Hewitt's "spat" with Tennis Australia

[Davidbrent]

I'm sorry but does anyone else think that Hewitt just doesn't have a leg to stand on as far as his argument with Tennis Australia goes. It seems that part of his reason for not playing in the Davis Cup tie against Switzerland was because he is still fuming over TA's decision not to make the Aussie Open courts faster i.e. more helpful for his game and (he says) the games of other Australians.

Does Hewitt honestly think TA has some obligation to do this? Sure the courts in Melbourne do seem a bit slow these days but everyone's playing on the same courts and Lleyton just doesn't have enough game anymore. I actually think TA has a responsibility to keep the courts medium paced for this reason: I believe each Grand Slam should provide a different challenge in terms of court surface for players. At the moment we have Wimbledon on very fast grass, the US Open on a fast hardcourt (but slower than Wimbledon), the Australian Open on medium paced rebound ace and the French on slow clay. This is a perfect balance. Why should we make it so that we have three of the slams played on very fast courts and one on the other extreme?

Now Lleyton, who has always distinguished himself by his commitment to Davis Cup, has said that he will now pick and choose when he plays for his country according to his schedule etc. Is he serious? What a petulant display.

I've officially lost any remaining respect I had for this guy.

If Lleyton can't win the Australian Open on the surface that is there, well too bad. He can't expect officials to tailor the courts to suit his game. What about the other players?

 

[Richie Rich]

Hewitt is the biggest tool on the face of the earth. He thinks TA should grant him every wish. Why is it only him that has "issues" with tennis australia, the press, other players, speed of courts, etc?

he really needs to take his head out of his arse.

 

[156MPHserve]

I guess when you own the only Ferrari in Australia, you have the right to be a jack^ss and expect all your demands to be met no matter how ridiculous

 

[Deleted member 3771]

good on him. He hardly played last year and already lost early 3 times this year. I guess he's doing what Fed's doing, and just doing what's rigth for his game. I think it's a sensible decision to just take it as it comes,and plan the Davis cup around his schedule. If he was number 1 and winning every week Like Federer, then committing to davis cup early would make more sense.

BTW has Fed been too busy for Davis cup?

 

[Yours!05]

Yes he's a prat, but several other players said the courts were slower (Roddick? Flipper?), and the balls were too.
I reckon the AO just fell into this slow hardcourt slot semi-accidentally when they went with Rebound Ace - for who knows what reason now. And as for "medium paced", as another poster mentioned, the Clay for the DC in Switzerland was much faster and IMO provided a much more entertaining spectacle.

 

[swisstruffles]

i definitely think lleyton is in the wrong and too fussy. yes, he has done a hell of a lot for aussie tennis but TA has also helped him when he was a developing young lad. i think DC adds a lot to a players game and mentality in a good way, and it is a nice change from playing for yourself most of the year to playing for your country.
he cannot reasonably expect TA to suit the courts to his own liking- the tourneys are for players around the world to play in, and shouldnt be suited to the home players' preference. and what with all the lawsuits against/from him lately, seems his head is definitely not on his shoulders.

 

[TEAM ZERO]

On ATP Tennis Show, Hewitt said that he planned his 2006 schedule based on the 4 grand slams! I think Hewitt is starting to be just like Federer, going for the slams and a few major Master series! Its somewhat intelligent in a way because many players have been complaining about the tight schedule but its gonna make the smaller tournaments less interesting with fewer top 10 players

 

[go_nadal]

I read something about Hewitt that said he was annoyed at TA because they only saved a very few amount of tickets for his fanatics group. Apparently there was only a hand full of the fanatics at his last match in the AO and he was peeved off at that...

 

[Richie Rich]

He's only upset at the courts because he's a pusher and needs the fast courts to be able to hit a few winners.

 

[pound cat]

There was a period (of a few weeks ago a couple of years ago) that I was getting to dislike him less. now he's nothing but a grumpy , whining old man, age 25. He's an embarrassment to tennis.

 

[Deleted member 3771]

I only agree about the 'pusher' part on his backhand.

I think hewitt's Backhand is what holds him back. He doesnt get full extension through the ball. Ocassionally he hits it a bit harder, but i think it comes down to his technique. He uses his left arm way more than his right and flicks the raquet across his body, without using both his arms to extend through the ball, so its hard for him to generate power. SO his backhand becomes very ineffective on slower surfaces.

It's pretty easy to observe what I just described, does anyone else agree?


He's done fantastically well with a backhand like that. I dont know if hes ever going to be able to fix his backhand.

He's only upset at the courts because he's a pusher and needs the fast courts to be able to hit a few winners.