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AEGON CHAMPIONSHIPSJune 12, 2012Lleyton HewittLONDON, ENGLAND I. KARLOVIC/L. Hewitt THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. So 22 aces in 9 service games. Makes it quite tough? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it was frustrating, to say the least. Yeah, right from the start I felt like I was actually seeing the ball not bad out there, especially the returns that I could get my racquet on. Yeah, and then obviously the pressure just builds on your service games, and he's sort of just lashing at shots left, right, and center. You know, I didn't serve my best. You know, his serving like that puts a lot more pressure on you, as well. All my service games are lost. I'm pretty sure I was at least 30‑Love in all of them. So the three service games that I lost, thereabouts, I just didn't close it out. That comes with match toughness, but there was very little I could do on his service games. Q. Him serving like that, it doesn't really give you a chance to get into your game, does it? LLEYTON HEWITT: No, it doesn't give you a chance to do a lot of things. You can't assess where you're at at the moment. You know, I can't assess my movement. Yeah, so it's just a frustrating day, all up. Q. I suppose that the next question is what do you do next?  Do you perhaps play somewhere else? Try and get more matches in somewhere else? LLEYTON HEWITT: Probably not. No, at this stage I'm playing at least a couple of matches at Hurlingham next week. I haven't spoken to Rochey about that in particular yet, but I can't see that changing at the moment. Q. Are you hoping to get in the Olympics? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I'd like a wildcard if it comes up. Q. Have you had a chat with... LLEYTON HEWITT: I haven't personally. I'm sure Tennis Australia have. Q. How have you been hitting in practice? LLEYTON HEWITT: Pretty well. That's the frustrating thing. You know, obviously I felt ‑‑as soon as I got on the grass I felt pretty comfortable. Yeah, this week has been a lot tougher to get grass court time, but the week before I was able to get a fair amount of grass court time. I felt comfortable. Yeah, it didn't take me long to, you know, adjust, which was good. Yeah, obviously, yeah, match play and playing break points and stuff like that is all different, practice than matches, but I felt like it was coming along pretty well. It was probably a frustrating draw that you can't go out there and get some rhythm. Q. You have never really had much luck with draws, have you? What were you thinking when you saw the draw on this occasion? LLEYTON HEWITT: You know, yeah, there were plenty of better draws for me to get some matches I guess under my belt. Yeah, it's not really a tennis match in some ways when you're playing against a guy like that. The rallies and the skill in the other form of the game is totally out of your control. So, yeah, it's just one of those matches, one of those days. Q. Are you excited about Wimbledon approaching? Ten years since you won there and you got a wildcard today. Are you pumped for that? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, absolutely. After the surgery, that was obviously my main aim, to try and get back as quickly as possible. But Wimbledon was the focus. So, yeah, it would have been nice to get a couple of matches, yeah, more under my belt, but, you know, if there's one place you feel like things can open up for you, it's probably there for me. It's always nice being around the place and practicing there, and I'm fortunate enough I can walk in there as a member.  Yeah, it's the best tournament there is. Q. Are you planning to use that membership between now and the start of the tournament? LLEYTON HEWITT: I have been using it the last two weeks. It works well for me. I can sit in there and have a cup of tea with all the other members. Q. Does a member have to apply for a wildcard? LLEYTON HEWITT: I still did just in case. I could have forgot. Q. But you have been there for a couple of times recently just to... LLEYTON HEWITT: Just hanging out with all my mates, yeah. (Laughter.) Q. Got a few there, have you? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, a lot of them. We have a joke and it's nice. Q. What are your sort of hopes for Wimbledon? Do you still consider yourself to be among the few genuine grass courters who can make a great run? LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, for me the focus, obviously wherever I'm going to be in the draw, yeah, you're going to come up against a seed in the first, second, third round at least, probably the first two rounds for me, obviously. So, yeah, it's a matter of taking those chances when you get them. Grass court tennis is like that. Sometimes it's a more mental game than physical, because there are only one or two points in a whole five‑set match that can turn in tiebreaks or tight situations. So, yeah, obviously those top four or five guys, yeah, they're way above everyone else right at the moment, but if you can put yourself in a moment to go out there, and I still feel likeif I'm hitting the ball as well as I can be and moving well, then I can still put some pressure on a lot of the guys in the draw. Q. I wonder what you thought ‑I'm sure you watched the French Open final ‑ what you currently think of Djokovic and Nadal and where they've taken the game? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, well, I commentated the Australian Open finals, so it's hard to beat that. It's very hard to beat that. Yeah, obviously to be in the last four major finals is an incredible achievement by both guys. But, yeah, I'm glad Rafa got over the line.  Mentally for him to come out when‑‑ you know, he's still the favorite to go out there and win it obviously again where he's been so dominant, but, yeah, mentally you would have a lot of demons in your head losing to that bloke in so many finals last year but also the last three majors. Yeah, it just goes to show you how tough Rafa is to come back after that Australian Open loss where he was a point away from winning that a few times, and to bounce back and win it like he did, you know, he's the best clay‑court player ever. Q. On the point of the wildcard, how long ago did you ask for it? When did they actually let you know that you had it? Obviously it was officially announced today, but how long have you known that you've got it? LLEYTON HEWITT: This morning. So I applied, I don't know, maybe a month ago, as soon as I knew that I was coming back from injury and was, you know, going to be able to play obviously Queen's and Wimbledon. Only found out officially this morning. Q. Obviously the last three or four years have been difficult for you, but you've clearly worked really hard all the way through that. What's been the motivation for you? Have you had a particular goal each time? LLEYTON HEWITT: Not really. Not any long‑term goals, no. There is obviously short‑term goals at different stages. Yeah, last year I was trying to work to obviously getting the boys back in the Davis Cup World Group, and we came awfully close to doing that. That's going to be another goal for the rest of this year, one of the main goals for the rest of this year. That's not going to be an easy ask again. Then, yeah, the others, obviously Wimbledon a priority for me and then the Olympics. Yeah, if I could play, yeah, anywhere in an Olympic Games outside of Australia, I couldn't think of a better place than London for me. It's pretty special. This would be my last Olympics. Yeah, to play on grass as well at Wimbledon is pretty special. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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