Lleyton Hewitt Quotes

"That's what you do all the hard work for, to play in situations that put your body through gruelling times. If you're not up to it, pull out."
-- Lleyton Hewitt on the grueling heat at the Aussie Open.

"Grand Slams are funny things. You have to try to find a way to get through the first week and put yourself in a position in the second week. A lot of strange things happen."
-- Lleyton Hewitt putting the hex on Roger Federer, addressing the Swiss winning another Wimbledon title in 2006.

"It doesn't suit Australian tennis players. It's disappointing to have no impact at all. They always say it's going to be done and nothing happens."
-- Lleyton Hewitt on his frustration with Tennis Australia over the slow and sticky Rebound Ace surface at the Australian Open.

"No, I wouldn't wear it. I wouldn't wear it. But it made it a lot easier for me to beat him today."
-- Lleyton Hewitt on Dominik Hrbaty's pink shirt with the holes on the back.

"I'm an outside chance at Roland Garros but my focus is really on Wimbledon where it is realistically between me and Roger Federer to win."
-- Lleyton Hewitt. Huh? Were you in the final last year and we missed it? Or the year before?

"Ten minutes? That's the women. It's not for the men; not for the real game, mate."
-- Lleyton Hewitt when asked if Andy Roddick's 10-minute bathroom break in their match at the Australian Open exceeded the limit.

"I don't know. Haven't I always been mature?"
-- Lleyton Hewitt, when asked if he had matured in his time since the break-up with former fiancee Kim Clijsters. The same Lleyton Hewitt whose standard on-court demeanor resembles a petulant 12-year-old in his first junior final?

"Maybe if you're playing in London or America, you don't feel that pressure quite as much."
-- Lleyton Hewitt's choke-insightful comment after losing at the Australian Open in 2003.

"I think I was as mentally tough as I've ever been. I felt like I handled the situation both on and off the court extremely well. I felt like I needed to."
-- Lleyton Hewitt on his break-up with Kim Clijsters.

"I can definitely beat him, yeah. But it's not going to be easy and I think I know as well as anyone he's definitely the man to beat at the moment."
-- Lleyton Hewitt on Roger Federer, who he has lost his last six matches against, including five bagel sets. Yeah, maybe he'll twist an ankle.

"He's already made a few comments to me in the locker room. He's not gonna get me a Christmas present. He reckons that was mine today, so..."
-- Lleyton Hewitt after beating his sister's boyfriend Joachim "Pim-Pim" Johansson at the US Open.

"He's up there. But (Marat) Safin, on his game, is as hard to beat. And Andy Roddick has that huge serve. A lot of guys can beat you if you're slightly off your game."
-- Lleyton Hewitt, refusing to acknowledge Roger Federer as the best in the game.

"I don't really know why Pat is playing doubles. It is good in a way I suppose but in another way people will get to see him briefly and then he will just disappear again."
-- Lleyton Hewitt on Pat Rafter's doubles comeback.

"(Andy Roddick's) a different kind of guy. I don't spend a lot of time with him. His coach in the past (Tarik Benhabiles), I didn't have a lot of time for at all. He was a bigger problem than Andy."
-- Lleyton Hewitt while practicing for the Davis Cup.

"There were a lot of quotes from ATP representatives that were just lies, basically. That was the biggest problem I had about the whole thing: People who had absolutely nothing to do with it and had no idea about the situation and in the end were just pretty much lying."
-- Lleyton Hewitt talking to the Cincinnati Enquirer about those lying ATP employees.

"Grand Slams are different. If you can get through a few matches, the draw opens up and you get confident. You just need a little bit of luck early, you get through those opening matches and you never know what could happen."
-- Lleyton Hewitt on how his game is going to magically turn around (see: Pete Sampras) at the US Open.

"Maybe I have to work a bit harder on clay. It's a challenge and I've always liked challenges. Whether I will ever win the French and master playing on clay, who knows? But I'll give it a shot." -- Lleyton Hewitt, not overconfident about beating the Spanish Armada to the French title.

"I wanted to work towards the four majors and the Davis Cup. I know to a lot of people it may not mean too much, but to me (Davis Cup) means an awful lot." -- Lleyton Hewitt.

"I feel like when I'm match tough and match hard and played a lot of matches I got that competitive winning spirit going and I can get on some rolls like I did last year. I won San Jose, Indian Wells and made the semifinals in Miami so it can happen for me." -- Lleyton Hewitt on his plan for dominating the spring hardcourt circuit.

"Obviously since winning Wimbledon half way through the year, it was fantastic, and that was just a dream come true. And then, from there on I really wanted to consolidate my spot at number one and try and finish back-to-back years at number one. I put everything into that in the last two weeks of the year and I was able to play some of my best tennis. Obviously (now) the Australian Open is one of the closest to my heart, tournament-wise, and I feel like there's no reason why I can't do well there. I feel pretty fit at the moment. I've put in a lot of time on the practice court and a lot of time in the gym as well grinding it out in the last two-and-a-half weeks. I'm as hungry as anyone...I feel like I've been a bit unlucky the last couple of years. Obviously last year with chicken pox, and the year before I had an extremely tough draw the first three matches. You need a little bit of luck in grand slams, and if I get that I feel like I have a good chance of doing well." -- Lleyton Hewitt on being No. 1 approaching the Australian Open

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