there is anything (smiling).

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I don't know. I think mentally I'm pretty good in pretty much any situation so...

LLEYTON HEWITT: Grew up with it, I guess.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Wouldn't have a clue. Don't know.