|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
CHINA OPENSeptember 30, 2013Lleyton HewittBEIJING, CHINA L. HEWITT/T. Haas THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please. Q. How did you put up with the pollution? Did it affect your performance in any way in terms of breathing, et cetera? LLEYTON HEWITT: No, it was fine. To me it was the same as the last couple days. I been practicing here anyway, so, yeah, I felt fine out there. No complaints. Q. The last time you guys played was in 2004. How has your playing styles changed in nearly a decade apart? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, we've both had a lot of injury issues since then. The most part of our games haven't changed, our strengths. Obviously he's always been a great ball‑striker. When he's on, he's very tough to beat, but he's a little bit hit and miss as well. And that's how he was tonight. But he's a quality player. Probably tries to come in and be a bit more aggressive than he has in the past, I would say. But, yeah, it's still always a tough battle when I play against him. Q. Does seeing someone at his age be so successful inspire you to keep going at all? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I don't know if I'll be around when I'm 35, but it's great for Tommy. I'm really happy for him. I saw him a few years ago Halle after a couple of his surgeries, and he was really struggling. I thought it was probably the end for him then. The way that he's fought back and got his body in great shape, good on him. He's missed a lot of tennis in his career with injuries and surgeries. Q. Early in the second set you guys had four straight breaks to open, and he was really reading your serve well; you the same. How are you able to kind of break through that and get back on track with your serve? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I think he was a bit frustrated after losing that tiebreak in the first set, so the start the second set he was kind of ‑‑ the ball was always in his court in terms of he was just taking it to me. Yeah, I would either go in for a clean winner or he would make an error. So I was just trying to be more solid and play percentage tennis out there. In the end, I was lucky I could keep breaking back every time I got broken. I was able to consolidate the break when I went up 4‑2. Q. During the match you kept looking at the direction of your coach. What are you trying to get from him? Pep talk or not? LLEYTON HEWITT: No, I guess some players look at their coach and support crew more than others. Yeah, it's more just I guess positive energy and using it in the right way. Obviously you have a game plan to go out there and execute. By him just nodding or clapping, you know, I guess we're working in the right direction. Q. Also, do you happen to know you have a lot of fans here, especially girls? LLEYTON HEWITT: Oh, yeah? Q. How do you like it? LLEYTON HEWITT: It's all right. I'm a bit older now and I'm married, so... Q. After the US Open you go all the way to Poland to play the Davis Cup. Is winning being the Davis Cup trophy a goal at this stage of your career? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I don't know. Obviously I would love to win it again. The most important thing for me was to try and get Australia back in the World Group. That's been one of my biggest goals the last two or three years. I feel like all my preparation and how I played the US Open was perfect preparation going into the Davis Cup against Poland. I went out there and played great there on clay. I feel like we've got a pretty young and inexperienced team apart from myself, and so I feel like there are times when I can help the younger guys out. Hopefully then Tomic, Kyrgios, Matosevic, these guys build on that when I do hang up the racquets. Q. You had some great wins in China, especially in Shanghai. This year you play both in Beijing Shanghai with wildcards. Talk about some of those memories. LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it's hard to beat 2002 Master's Cup. Yeah, I was going into it and I could have lost my No. 1 ranking if I didn't do really well in the Masters Cup that year at the end of the year. You know, it was tough field. I had to beat Marat Safin in the last round robin match to get through to the semifinals. I beat him 6‑4 in the third. Then I had to play Federer who was undefeated in the semifinals. He won all his group matches, and I beat him 7‑5 in the third, and then had to back up and play Ferrero. That was 6‑3 or 6‑4 in the fifth. So physically it was an unbelievable effort to claim the No. 1 ranking yet again at the end of the year. Yeah, an amazing achievement to hold it for a whole year as well. Obviously Shanghai means a lot to me. Obviously got a lot of fans from the way that I played back then. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|