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ADELAIDE, Nov 19: Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt, who retained his year-end world number one title in China last week, arrived home Tuesday saying this year’s top ranking was more meaningful because of the obstacles he had to overcome.
“A lot of people would have written me off at the start of the year after having chicken pox and after playing in the Australian Open but being unable to perform at my peak,” Hewitt told a news conference at Adelaide airport on Tuesday.
“That was a big setback and I was really disappointed after that. But after I got into contention for the number one then I put the rest of the year into gunning for that.
“I thought that would be a great achievement, going back-to-back. It was more satisfying in some ways this year, because I felt I overcame more obstacles to get it.
Hewitt said he planned to rest and spend time with friends in his home city of Adelaide in South Australia before preparing for the Australian Open in Melbourne in January.
The slightly-built 21-year-old, who weighs 68 kilograms, said he had not felt fully fit for several months and his ability to overcome a viral complaint was not helped by constant travel.
“I sort of just hit the wall after Wimbledon (in July). I took a few weeks off but probably shouldn’t have played in Toronto where I lost in the first round.
“Somehow I was able to win a few matches in Cincinnati and just tried to ride the wave of winning some matches and be match tough for the rest of the year.”
Hewitt arrived in Adelaide flanked by his girlfriend, Belgian player Kim Clijsters, who upset world number one Serena Williams to win the WTA Championships in Los Angeles earlier this month.
He won his second Tennis Masters Cup with victory over Spain’s Juan Carlos Ferrero in Shanghai on Sunday after clinching the season-ending world number one ranking earlier in the tournament.
Hewitt, the reigning Wimbledon champion and the winner of the 2001 U.S. Open, is aiming to become the first home player to win the Australian Open men’s singles crown since Mark Edmondson in 1976.
He went into this year’s Australian Open suffering from the effects of chicken pox and lost in the first round to Spain’s Alberto Martin.Dokic hiding from her past: Australia chief
GOLD COAST (Australia): Jelena Dokic is hiding from her past by not playing in next year’s Australian Open, Tennis Australia (TA) president Geoff Pollard said.
The world number nine confirmed earlier this month she would not play in January’s Open, the season’s first grand slam tournament, because she did not feel welcome in the country where she lived for six years.
Australia’s top-ranked women’s player until a bitter row with the Australia media drove her back to her native Yugoslavia last year, Dokic said it would be an unnecessary risk to play in the Melbourne tournament.
Her father Damir had repeated run-ins with Australian media and tennis officials, including Damir’s claim in 2001 that the draw was rigged against her daughter.—Reuters
