Lleyton Hewitt, Tennis Champ's Playing Style Was Baseline Play

Hewitt is known for his competitiveness and wins most of his matches with relentless aggression, fitness, consistent shots, and highly skilled footwork. Hewitt spent much time in the late stages of 2004 working with his former coach and good friend, Roger Rasheed, on bulking up his physique. His hard work paid off after he made it to the final of the 2005 Australian Open, before losing to Marat Safin in 4 sets (1–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4).

Tennis career

Born in Adelaide, South Australia, Lleyton Hewitt might well have followed in the footsteps of his Australian rules football-playing father Glynn. Instead, he became one of the youngest winners of an Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tournament when, as an almost unknown youngster, he won the 1998 Next Generation Adelaide International, defeating Andre Agassi in the semifinals. Only Aaron Krickstein winning Tel Aviv in 1983 and Michael Chang winning San Francisco in 1988 were younger when claiming their first ATP title.

In 2000, Hewitt won his first Grand Slam title when he and Max Mirnyi won the men's doubles championship at the US Open. Hewitt's first Grand Slam singles title was at the US Open in 2001, when he defeated then-four time champion Pete Sampras in straight sets.

He followed his US Open win with a victory at Wimbledon in 2002, defeating David Nalbandian in the final. His victory reinforced the idea that although the tournament had tended to be dominated by serve-and-volleyers, a baseliner like Hewitt or Agassi could still triumph on grass. (Hewitt was the first baseliner to win the tournament since Agassi did it ten years earlier.)

In 2003 as the defending champion, Lleyton Hewitt lost in the first round of Wimbledon to qualifier Ivo Karlovic. Hewitt became the first defending Wimbledon men's champion in the open era to lose in the first round. Only once before in the tournament's 126-year history had a defending men's champion lost in the opening round, when in 1967 Manuel Santana was beaten by Charles Pasarell. Hewitt also was only the third defending champion to lose in the first round of a Grand Slam singles tournament, after Boris Becker in the 1997 Australian Open and Patrick Rafter in the 1999 US Open.

After Wimbledon in 2003, Lleyton Hewitt lost in the final of the tournament in Los Angeles, the second round of the ATP Masters Series tournament in Montreal, and the first round of the ATP Masters Series tournament in Cincinnati. At the US Open, Hewitt lost in the quarterfinals to Juan Carlos Ferrero 4–6, 6–3, 7–6(5), 6–1. Hewitt played only Davis Cup matches for the remainder of the year, using his time off to bulk up, gaining 7 kgs.

In 2004, Hewitt became the first man in history to lose in each Grand Slam singles tournament to the eventual champion. At the Australian Open, he was defeated in the fourth round by Swiss Roger Federer. At the French Open, he was defeated in a quarterfinal by Argentine Gaston Gaudio. At Wimbledon, he was defeated in a quarterfinal by Federer. And at the US Open, he was defeated in the final by Federer, losing two out of the three sets at love.

At the year ending 2004 Tennis Masters Cup, Lleyton Hewitt defeated Andy Roddick to advance to the final but was yet again defeated by defending champion Federer.

In 2005, Lleyton Hewitt won his only title at the Sydney Medibank International. He reached his first Australian Open final by defeating World No. 2 Roddick, but was defeated by Marat Safin. At Wimbledon, he reached the semifinals, but lost to eventual champion Federer. Almost three months later, Hewitt again lost to Federer in the US Open semifinal, although this time he was able to take one set from the Swiss. Hewitt had at this point lost to the eventual champion at seven consecutive Grand Slam tournaments he played (he missed the 2005 French Open because of injury). Lleyton Hewitt pulled out of the Tennis Masters Cup tournament in Shanghai in November 2005 so that he could be with his wife Bec as the birth of his first child grew near. He was replaced by Gaston Gaudio.

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After a fairly frosty start to 2006, where Lleyton Hewitt was defeated in the second round of the Australian Open, his results improved after some time away from the tour. He reached the finals of the San Jose and Las Vegas tournaments, losing to British youngster Andy Murray and American James Blake, respectively. But he lost to Tim Henman 7–6(5), 6–3 in the second round of the Miami Masters, a player he had defeated eight times previously in as many matches. At the 2006 French Open, Lleyton Hewitt reached the fourth round where he lost to defending champion, and eventual winner, Rafael Nadal in four sets.

Hewitt won his first tournament of 2006 (after a 17 month hiatus from winning a tournament) when he beat Blake 6–4, 6–4 in the finals of the Queen's Club Championships.

This was his fourth title there, thereby equaling the records of John McEnroe and Boris Becker. During the 2006 Wimbledon Championships, Hewitt survived a five-set match against South Korea's Hyung-Taik Lee that was played over two days. He then defeated Olivier Rochus and David Ferrer before losing to Marcos Baghdatis in the quarterfinals. At the 2006 Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington D.C., Lleyton Hewitt was defeated by Arnaud Clement 7–6(1), 6–4 in a quarterfinal after defeating Vincent Spadea in the second round and Denis Gremelmayr in the third round. Hewitt participated at the 2006 US Open despite having an injured knee. Hewitt won his first three matches in straight sets against, respectively, Albert Montanes, Jan Hernych, and Novak Djokovic. He defeated Richard Gasquet 6–4, 6–4, 4–6, 3–6, 6–3 in the fourth round to advance to the quarterfinals for the seventh consecutive year. He then lost to Roddick 6–3, 7–5, 6–4.

At the 2007 Australian Open, Lleyton Hewitt lost in the third round to the tenth seeded Chilean and eventual runner-up Fernando Gonzalez 6–2, 6–2, 5–7, 6–4. With his win in Las Vegas in March 2007, Hewitt has won at least one ATP title annually for ten consecutive years. This was a record among active players at the time.

Lleyton Hewitt reached the 2007 Hamburg Masters semifinals, where he pushed eventual finalist Rafael Nadal to three sets. At the 2007 French Open, Hewitt, for the 2nd straight time at Roland Garros, lost in the 4th round to Rafael Nadal 6–3, 6–1, 7–6(5). At the 2007 Wimbledon Championships, Hewitt won his first three matches, including a four-set third round victory over Guillermo Cañas. He then faced 4th seed Novak Djokovic; in the fourth round which he lost 7–6, 7–6, 4–6, 7–6.

After Wimbledon, it was announced that he had hired former Australian tennis pro, Tony Roche, to coach him during Grand Slam and Masters tournaments in 2007 and 2008. At the Masters tournaments in Montréal and Cincinnati Hewitt reached the quarter- and semifinals, respectively. In both cases, he lost to Roger Federer.

He was seeded 16 at the 2007 U.S. Open, but for the first time in eight consecutive appearances at Flushing Meadows, he did not reach the quarterfinals or further. He lost in the second round to Argentine Agustín Calleri.

At the 2008 Australian Open, he advanced to the fourth round as the 19th seed, defeating 15th-seeded and 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis in a thrilling match, 4–6, 7–5, 7–5, 6–7 (4), 6–3. Destined to be his last win at the Australian Open, the 282 minute match started at 11:52pm and ended at 4:34am[8] the following morning, Melbourne time. It was a characteristically "gutsy" performance and cemented Hewitt's reputation as a tough competitor. Lleyton Hewitt lost his fourth round match in straight sets to the 3rd seeded and eventual champion Novak Đoković 7–5 6–3 6–3.

Despite his ongoing hip problem Lleyton Hewitt was able to compete at the Queens Club Championship with moderate success, falling to second seed Novak Djokovic in the Quarter Finals 2–6, 2–6. His good form continued into Wimbledon, Hewitt making the fourth round for the second successive year before facing world number 1 and first seed Roger Federer, a match that Federer took 7–6(7), 6–2, 6–4.

After Wimbledon Hewitt elected to miss the Montreal and Cincinnati Masters in an effort to give his hip sufficient rest to enable him to play at the 2008 Beijing Olympics where he defeated Jonas Björkman in the first round 7–5 7–6(7–2) before losing to second seed Rafael Nadal 6–1 6–2. However, the more notable incident in the Olympics occurred in Hewitt's opening round doubles match with Chris Guccione against Argentines Juan Monaco and Agustín Calleri. The match went to an advantage 3rd set with Lleyton Hewitt and Guccione prevailing 18–16.

After the Olympics due to the further damage Hewitt's hip sustained at the Olympics, he was left with no option but to pull out of the US open and skip the rest of the season to have hip surgery.

2008 was the first year since 1997 where Hewitt didn't win a title.

2009

After returning from hip surgery, Hewitt played his first match in 2009 at the Hopman Cup, where he defeated Nicolas Kiefer in three sets. Hewitt then participated in the Medibank International Sydney, winning his first two matches, but losing in the quarterfinals to David Nalbandian. Hewitt then went on to play in the 2009 Australian Open, where he was unseeded in a grand slam for the first time since 2000. He faced Fernando González in the first round and lost in five sets, 5–7, 6–2, 6–2, 3–6, 6–3.

At the tournament in Memphis he caused an upset in the first round by defeating James Blake in three sets, 3–6, 6–1, 6–4. He then defeated fellow Australian Chris Guccione in the second round 6–2, 7–6(4), and Christophe Rochus in the quarterfinals 6–2, 6–3. He faced Andy Roddick in the semifinals but lost in a close match 2–6, 7–6(4), 6–4. Hewitt then lost in the first round of Delray Beach to Yen-Hsun Lu, the eighth seed, 7–5, 2–6, 6–2. Hewitt also competed in the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, he reached the second round, being defeated by Fernando González.

At the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Hewitt played Israeli Dudi Sela in the first round. Hewitt lost the first set before recovering to win the match 3–6, 6–4, 6–3. Hewitt was then defeated by 7th seed Gilles Simon of France 6–1, 6–2.

At the 2009 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, Lleyton Hewitt defeated the number 7 seed Diego Junqueira 6–0, 6–2. Hewitt advanced to the quarter-finals after defeating Sergio Roitman 6–1, 6–3 in just 57 minutes, and defeated Guillermo Garcia Lopez 6–3, 6–4 to advance to the semi finals where he defeated Evgeny Korolev 7–6(4), 6–4. He defeated Wayne Odesnik in the final 6–2, 7–5, for his first title since 2007 and his first clay court title in a decade.

Hewitt entered the Monte Carlo Masters as a wild card. He lost in the first round 6–4, 7–5 to Marat Safin who lives in Monte Carlo. After missing his scheduled flight out of Houston due to his match being delayed by rain Hewitt was forced to arrive in Monte Carlo the afternoon of the match against Safin after a further 3 hour flight delay and was carrying a slight muscle tear. Hewitt admitted to running out of energy in the second set.

At the 2009 BMW Open, Hewitt recorded his 500th career win after defeating Philipp Petzschner in the first round, becoming one of only four active players to achieve this milestone; the others being Roger Federer and Carlos Moya. Andy Roddick would later achieve this feat at the 2009 Legg Mason Tennis Classic Tournament in Washington, D.C.

In the 2009 French Open, he defeated No.26 seed Ivo Karlović in five sets 6–7(1) 6–7(4) 7–6(4) 6–4 6–3 in the first round, and then defeated Andrey Golubev 6–4, 6–3, 6–1 in the second. He lost to No. 1 Rafael Nadal 6–1, 6–3, 6–1 in the third round.

Lleyton's next tournament was the 2009 AEGON Championships in London. He was the 15th seed and drew Eduardo Schwank in the first round, who he easily dispatched 6–1 6–0. In the second round he went 3 sets against Portugese Frederico Gil. Hewitt dropped the first set but went on to win 3–6 6–2 6–2. Former rival Andy Roddick awaited Lleyton in the third round, and the match certainly did not disappoint. As they have many times in the past, the former World Number 1 players battled through a tough and intense match, which Roddick ended up taking. Hewitt lost in a heartbreaking 7–6(4) 7–6(2).

In the 2009 Wimbledon Championships Hewitt faced the prospect of Rafael Nadal in the second round, however Nadal withdrew due to injury and his slot was replaced by World # 5 Juan Martin del Potro. Hewitt defeated American Robby Ginepri, 6–4 6–1 6–1 in the first round. Del Potro awaited Lleyton in the second round as expected. Hewitt used his strong service game to his advantage, losing only one service game the entire match. He upended Del Potro in straight sets, 6–3 7–5 7–5. The third round also produced a straight set victory for Hewitt, as he defeated Philipp Petzschner 7–5, 7–6(3), 6–3. He reversed a two set deficit to defeat Radek Stepanek in the fourth round 4–6 2–6 6–1 6–2 6–2. It was another classic Hewitt fightback to thrill the many Australians on hand to witness the match. His Cinderella run ended in the quarter-finals against #6 seed Andy Roddick. It was a 5 set thriller which featured two tiebreaks. Hewitt lost 3–6, 7–6 (10), 6–7 (1), 6–4, 4–6.[13] It was the first time Lleyton had reached the quarter-finals of a major since the 2006 U.S. Open.

After an extended break, Hewitt began working his way into the U.S Open series by playing in Washington at the Legg Mason Classic. There Lleyton Hewitt made it into the 3rd round before losing in a three set battle with Juan Martín del Potro, 6–4, 3–6, 6–7. At the Montreal Masters, Hewitt lost in the 1st round to former world number one, Juan Carlos Ferrero, 1–6, 4–6. Cincinnati saw Hewitt reach the quarter finals for the 6th time where he lost to Roger Federer in straight sets. During the 1st round of the tournament Hewitt showed his trademark fighting abilities by saving two match points to win against an in-form Robin Söderling. At the U.S Open, Hewitt progressed into the 3rd round where he played Federer for the 23rd time of their decade long rivalry. Hewitt managed to take the first set 6–4 off Federer, before the 15 time Grand Slam champion took control of the second. The third set was tight in which both players saved multiple break points. Federer eventually prevailed the match in four sets, 4–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–4.

In late September, Hewitt traveled to Malaysia for his first time to take part in the inaugural Malaysian Open held in Kuala Lumpur. The new tournament was part of the ATP's new dedicated 'Asian Swing' on the tennis circuit. Lleyton Hewitt lost 7–6, 6–3 in the first round to Swedish player Joachim Johansson. In Tokyo, Hewitt was drawn to once again meet Del Potro in the quarter finals, but was given a clear path when Del Potro was knocked out by qualifier Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the first round. After defeating Fabrice Santoro in the 2nd round, Hewitt downed Roger-Vasselin 6–4, 6–0 to reach his first semi-finals since winning the US Men's Clay Court Championships in April, but lost to Mikhail Youzhny 6–2 5–7 7–5. He then competed in the 2009 Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 where he won in the first round defeating John Isner 6–2 6–4, before losing to Gael Monfils 4–6 6–4 6–2.

2010

After some high intensity training in the off season, Hewitt began 2010 fitter and more bulked up in order to continue his push back up the rankings.

Hewitt began his 2010 season partnering Samantha Stosur at the Hopman Cup. The Australians were the top seeds for the exhibition tournament, however, fared worse than expected, losing ties against Romania and Spain and therefore failing to reach the final.

He was seeded fourth in the Medibank International and, like the previous year, reached the quarter finals, losing to Marcos Baghdatis. At the Australian Open he beat Baghdatis in the third round, after the Cypriot retired injured. He met Roger Federer in the fourth round and lost 6–2, 6–3, 6–4.

A week after his exit from the Australian Open, Hewitt announced at a press conference at Melbourne Park that he underwent another hip operation similar to his left hip operation this time on his right hip on 28 January 2010 in Hobart.

Hewitt returned to the tour at the US Men's Claycourt Championships as the singles defending champion. He won his first match since the Australian Open, partnering coach Nathan Healey in the doubles, defeating James Cerretani and Adil Shamasdin 7-6 7-5. In the quarterfinals, they defeated Denis Istomin and Alessandro Motti 6-4 7-6, however, lost to top seeds the Bryan brothers in the semifinals 6-2 7-6. Hewitt received a first round bye, as he was seeded 4th in the singles. In his first match, against lucky loser Somdev Devvarman, Hewitt dropped the first set before battling to win in three sets, 1-6 6-0 7-6. He then lost to Juan Ignacio Chela 6-4 6-3. Hewitt's next tournament was scheduled to be the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters however withdrew due to a recurring injury.

Davis Cup

Hewitt was a part of the Australian Davis Cup Team that won the Davis Cup in 1999 and 2003 and reached the final in 2000 and 2001. By the age of 22, he had recorded more wins in Davis Cup singles than any other Australian player.

In 2003, Lleyton Hewitt led the Australian team to victory when he defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero in the opening rubber 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 7–6, 6–2.

In the 2006 quarter-finals in Melbourne, Lleyton Hewitt defeated Belarusian Vladimir Voltchkov 6–2, 6–1, 6–2 in just 91 minutes. Voltchkov said before the match that "Hewitt has no weapons to hurt me." Hewitt responded, "Voltchkov doesn't have a ranking [of 457] to hurt me." In the semi-finals in Buenos Aires on clay, Hewitt lost to Argentine Jose Acasuso 1–6, 6–4, 4–6, 6–2, 6–1.

In February 2007, Australia led by Hewitt won in the first round to Belgium in Belgium on clay. Hewitt beat the then World No. 41 Kristof Vliegen, and his teammate Chris Guccione also won his first singles match. Although Hewitt won both his doubles match with Paul Hanley and singles match against Olivier Rochus to get Australia back in contention, Guccione could not prevent an Australian first round entry, their first since 2004.

Coaches

Darren Cahill, Peter Smith, Jason Stoltenberg, Roger Rasheed and Tony Roche are all former coaches of Hewitt, who is currently coached by Nathan Healy.
World ranking

On 19 November 2001, Lleyton Hewitt became the youngest male ever to be ranked World number one (20 years old). He stayed No. 1 until 28 April 2003, a streak of 75 weeks.

After two weeks ranked second, he returned to No. 1 for five weeks. Since then, his highest ranking has been No. 2. As of 14 April 2008, Hewitt is world No. 20.

Davis Cup

Lleyton Hewitt was a part of the Australian Davis Cup Team that won the Davis Cup in 1999 and 2003 and reached the final in 2000 and 2001. By the age of 22, he had recorded more wins in Davis Cup singles than any other Australian player.

In 2003, Hewitt led the Australian team to victory when he defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero in the opening rubber 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 7–6, 6–2.

In the 2006 quarterfinals in Melbourne, Lleyton Hewitt defeated Belarusian Vladimir Voltchkov 6–2, 6–1, 6–2 in just 91 minutes. Voltchkov said before the match that "Hewitt has no weapons to hurt me." Hewitt responded, "Voltchkov doesn't have a ranking [of 457] to hurt me." In the semifinals in Buenos Aires on clay, Hewitt lost to Argentine Jose Acasuso 1–6, 6–4, 4–6, 6–2, 6–1.

In February 2007, Australia led by Lleyton Hewitt lost in the first round to Belgium in Belgium on clay. Hewitt lost to then World No. 41 Kristof Vliegen, and his teammate Chris Guccione also lost his first singles match. Although Hewitt won both his doubles match with Paul Hanley and singles match against Olivier Rochus to get Australia back in contention, Guccione could not prevent an Australian first round exit, their first since 2004.

Playing style

Lleyton Hewitt is a defensive baseline counterpuncher. He typically likes to stay back towards the baseline during a rally and will usually approach the net only to catch a short reply or drop shot from his opponent. His tactics typically involve putting difficult return of serve in play, consistently chasing down attempted winning shots from his opponent, and waiting for his opponent to make an error.

Although he is known primarily as a baseline defender, Lleyton Hewitt is actually a skilled volleyer and is known for having one of the best overhead smashes in the game. He also has underrated variety in his shots and will occasionally use a drop shot or drop volley to win a point. His signature shot however is the offensive topspin lob, a shot that he executes efficiently off both wings when his opponent approaches the net. US Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe and Jim Courier have both described Hewitt's lob as being the best in the world.

However the area which has plagued Lleyton Hewitt his whole career and has prevented him from achieving further success is his serve. The main problem with Hewitt's serve is that it is very flat and this does not give him much margin for error. Hewitt height also means that he hits his serve with a lower projectile and this reduces his serve's effectiveness. Also, Hewitt's inability to hit a consistent 'kick' serve (rather he opts for a faster, riskier, slice serve) on his second serve often leads to him hitting numerous double faults. An interesting fact about Hewitt's serve is that he has an odd tendency to look at his opponent right before making impact with the ball on his serve.

Lleyton Hewitt is known for his tenacity. More than once, he has been close to losing a match in straight sets only to come back and win. For example, in the 2003 Davis Cup semifinal against Switzerland in Melbourne, Australia, Roger Federer had match points in the third set. Hewitt came back to win 5–7, 2–6, 7–6(4), 7–5, 6–1.

Lleyton Hewitt is a huge fan of the Rocky films. In his junior years, he was often heard saying "Come on Balboa" after winning crucial points in his matches. As a senior player, he is still heard shouting "Come on" at turning points during matches, often simultaneously pointing his fingers at his face for added effect.

Controversies

In a five set match with James Blake at the 2001 US Open, Lleyton Hewitt complained to umpire Andres Egli and asked for a black linesman to be moved after being called for two foot-faults in the third set. "Look at him," Hewitt said, gesturing at the linesman. He approached the chair umpire and, pointing first to the offending linesman and then to Blake, said,"Look at him and you tell me what the similarity is." Some witnesses, including Blake, had suggested that the "similarity" referred to the colour shared by James Blake and the linesman. Hewitt claimed he had merely pointed out that the same linesman had foot-faulted him on both occasions, while other officials had made no such calls.

During the 2001 French Open he was fined US$1000 for calling the chair umpire, Andreas Egli, a "spastic." Hewitt denied this.

Lleyton Hewitt blamed his losses at the 2005 and 2006 Australian Open on uncooperative maintenance of the courts by the tournament directors. "I don't think there's been a lot of homework done on how the balls play on this surface," he said. "Mate, it could be slower than the French Open." Hewitt was disappointed that the organisers had ignored his concerns about the courts. "I feel like I'm fighting with people that we should be working together to try and make Australian tennis better," he said. Since then, long-time Australian Open chief executive Paul McNamee has resigned, leaving new tournament director Craig Tiley to confirm that the main aim for 2007 was to provide "uniformity and consistency" when the stadium's match and practice courts were resurfaced in November 2006. The courts will be as fast as they were in the second week of the 2006 tournament, which should suit Hewitt's game better.

Lleyton Hewitt is disliked by some Pro Tour players. Mary Carillo said: “He makes guys crazy, they try hard to ignore him, but he’s always barking on the other side of the net.” In his 2005 Australian Open match against Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela, Hewitt angered his opponent by his celebration of an unforced error, to the point where Chela served directly at Hewitt, and spat at him during the changeover.

In 2006 Lleyton Hewitt was nominated by GQ Magazine as one of the '10 Most Hated Athletes' in Sport . That year, he also came under criticism from Australian child psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg for exploiting his child during the 2006 Logie AwardsNiclas Kroon, who describes himself as having introduced the famous "vicht" salute to world tennis, is outraged that Lleyton Hewitt has adopted his trademark salute and stands to make millions of dollars from it. However, in a perfect demonstration of the pot calling the kettle black, Kroon himself adopted the idea from Joshua Wilson after seeing him play at a regional tennis centre, in Traralgon Australia. Kroon used his sporting fortune to buy the rights to the gesture, stealing it from an unwilling Wilson who, on a student salary, could not afford to buy the rights himself. Similarly, Hewitt is understood to have bought the rights to the distinctive celebratory gesture behind the back of Kroon, after the former Swedish pro inadvertently let it lapse. Kroon, along with former No.1 Mats Wilander, held the rights from 1988 and often used the signal whenever they won a point or game. Broadly meaning "for sure", it is now widely used by athletes from other sports, including swimmer Grant Hackett. "I wish he had called me first," Kroon said from his home in Houston, Texas. "I don't know what to say. It's all about business and making money. I'm so sick and tired of shit like that."

Awards

• 2001 – ATP Player of the Year
• 2001 – Most Popular South Australian
• 2002 – ATP Player of the Year
• 2002 – Australia's Male Athlete
• 2002 – ESPY Best Male Tennis Player
• 2003 – Young Australian of the Year
• 2003 – Vogue Australia Sportsman of the Year
• 2003 – Most Popular South Australian

Personal life

Lleyton Hewitt is a keen supporter of Australian rules football, having played the game earlier in his career and is no.1 ticket holder for the Adelaide Crows. He once had a friendship with Crows star Andrew McLeod, but this broke down over much public controversy.

Lleyton Hewitt had a four-year relationship with highly-ranked Belgian tennis player Kim Clijsters. The two announced their engagement just before Christmas 2003 but separated in October 2004, in effect canceling a planned February 2005 wedding.

Shortly after losing the final of the 2005 Australian Open, Hewitt proposed to Australian actress Bec Cartwright on 30 January after they had been dating for six weeks. They married on 21 July 2005. Their first child, a daughter named Mia Rebecca Hewitt, was born on 29 November 2005.

Lleyton Hewitt is currently sponsored by the Japanese sports manufacterer Yonex, with whom he signed a "Head to Toe" deal with in late 2005. Yonex provides all of Hewitt's clothing, racquets, shoes and accessories. Hewitt's Yonex shoes (SHT-306) are inscribed with his nickname "Rusty" along with an image of an Australian flag. As of 7 August 2007, his first appearance with a new racquet at the Montreal Masters, Hewitt used to use the Yonex RQiS Tour-1. He now uses the RDS 001 2008 model. His previous racquet, the Yonex RDS 001 Mid also featured his nickname on the throat of the racquet.

Source of this Lleyton Hewitt article: Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia