US OPEN

September 7, 2002

Lleyton Hewitt

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, he was too good on the day, though. You know, I felt like I had chances there, obviously up a break in -- up a break in the first set. Just struggled in the wind there for a few games and basically that probably cost me the first set. Then in the second set, serving for it 5-3, fought back, 15-40 down, back to deuce. Sort of let that one slip as well. So could have been easily up two sets to one, I guess, rather than two sets to one down there. I felt like I was starting to get on top in the fourth at 2-1, Love-30 I had in the fourth. Felt like I was starting to get another chance there. And, you know, to his credit, he came up with four big points then. I don't think I played too badly in those points. Then I went 30-Love up in the next game. It was huge. Those two games were a huge swing there.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I didn't serve great. I served, you know, in patches, I think. I wasn't able to -- against a guy like Andre, you got to make a high percentage of first serves. I wasn't able to do that. I was battling it out with, you know, second serve.

LLEYTON HEWITT: I've played in a lot worse places (laughter). Didn't worry me at all.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it's big for tennis. It's a great matchup. Don't ask me who's gonna win, 'cause I got no idea. It's one of those things, you know... Both -- their records speak for itself. But I'm not even going to go out -- and I've got no idea. I think it just depends on the day how both guys pull up. It's gonna be a great match.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it's been all right. I feel like I came here and I played as well as I probably could have. I've made the semis. I can be proud of myself for coming back here in tough situations and, you know, trying to defend your title here. Gutsing some tough matches out. There's no, you know, shame for me in losing to Andre Agassi in a semi of a Slam. He's one of the greatest players ever to live. Sure, I'd love to be out there tomorrow, but, you know, I'm sure I'm going to get a lot more chances, too.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Not really.

LLEYTON HEWITT: I felt like I got pumped up when I needed to. Just in today's match, if I needed to get fired up when I broke back or went up a break, then I did it. It's hard to get fired up against a guy like Andre when you get 30-love up, he'll come back, smack four winners and it's a waste of energy.

LLEYTON HEWITT: There's a lot of guys that can trouble you - I guess, trouble me out there, but obviously Andre's one of the best players in the world. Be silly thinking that you're going to have a pushover out there. He was always going to be a big match. I think any semifinal in a Slam is a big match as well. I don't think just because I was playing Andre Agassi, it was any tougher than playing Tim Henman at Wimbledon. They're all tough matches, you know. The situation as well as the guy at the other end.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Not really. You know, I can be -- I laid everything I had out there on center court this week. I can't do anything else. I can look in the mirror tonight and, you know, know that I went out there and I gave everything I had trying to defend the title.

LLEYTON HEWITT: You know, I'm not the kind of person that goes out and tanks matches anyway. For me, as long as I put it all on the line every time, then I can be proud of myself. It's the same in a lot of tournaments when, you know, very rarely do you win tournaments. A lot of my losses, I can still, you know, look at the way I played and, you know, knowing that I didn't, you know, go out there and tank any points. I played as well as I could and he was just too good on the day.

LLEYTON HEWIT: It was funny, you know. He's actually started a lot better in the past than he did today. You know, just about every match that I've played him before, he's come out of the gates straightaway. You know, he was a bit slow out of the gates today. Then I started struggling with the wind a little bit, didn't quite -- wasn't quite aggressive enough when I went up that break early in the first set. That gave him the chance to -- Andre's the kind of guy you can't give a second chance to. And, you know, he started pounding on me then, and, you know, I wasn't making enough first serves. You know, it's, of course, different. We never played a best-of-five-set match either. So in that way it was a lot different.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Not really. We played twice before, and... It's not that strange.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Didn't work the two times before, so I don't know. You tell me.

LLEYTON HEWITT: For sure. It's -- you know, as I said, you know, with me not being, you know -- if I'm not allowed to be in the final, then I'd love to see these two guys go for a final. I think everyone would. I think it's great for men's tennis. But sooner or later, you know, when they do retire, the only downside is people are going to keep wanting to see Agassi-Sampras finals and it's not going to be there five, ten years' time. But, you know, I think it's probably more so Sampras getting to the final more than Agassi. I think that, you know, it hasn't shocked me, but I think it shocked the media and the public more than anything.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it would be nice to have a rivalry going like Agassi, Sampras have had for so many years, to be in as many Grand Slam finals as those two have as well. But who knows? I got no idea whether that will happen or not. You know, I've only made, you know, two Grand Slam finals. These guys have made so many. I've got to keep trying to give myself as good a possibility or good a chance every time going into Slams to get to the final. And then, you know, maybe I'll have, you know, Roddick or Federer or Safin or someone up the other end most times; I don't know.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, I think it's good for tennis. Connors, McEnroe, Borg, all these guys, personalties out there. Going for Grand Slams and big tournaments, you know. This year, we've had obviously Costa and Johansson winning Slams. We haven't had the big names like Agassi, Sampras in the spotlight.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Didn't you hear me before or not...? I said I'm not gonna make a call.

LLEYTON HEWITT: You know, I don't know. I think we all saw how Sampras disposed of Roddick a couple of nights ago. You know, he's just not quite ready for it. There's Safin. Obviously, he's there some weeks and not there others. You know, I feel like I'm putting myself in a good position to be in most Slams now. Obviously, the last two Slams have been great - the French, made the Round of 16; the Australian Open didn't go to plan. So I feel like I'm putting myself there in a position. Whether other guys are going to step up, I don't know. I got no idea.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Trying to qualify for the Davis Cup. You know, that comes first I guess next, you know, what is it? A week and a half, two weeks' time. We'll try and get through that match. And, yeah, then after that, you know, I'm playing Tokyo, Madrid and Paris. I give myself a good chance of getting No. 1. You know, if I get it, great. If I don't, then it's not the biggest deal.

LLEYTON HEWITT: As I said before, I felt like, you know, I had 2-1, Love-30 in the fourth set, I felt that was a slight opportunity for me. He closed the door on me pretty quick in that game. I didn't feel like I played that bad a game. I made him play, made him come up with winners on those four points and he was able to do it. The next game I had 30-Love, I was playing from the better end those two games. That was a big turning point in the fourth set.

LLEYTON HEWITT: In some ways I guess. They saw how I, you know, how I handled everything I guess when I had to play American players; and, you know, how I was able to block out, you know, all the attention and everything going into the Blake match; and how I was able to put my head down and work extremely hard and dig out an extremely tough match against a talented player. For that, I guess that's another thing I can be proud of myself.

LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know. I have to think about it.

LLEYTON HEWITT: I would be happy to still be playing.

LLEYTON HEWITT: I'm not sure what I'm doing yet. We have to wait and see.

LLEYTON HEWITT: I haven't been home since San Jose, after the chicken pox.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it's gonna be great.

LLEYTON HEWITT: No, I'm not sure.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Doesn't worry me. I'm not thinking about it right at the moment.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Probably going, talking to the Crows, firing them up for next week.

LLEYTON HEWITT: They struggled. Next week, we have Collingwood in the prelim. Pretty good.

LLEYTON HEWITT: No, I saw it on the Internet this morning.

LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, they've got their one bad one out of the way now.

LLEYTON HEWITT: I would have taken it, for sure. You know, to win Wimbledon was... You know, back home, Wimbledon means an awful lot. There's no doubt in Australian tennis it's the biggest tournament of the year. For an Australian, we've done so well there in the past. I've seen how close Pat's come the last few years. You know, it meant an awful lot for me to, you know, hold up that trophy this year. So if I lost first round of every other tournament and you gave me Wimbledon this year, I would have taken it.

LLEYTON HEWITT: In some ways I would have liked to have gone back and, you know, celebrated with friends back home, you know, with some people who have helped my career out so much in the past, I guess. Then again I had so much support coming from Australia, it was -- Wimbledon is the biggest tournament in Australia. I got no doubt about it. After I've been in -- you know, done well at the US Open, done well at Wimbledon, the faxes, the support that I've got was incredible going into the second week of Wimbledon.

LLEYTON HEWITT: No, I sort of -- I probably took my chances a little bit better I think in the match two or three weeks ago. I was down an early break in that one and I fought back. Then as soon as I was able to get that first set, that sort of put things in a whole different perspective than today. Fighting, it always felt like I was fighting the whole time from behind. It's tough to do against a guy like Agassi. He's probably the best front-runner around. When you give him that advantage, it's very tough to come back.