WESTERN AND SOUTHERN FINANCIAL GROUP MASTERS
CINCINNATI, OHIO
August 4, 2004
L. HEWITT/G. Kuerten 6-3, 6-4
Q. You waited around a long time, but it went pretty quickly once you got out
there.
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it was an awkward day for everyone, you know, similar
to last week in Toronto .
So, yeah, these tournaments, every year you come to expect
at least one day like this. Just got to be able to try and
work through it. It's nice to get through and not have to
worry about playing two matches tomorrow.
But, you know, I was happy to get through in straight sets.
Q. Was this a case of knowing that you were coming up against, you know, a
player you really respect and a real quality opponent and having to come
up with a big performance?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, in some ways, I guess. You know, Guga's obviously,
you know, had a few injuries over the last couple of years,
and that's why his ranking's down a bit. But, you know, he's
the kind of guy that you've got to be very watchful about on
any surface purely because he's so dangerous out there.
I think he showed that, especially at the end of the match
there when he sort of had nothing to lose and he was just
ripping at every shot. There's very little you can do in
that situation.
So I was happy with how I went out there and played my game
at the start. I felt like I was moving well, I was getting
a lot of balls back. And any time I got into a rally, I
felt like I was getting the better of him.
Q. Your consistency in the past few tournaments as far as advancing several
rounds, what is that doing for you, you know, going into the later part
of the summer?
LLEYTON HEWITT: It's not hurting my confidence, I guess. But then again, you
know, it would be nice to, you know, go a little bit further
than the quarters at the French and Wimbledon . I ran into
the two guys that went on to win the titles.
But, you know, I'm winning matches. I'm doing something
right, I guess. But you just got to take your chances when
you get those opportunities. You know, against Gaudio I
don't think I played my best match in the quarters against
him, but, you know, he played extremely well. Against Roger ,
I felt like I played pretty well in that match at Wimbledon .
So, yeah, I feel like I'm hitting the ball well enough.
Just against the best players in the world, as I said earlier,
you got to just take those chances when you get them.
Q. Are you taking more of those chances than you were, say, a year ago, six,
seven, eight months ago?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, in some ways. I don't feel like I've been playing
pretty much since the US Open last year I felt like I've
been playing pretty well. I really haven't played too many
bad matches. Indian Wells , Miami , I didn't play my best
tennis. But, you know, the guys that beat me, you know,
they weren't the biggest household names out there but,
you know, they had to play extremely well to beat me on
those two days.
Apart from that, you know, the clay court season, I felt
like I played pretty well the whole way through. And the
grass court season, the same. So I don't feel like my game's
that far away from really playing well.
Q. You're a guy who's achieved almost anything you wanted to achieve in the
sport. What's your drive like to get back there?
LLEYTON HEWITT: You know, obviously Grand Slams are, you know, that's what
I guess you make the sacrifices for, to try and win Grand
Slams and to try and win as many as possible.
So for me, you know, I try and look at my schedule.
Everything goes around, you know, the Grand Slams and Davis
Cup at the start of the year. Obviously, Davis Cup took a
little bit of a wrong turn this year. But, you know, just
trying to focus now on the US Open coming up. That's, you know,
the last major. After that, be back at the Australian Open .
Q. How have you adjusted your game? I mean, actually it was a similar
situation, I would say, probably for maybe Courier and Chang . They
kind of had the precision and whatever, then when the big servers came out,
they had to learn to kind of adjust their game and they kind of matured.
Have you felt like you've had to adjust your game maybe for the Roddicks
or something?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, maybe a little bit here and there. But I think that's
just sort of my game just developing, I think, over time as
well. You know, I came, you know, on the tour at a young age.
Even when I was No. 1 in the world, I still feel like there
was a lot of areas in my game that I can improve on obviously,
you know, serve more consistently, trying to get more cheap
points off it. I think I'm probably serving better at the
moment than I've probably ever served right at the moment.
But, you know, then again, yeah, you got to keep your
strengths, you know, at that high level, I guess, the whole
time as well and not start, you know, forgetting about those
and just focusing on other small weaknesses in your game.
Q. Obviously you've chosen not to play in the Olympics . Do you think that
will put you at a real advantage come the US Open , the way the schedule
has worked out?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Not particularly, I don't think. I just feel for me it's
better preparation for the US Open . I'm sure whoever wins
the Olympics is going to be very confident going into the
US Open because, you know, it's still going to be a strong
field at the Olympics .
But for me, the flying back and forth isn't the best thing
to do before a major that I've played, you know, extremely
well in in the past. And that's what it pretty much boiled
down to for me.
Q. Is it because jetlag hits you badly or you've had sinus problems?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I've had viruses and stuff in the past. I got another
one last week after flying from Australia to Toronto .
I think at the end of the day, after I've been here what's
it gonna be for six weeks or so leading into the US Open ,
into New York , trying to build your game up week by week to
get ready and acclimatize, for me, personally, I think the
worst thing would be to fly over there and play and then
come back and try and play at my best level.
Q. Taking that into account, you're one of the rare Australians who hasn't
found a headquarters over here maybe in Belgium but most found a place
that would alleviate some of the traveling?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I don't spend that much time in America in my weeks off.
It's as simple as that. There's only a couple of weeks here
and there really, you know, leading into this whole trip
where I go to places that I'm probably going to play the
week after anyway. Like the week before the US Open I'm in
New York training on the court. So I don't really need
somewhere to go and, you know, spend that much time. Apart
from that, I can't think of too many weeks that I'm,
you know, at a loose end in America .
Q. How much time would you say you spend in like Belgium so that you don't
have to go back to Australia , or not that much?
LLEYTON HEWITT: A little bit at times. It sort of depends on, you know, the
season leading into the clay court season, I guess. You know,
if you got any weeks off during the clay court season,
then it's just a base to go back to, so it's more convenient
in that way obviously.
Q. Home's still Adelaide ?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, yeah.
Q. Obviously you could play Henman next. You've got quite a tasty little
record against him.
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, we've had tough matches in the past. Couple of them
I've probably been a bit fortunate. It's been tough matches,
could have gone either way. The two finals at Queen's I think.
The last match I think we played was in Rotterdam in the semis
there this year. I felt like I played pretty well that day.
Tim didn't play his best.
But, yeah, there's been, you know, some close matches in the
past that could have gone either way. He's a tough competitor.
Every time I go out there I've got to play good tennis to beat
him.
Q. You mentioned that so much is sacrificed for the Grand Slams . Is that more
important than making a climb back up toward No. 1?
LLEYTON HEWITT: If you win Grand Slams , you'll put yourself in a position to
be No. 1. You know, I'm not the kind of guy that's gonna go
out and play every week to get my ranking one or two spots
higher.
Q. Maybe a little inside medical update on Kim's wrist, is she able to play
at all?
LLEYTON HEWITT: No, she can only hit forehands.
Q. She's not even hitting?
LLEYTON HEWITT: No, she hits some forehands now and then.
Q. She have any idea when she might play?
LLEYTON HEWITT: No. Just I think, you know, pretty much after the US Open
some time hopefully. But, yeah, depends every week.
Q. Any wedding plans yet?
LLEYTON HEWITT: No.
Q. Not that you're going to tell us, or not at all?
LLEYTON HEWITT: No, no.
Q. He doesn't have to tell us where or when.
LLEYTON HEWITT: No (smiling).
Q. Continent?
LLEYTON HEWITT: No (smiling).
--
哈 煩不煩阿XD
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 220.142.64.94