By Scoop Malinowski
Lleyton Hewitt is a tennis Hall of Fame legend with two career highlights that stand out above the rest – winning 2002 Wimbledon and 2001 US Open. Hewitt’s major titles both came in straight, three set dominations of David Nalbandian and Pete Sampras, respectively.
But an often overlooked conquest of Hewitt was his Herculean effort to clinch the 2002 ATP world no. 1 ranking at the Master’s Cup in Shanghai.
Hewitt remembers: “Yeah, it’s hard to beat 2002 Master’s Cup. Yeah, I was going into it and I could have lost my No. 1 ranking if I didn’t do really well in the Master’s Cup that year at the end of the year. It was tough field. I had to beat Marat Safin in the last round robin match to get through to the semifinals. I beat him 6‑4 in the third.”
From there, Hewitt’s journey to seal no. 1 would only get harder.
“Then I had to play Federer who was undefeated in the semifinals. He won all his group matches, and I beat him 7‑5 in the third, and then had to back up and play Ferrero. That was 6‑3 or 6‑4 in the fifth. So physically it was an unbelievable effort to claim the No. 1 ranking yet again at the end of the year. Yeah, an amazing achievement to hold it for a whole year as well. Obviously Shanghai means a lot to me. Obviously got a lot of fans from the way that I played back then.”
Hewitt had so many highlights in his epic career but the very, very best tennis he ever played might have been in Shanghai, China.
Michael in UK · October 15, 2018 at 12:26 pm
I enjoyed that piece, thank you Scoop.
Ad we all know by now, Novak won the Shanghai masters, beating Coric, who beat Fed in his semi.
I have only seen the Highlights on the ATP site, but do people here agree Novak is looking on tremendous form, with confidence now 100% renewed?
Scoop Malinowski · October 15, 2018 at 12:37 pm
Thanks Michael, one of the many performances of tennis greatness that is forgotten and overshadowed now by what these guys Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have done. I bet Hewitt got a huge bonus from Nike and Yonex for solidying year end no. 1 in Shanghai. Rios got $2.5m each from Nike and Yonex for becoming world no. 1`in 1998, bet Hewitt got even more.
Jayita · October 18, 2018 at 3:19 am
Nice piece Scoop, it’s amazing the journey Hewitt has had over his career. It’s almost like he’s gone through three distinct phrases – the star, the veteran and the hero.
I remember when he was young, most of the fans and media here in Australia had respect for what he’d achieved, reaching number 1 and all… but then it wasn’t until the very end of his career that he got that same respect again. In between, the media was constantly hounding him about his injuries, setbacks and when retirement was on the cards. And when he walked into press you got the vibe he’d rather not be there.
But then Hewitt wins his first title since 2010 with a
victory over Roger Federer at the 2014 Brisbane International. Everything shifted. I believe this was one of his sweetest moments and where his legacy came to bloom.
Scoop Malinowski · October 18, 2018 at 9:36 am
Jayita, that final vs Fed in Brisbane was possibly the last surge of singles greatness by Hewitt. That was the old Hewitt again, at his best, taking down Federer, the fire was in his eye and the game had the magic. Then he lost early in Melbourne, just could not sustain it. Used up too much to win that title, beat Kei, Fed and another big player too I think. In the last years Hewitt battled hard but he just didn’t have it anymore. But he lost with grace. I think the public finally began to appreciate and understand what a special champion Hewitt was.