Driving hard ... ''I feel like I'll be a more dangerous floater than a lot of guys would think,'' Lleyton Hewitt, pictured at the Hopman Cup, says of the Australian Open field. Photo: Getty Images
Lleyton Hewitt tells Linda Pearce he does not plan to slow down.
LLEYTON Hewitt insists this will not be his last Australian Open. That he will go at a time of his choosing, unless his recalcitrant body makes its own call. But if this is not the end, the finish line is near. So is Hewitt conscious of the legacy he will leave? How he would like to be remembered when his fine career is done?
''I guess as someone who obviously got the most out of themselves, and I think everyone's going to know that I gave 100 per cent every time I stepped out on the court - and especially playing for Australia as well,'' the former No.1 and dual grand slam champion said at the Hopman Cup.
''It's something that takes a lot out of you to come back home for Davis Cup ties all the time, and that's something that I pride myself on, and one of the main reasons why I'd like to have some involvement in Davis Cup in the future; purely because I feel like I've been so passionate about it and made a lot of sacrifices to play Davis Cup over the years.''
Does he think he will be remembered fondly? ''I don't know. Depends what you guys write.''
Does he care? ''Not really. [But] it's always nice to, I guess, be liked, or well liked, and [for] people to appreciate what you've done. Cricket's always playing for your country; a lot of other sports it's always playing for your nation, whereas tennis is a very individual sport a lot of the time.
''But the support that I've had every time I've stepped on the court at the Australian Open … 2005 sort of said it all for me, the buzz that I got, and the TV rating for that final is possibly the highest [for a] sports show or something. It's quite amazing, really, for a one-off sport, not an actual team event or an Olympics or a lot of other things. So there's a lot of things that I can be proud of.''
It is, indeed, an impressive list. The 2001 US Open title. Wimbledon, most famously of all, in 2002. Career titles - 28, including at least one each year (other than 2008) since his astonishing Adelaide breakthrough in 1998, aged just 16. All those youngest-ever records, including 80 weeks at No.1. A place in two winning Davis Cup teams, and more wins (44 in singles and doubles, recently passing Adrian Quist) than any other Australian man. And still to be continued.
''This won't be my last Australian Open, but apart from that, I haven't really thought about it too much,'' he said. ''Unless something drastic happens to my body that absolutely tells you that you've got to stop playing or whatever, I'd still like a few more years.
''I put in the hard yards, I'm still motivated, I still enjoy going into the gym and doing the hard slog when there are no crowds around and the adrenalin's not there. I can still get myself out of bed early and go and do that, and as long as that's still there and I'm passionate about it, I'll keep playing while I still feel like I can improve as well. To have a guy like [coach Tony Roche] backing you, and having that belief, that gives me a lot of belief as well.''
And yet, after another injury-ravaged season highlighted by the monstrous upset of nemesis Roger Federer in the Halle final but blighted by hip and knee surgery and then damaged hand ligaments that kept him out of the last two months of the year, Hewitt is now ranked 54th in the world. He will not be seeded for his 15th Australian Open but reduced to ''dangerous floater'' status, even as he insists he will be more perilous than most.
The 29-year-old South Australian is not sure if there will be a light bulb moment when his time is up.
''I really don't know. I think a lot of people are different in the way that retirement comes into their mind … The fortunate thing for me is that as long as my body holds up, then I can go out on my terms.''
Motivation is easier in some respects, given the incessant ticking of the clock, but there are some days when he doesn't quite bounce out of bed like the precocious 17-year-old he once was. Then again, Hewitt claims that his training load in recent months is unmatched by a rival of any age. ''And I've been able to bounce back every day,'' he says, with some satisfaction. ''There's a lot of time and hard work and effort, discipline and sacrifices you've got to make to be able to do that.''
Hewitt undoubtedly continues to make them. Coach and commentator Josh Eagle, who will start working with Hewitt and Roche this week, sees no sign of Hewitt's commitment waning. ''He's unbelievably professional,'' says Eagle, a former Davis Cup squad mate. ''He leaves no stone unturned and you've got to admire that, because at his age, after what he's achieved, people might say he's maybe not that into it. But from what I saw and experienced, it was the complete opposite.''
Since Hewitt began, he has played only one Australian Open singles match off Rod Laver Arena - the very first, as a 15-year-old qualifier against Sergi Bruguera in 1997. The man with a phenomenal memory for matches, opponents and statistics says modestly that he recalls his debut ''reasonably well'', having been competitive against the former French Open champion without winning a set.
If he could win one more title, it would be Wimbledon, again, and the grasscourts of SW19 still provide his best chance for an unlikely third slam. As for the Australian Open, much will depend on the draw, for he could meet a wildcard in the first round, or he could meet Federer or Nadal. He can still talk a good game, though. ''I'm not worried about too many guys out there; I feel like I'll be a more dangerous floater than a lot of guys would think.''
John Newcombe is among those who believe Hewitt is paying for the busy times of a decade ago, when the No.1 was contesting Masters Cup and Davis Cup finals until late each year, clocking up miles on a body that has proved not to be as resilient as his mind.
Hewitt sees his point but would not change a thing. So is there anything he would alter? The fact, perhaps, that having seen off Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, he played the second half of his career in the shadow of the Federer-Nadal duopoly, when grand slams for mere mortals have proved so hard to win?
''I was in between eras, I guess,'' he reflects. ''I felt that my game was probably at some times suited better to beating guys like Sampras and Agassi. But I don't know what I'd change. I would have liked to have won the 2005 Australian Open. The 2001 Davis Cup final, I would have liked to have won that one as well. And there's small matches here and there, but as a whole it's not too bad.''
The Lleyton Hewitt file
Born: February 24, 1981, in Adelaide
Career record: 542 wins, 193 losses
Prizemoney: $US18,843,702
World ranking: 54
Highest ranking: 1
Grand slam titles: 2001 US Open, 2002 Wimbledon Runner-up: 2004 US Open, 2005 Australian Open
ATP career titles: 28
Masters Cup titles: 2 (2001, 2002)
Davis Cup record: 44 wins, 29 singles wins (both most by an Australian)
Doubles career titles: 2
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