|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
ROLAND GARROSMay 27, 2014Lleyton HewittPARIS, FRANCE C. BERLOCQ/L. Hewitt THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please. Q. You played well in the first set, but you were not able to keep that level in the next sets. LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it was always going to be a tough match and I was going to have to go out there and try and be aggressive. The first set I did that well, but it's a very fine line how aggressive to play, especially in conditions like today, really slow and heavy out there, and he can obviously get a lot of balls back. I was going to make some errors out there, but I still feel like that was my best shot at winning. Q. How do you feel and how your body is reacting? How many seasons do you feel you have left in you? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, my body feels fine at the moment, which is good. Yeah, obviously I started really well winning Brisbane, and then, yeah, only played a couple more tournaments on hard court after that, and obviously didn't play that much on clay, whereas my least favorite surface. Coming onto the grass now. The grass, preparing for Wimbledon, and then obviously the U.S. hard courts, leading into the US Open, is, you know, where I'd like to play my best tennis. Q. Talking to Venus Williams, and you and her having similar generations in terms of when you come up on the tour. She was saying she still, even though results haven't been quite the same as they were ten years ago, still goes into every tournament thinking she can win and you can catch lightning in a bottle on some level. Do you still think that when you show up to, maybe not the French, but when you get to Wimbledon in three weeks that things can click and magic can still happen? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I feel especially at Wimbledon there is not as many guys that have a realistic articular shot, and, you know, guys that can go out there and compete against the top guys who possibly can win the tournament. I think I'm one of those guys who can go out there and push those guys. If I, yeah, execute everything, and my ball striking, yeah, I'm feeling pretty good about it at the moment again. So that's one area that, going straight onto the grass gives me a lot of confidence. Yeah, with Wimbledon coming up that's obviously the next main focus. Q. One question about your Davis Cup teammate, Tomic, he's playing now, but I think he's lost the first two sets quickly. Just your thoughts on his season and progress and what you think the near future will hold for him. LLEYTON HEWITT: There's nothing much to talk about his season. He obviously hasn't been able to play too much. You know, I know what it's like to come back from two hip operations. I had mine at different times. He obviously had them, his basically at the same time, very close together. It's not an easy thing to come back from. Yeah, he obviously tried coming back too early on the hard court season in Miami. But then even the clay, it took me a little while to push through that and get your confidence back in your movement. I'm sure ‑‑ you know, my movement is obviously different to Bernie, but it's not going to happen overnight. But from what I saw in Madrid, he was serving really well, which is obviously one of the big keys for him, I think, moving forward. Yeah, he'll feel a lot better on the grass. Q. You two carry yourselves very differently. You have a lot more visible sort of fire when you play. Is it hard for you to relate to him almost and his mode of operating as being pretty much 180 from yours? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, but there is a lot of guys who have been totally different than me and I have played Davis Cup with them and stuff. I think with Bernie and I on the same Davis Cup team for a few years now I understand him a lot better, anyway. I feel like I'm probably one of the closest guys on the team to him now anyway. We practice a lot together at normal tournaments. And, yeah, it's a tough little time for him at the moment. He's got to try and find a way through it, and I have no doubt he'll be back up there, though. Q. What's the biggest thing you take out of a match like today looking ahead to the next phase of the season? LLEYTON HEWITT: Probably my ball striking, I think. I was pretty happy with how I hit the ball. Return serve well. My net play was fantastic. You know, I came in on the right balls. Occasionally lost a couple, but I felt like, you know, my volleying, that was really good today. I think moving forward obviously for the grass is such a key aspect of the grass. So, yeah, it's obviously disappointing right now, but, you know, there are positives. My body feels good and I played over three hours and I feel like I could keep playing. Yeah, there is a few positives. Q. A question about football. Do you follow soccer? LLEYTON HEWITT: Soccer? Yeah, a little bit. Q. Can you give me a quick outlook on the Socceroos for the World Cup? What do you think they can do? LLEYTON HEWITT: We're definitely the underdogs, that's for sure. Yeah, I was in South America end of last year when they did the World Cup draw, and I don't think it was too favorable for us (smiling). But then again, I think that's a good position for us to be in. I think our coach is very good. He's done really well in their local competition. And I know Tim Cahill a little bit, and he's a fantastic leader. Hopefully he can score a few goals for us. Q. Can you give me a result prediction for Australia versus Holland? LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know. I'm not sure. I'd be a brave man to say we beat you, but I think we will be pretty aggressive and try and take it to you. See what happens. Q. And the results? LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know. We'll win just on heart. Q. By three goals? LLEYTON HEWITT: I hope so. 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
|