Lleyton Hewitt’s interview after his loss against Janko Tipsarevic
Q. I think we could tell by your reaction afterwards, that was a hard one for you to swallow. Give us your impressions of how it went for you.
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I could have easily been up two sets to love. I fought really hard through the first set. I had 6 5, Love 30. In the second set I had 3 Love, served for it at 5 4.
Yeah, against quality players, you got to take those chances obviously. But, yeah, to his credit, he raised his level and played some great points. The start of the tiebreak, I didn’t do a whole heap wrong. He served big when he needed to to get out of trouble.
Yeah, towards the end of the second set, it was more just trying to weather the storm and hang in there more than anything. Even the start of the third set, went down an early break, fought back. He played a couple of good points to break me late in the third.
Q. What did you think of your own level?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I was pretty happy with my ball striking. Moved pretty well. Yeah, just frustrated with the result.
Q. Do nights and occasions like this still keep you eager?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I don’t know right at the moment. Yeah, obviously it’s so soon after the match. But, you know, frustration, disappointment. They’re obviously the first feelings.
Yeah, more so when you put in all the hard yards, you do all the right things. Yeah, I feel like I hit the ball reasonably well for the match. I didn’t play a poor standard match. He just played too well on the big points.
Q. To play attacking tennis seemed to be your game plan.
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I don’t know. I wasn’t gonna just sit back and let him dictate play obviously. He’s such a good ball striker. Even when I did attack, he came up with some unbelievable passing shots. First point of the tiebreak, he came up with the point to get the mini break there. That gave him a bit of confidence to finish off that tiebreak.
Yeah, to come back in the second set, yeah, I didn’t do a whole heap wrong. I felt like I came in on the right balls. Yeah, his scrambling and passing shots from out of position were exceptional tonight.
Q. From the double break in the second set, to what degree did you drop a little bit or did he come up with stuff?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it wasn’t a lot of me dropping. I think he was sort of borderline just going for everything at 3 Love. He came off to get the first break back. Then at 5 4, he just got confident and got hot, you know, for three or four points there. I was 30 15 up. Yeah, he played three or four good points in a row to get the break back.
Q. May be a little bit of an irrelevance, but were you unhappy when he delayed on a couple of challenges?
LLEYTON HEWITT: There was only one. For one, he played the shot anyway on a return that wasn’t by no means too fast for him. I don’t think it was just a reaction straight to the umpire to challenge. He’d missed the shot and then decided to challenge.
Q. Do you feel you gave everything you had during the match?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I gave a hundred percent, so…
Q. Is he an underrated player, do you think?
LLEYTON HEWITT: If he plays like that all the time, he is. I don’t think he does play like that all the time.
Q. You think he rose to the occasion a bit tonight?
LLEYTON HEWITT: He played as well as he could play, there’s no doubt about it. Yeah, he’s only won four titles. There’s not too many guys in the top 10 consistently that have only won four titles. So there’s something missing there.
But, yeah, I’ve seen him play big matches against Andy Roddick at Wimbledon. Obviously, he came really close a few years back to beating Roger here. I think he beat Andy as well in the US Open at a night match.
He’s a quality player, there’s no doubt about it; otherwise he wouldn’t be in the top 10. But for him to stay in the top 10, he has to play that level week in and week out.
Q. He’s 27, 28. Why do you think he’s taken that long to get to the top 10?
LLEYTON HEWITT: No idea. I don’t know. I don’t know him at all, so I wouldn’t have a clue.
Q. What did your level today leave you feeling for the rest of the season?
LLEYTON HEWITT: As I said, I was happy with my ball striking. My movement was good. Yeah, the quality of baseline points out there tonight felt pretty high for the most part.
Q. Are you a fan of extreme sports?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I’m not that into it.
Q. Could you share something about one of the Chinese male players Wu Di who you played against in Davis Cup two years ago?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, he’s a good little player. He hits the ball well. Yeah, obviously did well to win the Asian wild card playoff. I think it’s just taking him a little bit of time. Because of his height, he’s disadvantaged a little bit.
His ball striking is as good as a lot of other players in the top hundred.
Q. He told the Chinese media you’re one of his favorite players because he’s not as tall as some of the other players. Can you share some experience on how to be aggressive as a not too tall player on court?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I think it’s confidence for him. Like I said, his ball striking is very nice from the back of court. He moves extremely well for his height. He has to work on his serve a bit.
But all in all, he’s a nice, compact player. I think it’s just matches and belief against other players.
(Source: australianopen.com)
