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Lleyton Glynn Hewitt (born 24 February 1981) is an Australian former world No. 1
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...
player. He is the most recent Australian man to win a
major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...
singles title, with two at the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon Championships. In November 2001, Hewitt became, at the time, the youngest man to be singles world No. 1 in the
ATP rankings The Pepperstone ATP rankings are the merit-based method used by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for determining the qualification for entry as well as the seeding of players in all singles and doubles tournaments. The first rankings ...
, at the age of , though this record was surpassed in 2022 by
Carlos Alcaraz Carlos Alcaraz Garfia (born 5 May 2003) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked as the world No. 1 singles player by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Alcaraz has won six ATP Tour singles titles, including ...
, who ascended to the top at . He won 30 singles titles and 3 doubles titles, with highlights being the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon singles titles, the 2000 US Open men's doubles title, back-to-back Tour Finals titles in
2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...
and
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
, and the
Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organi ...
with Australia in
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
and
2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...
. Between 1997 and 2016, Hewitt contested twenty consecutive
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...
men's singles tournaments, his best result being runner-up in
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...
. He was also the runner-up at the 2004 US Open.


Early life

Hewitt was born in
Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
, South Australia. His father, Glynn, is a former
Australian Rules Football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
player, and his mother, Cherilyn, was a physical education teacher. His younger sister is Jaslyn Hewitt, a former tennis coach and bodybuilder and his brother-in-law (Jaslyn's husband) is Rob Shehadie. Hewitt also played Australian Football until the age of 13, when he decided to pursue a tennis career. His junior tennis club was Seaside Tennis Club in Henley Beach. He was also coached by Peter Smith at Denman Tennis Club in Mitcham.


Tennis career

Hewitt commenced his professional career in 1998. He became one of the youngest winners of an
Association of Tennis Professionals The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is the governing body of the men's professional tennis circuits – the ATP Tour, the ATP Challenger Tour and the ATP Champions Tour. It was formed in September 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, a ...
(ATP) tournament when he won the 1998
Next Generation Adelaide International The Australian Hard Court Championships was a former professional tennis tournament established in 1938 and held until 2008. The event was played on clay courts until 1977 when it switched to hard courts. The tournament was a combined event for m ...
, defeating
Jason Stoltenberg Jason Stoltenberg (born 4 April 1970) is an Australian former professional tennis player. Tennis career Stoltenberg began playing tennis at age ten on an antbed (crushed termite mound) court where his father owned a cotton farm in the Far Wes ...
in the final, having defeated
Andre Agassi Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) is an American former List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 tennis player. He is an eight-time Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major champion and an Tennis at the 1996 Summer Olympic ...
in the semi-finals. Both Aaron Krickstein winning
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
in 1983 and Michael Chang winning San Francisco in 1988 were younger than Hewitt when they claimed their first ATP title. Hewitt then left Immanuel College to concentrate on his tennis career. He was an
Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of th ...
scholarship holder. He finished his professional tennis career on 24 January 2016 after 20 straight Australian Open appearances. His last professional singles match was against
David Ferrer David Ferrer Ern (; ; born 2 April 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. A three-time Davis Cup champion with Spain, Ferrer has won tournaments at all levels on the ATP Tour (ATP 250, ATP 500, Masters 1000) except at a major, ...
in the second round of the 2016 Australian Open at the Rod Laver Arena on 21 January 2016. In 2022, Lleyton Hewitt was inducted into the ‘International Tennis Hall of Fame.’


Junior years and first Grand Slam appearance

As a junior Hewitt posted a 44–19 record in singles and reached as high as No. 17 in the world in 1997 (and No. 13 in doubles).


Junior singles titles


2000: US Open doubles title, Wimbledon mixed doubles and Davis Cup finals

In 2000, Hewitt reached his first Grand Slam final at the Wimbledon mixed doubles partnering Belgian
Kim Clijsters Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters (; born 8 June 1983) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. Clijsters reached the world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles, having held both rankings simultaneously in 2003. She won six major titles, ...
, his then girlfriend. They lost the match, to Americans
Kimberly Po Kimberly Po (born October 20, 1971) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. In her career, she won the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon in 2000, partnering Donald Johnson. She also was a runner-up at the US Open in wome ...
and Donald Johnson. Hewitt later won his first Grand Slam title at the US Open when he along with
Max Mirnyi Maksim "Max" Mikalaevich Mirnyi ( be, Максім Мікалаевіч Мірны, ; russian: Максим Николаевич Мирный, ; born 6 July 1977) is a Belarusian former professional tennis player. Mirnyi became a doubles spec ...
claimed the men's doubles championship, thus becoming the youngest male (at 19 years, 6 months) to win a Grand Slam doubles crown in the open era. At the end of the year, Hewitt became the first teenager in ATP history to qualify for the year-end Tennis Masters Cup (ATP World Tour Finals).


2001: US Open title, Masters Cup trophy, third Davis Cup final and world No. 1

Hewitt started off the 2001 season well by winning the
Medibank International The Sydney International (formerly known as the Championship of New South Wales and New South Wales Open, with various title sponsors), formerly sponsored as the Apia International Sydney from 2012 to 2017, is a professional tennis tournament i ...
in Sydney, and went on to win tournaments in London (
Queen's Club The Queen's Club is a private sporting club in West Kensington, London, England. The club hosts the annual Queen's Club Championships men's grass court lawn tennis tournament (currently known as the "cinch Championships" for sponsorship r ...
) and
's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of ...
. He captured his first Grand Slam singles title at the US Open in 2001, when he beat former world No. 1
Yevgeny Kafelnikov Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Kafelnikov ( rus, Евгений Александрович Кафельников, , jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ˈkafʲɪlʲnʲɪkəf, a=Ru-Yevgeny-Kafelnikov.ogg; born 18 February 1974) is a Russian former world No. 1 tennis p ...
in the semi-finals and defeated then four-time champion
Pete Sampras Petros "Pete" Sampras ( el, Πέτρος Σάμπρας; born August 12, 1971) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. His professional career began in 1988 and ended at the 2002 US Open, which he won, defeating longtime rival Andre ...
the next day in straight sets. This win made Hewitt the most recent male player to win a Grand Slam singles and doubles title during his career. The Australian went on to win the Tokyo Open and again qualify for the year-end Tennis Masters Cup held in Sydney. During the tournament, Hewitt won all matches in his group. He then went on to defeat Sébastien Grosjean in the final to take the title and gain the No. 1 ranking. Hewitt won a total of six titles in 2001.


2002: Wimbledon victory and maintaining the No. 1 spot

The year 2002 was once again a solid year for Hewitt, winning three titles in San Jose, Indian Wells and London (Queen's Club). He followed his 2001 US Open win by capturing the Wimbledon singles title. He defeated Jonas Björkman, Grégory Carraz, Julian Knowle, Mikhail Youzhny,
Sjeng Schalken Sjeng Schalken (; born 8 September 1976) is a former professional tennis player from the Netherlands. Playing style A right-handed baseliner with a single-handed backhand, Schalken's game is characterised by his consistency of both wings and his ...
and home favourite Tim Henman before dominating first-time finalist
David Nalbandian David Pablo Nalbandian (; born 1 January 1982) is an Argentine retired professional tennis player who played on the ATP Tour from 2000 until his retirement in 2013. He reached the highest ranking in singles of world No. 3 in March 2006. Nalban ...
in straight sets; Hewitt lost only two sets (both to Schalken) throughout the championship. His victory reinforced the idea that, although the tournament had tended to be dominated by serve-and-volleyers, a baseliner could still triumph on grass (Hewitt was the first 'baseliner' to win the tournament since Agassi in 1992). For his third straight year, he qualified for the year-end Tennis Masters Cup, held in Shanghai, and successfully defended his title by defeating
Juan Carlos Ferrero Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat (; born 12 February 1980) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year became the 21st player to hold the top ranking, which he ...
in the final. Hewitt's win helped him finish the year ranked No. 1 for a second straight year.


2003: Second Masters and Davis Cup titles, Hopman Cup final

In 2003, Hewitt defeated former No. 1
Gustavo Kuerten Gustavo "Guga" Kuerten (; born 10 September 1976) is a Brazilian former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the French Open singles title three times (1997, 2000, and 2001), and was the Tennis Masters Cup champion in 2000. During his career he ...
for the championship at Indian Wells. But at Wimbledon, as the defending champion, Hewitt lost in the first round to qualifier
Ivo Karlović Ivo Karlović (; born 28 February 1979) is a former Croatian professional tennis player. His height of 211 cm (6 ft 11 in) makes him the joint tallest ranked tennis player in history, along with Reilly Opelka. He has won eight ATP sin ...
. Hewitt became the first defending Wimbledon men's champion in the
open era The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, invented in Birmingham, England now commonly known simply as tennis, is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today as a separate sp ...
to lose in the first round. Only once before in the tournament's 126-year history had a defending men's champion lost in the opening round, in 1967, when
Manuel Santana Manuel Santana Martínez (10 May 1938 – 11 December 2021), also known as Manolo Santana, was a Spanish tennis player. He was ranked as amateur world No. 1 in 1965 by Ned Potter and in 1966 by Lance TingayCharlie Pasarell Charles Manuel Pasarell Jr. (born February 12, 1944) is a Puerto Rican former tennis player, tennis administrator and founder of the current Indian Wells tournament. He has also commented for the Tennis Channel and with Arthur Ashe and Sheridan ...
. Hewitt was only the third defending Grand Slam champion in the open era to lose in the first round, after
Boris Becker Boris Franz Becker (, ; born 22 November 1967) is a German former world No. 1 tennis player. Becker was successful from the start of his career, winning the Wimbledon Championships at the age of 17. He ultimately won six Grand Slam singles tit ...
at the
1997 Australian Open The 1997 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at Melbourne Park in Melbourne in Victoria in Australia. It was the 85th edition of the Australian Open and was held from 13 through 26 January 1997. Prior to the ...
and Patrick Rafter at the 1999 US Open. After Wimbledon in 2003, Hewitt lost in the final of the tournament in Los Angeles, the second round of the
ATP Masters Series The ATP Masters 1000 tournaments (previously known as ATP Masters Series) is an annual series of nine tennis tournaments featuring the top-ranked players on the ATP Tour. The series' events have been held in Europe and North America since the ...
tournament in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
, and the first round of the ATP Masters Series tournament in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...
. At the US Open, Hewitt lost in the quarterfinals to
Juan Carlos Ferrero Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat (; born 12 February 1980) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year became the 21st player to hold the top ranking, which he ...
. Hewitt played only
Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organi ...
matches for the remainder of the year, recording five-set wins over
Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
and
Juan Carlos Ferrero Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat (; born 12 February 1980) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year became the 21st player to hold the top ranking, which he ...
in the semi-finals and final respectively, as Australia went on to win the Davis Cup. Hewitt used much of his spare time in late 2003 to bulk up, gaining 7 kg.


2004: US Open, Masters Cup and World Team Cup finals

In 2004, Hewitt became the first man in history to lose in each Grand Slam singles tournament to the eventual champion. At the Australian Open, he was defeated in the fourth round by Swiss
Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
. At the French Open, he was defeated in a quarterfinal by Argentine Gastón Gaudio. At Wimbledon, he was defeated in a quarterfinal by Federer, and at the US Open, he was defeated in the final by Federer, losing two out of the three sets at love. At the year ending 2004 Tennis Masters Cup, Hewitt defeated
Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Ope ...
to advance to the final, but was yet again defeated by defending champion Federer.


2005: Australian Open final

In 2005, Hewitt won his only title at the Sydney
Medibank International The Sydney International (formerly known as the Championship of New South Wales and New South Wales Open, with various title sponsors), formerly sponsored as the Apia International Sydney from 2012 to 2017, is a professional tennis tournament i ...
defeating little-known Czech player
Ivo Minář Ivo Minář (born 21 May 1984) is a former professional male tennis player from the Czech Republic. On July 20, 2009, Minář reached his career-high singles ranking of World No. 62. His brother Jan is also a professional player, who has been r ...
. Hewitt spent much time in the late stages of 2004 working with his former coach and good friend,
Roger Rasheed Roger Rasheed (born 10 March 1969) is a former Australian rules football player, tennis player, tennis coach and tennis commentator with the Seven Network for 12 years. Rasheed is best known as Grand Slam coach of Australian former World No. ...
, on bulking up his physique. His hard work paid off during the Australian summer, when he defeated an in-form No. 2
Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Ope ...
to reach his first
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...
final in 2005. He was the first Australian player to reach the final since Pat Cash in 1988. In the final, he faced fourth seed,
Marat Safin Marat Mubinovich Safin ( rus, Мара́т Муби́нович Са́фин, , mɐˈrat ˈsafʲɪn, Ru-Marat-Safin.ogg; tt-Cyrl, Марат Мөбин улы Сафин; born 27 January 1980) is a Russian retired world No. 1 tennis player an ...
, who had defeated No. 1 and defending champion
Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
in the semi-finals. After easily taking the first set, he was defeated by the Russian despite being up a break in the third set. At Wimbledon, Hewitt reached the semi-finals, but lost to eventual champion Federer. Two months later, Hewitt again lost to Federer in the US Open semi-final, although this time he was able to take one set from the Swiss. Hewitt had at this point lost to the eventual champion at seven consecutive Grand Slam tournaments he played, (he missed the 2005 French Open because of injury). Hewitt pulled out of the Tennis Masters Cup tournament in Shanghai in November 2005 so that he could be with his wife Bec, who was due to give birth.


2006: 25th career title

Hewitt was defeated in the second round of the 2006 Australian Open by Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina. He then reached the finals of the San Jose and Las Vegas tournaments, losing to British youngster
Andy Murray Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British professional tennis player from Scotland. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 41 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. Murray ...
and American James Blake, respectively. But he lost to Tim Henman in the second round of the Miami Masters, a player he had defeated eight times previously in as many matches. At the 2006 French Open, Hewitt reached the fourth round, where he lost to defending champion and eventual winner
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
in four sets. Hewitt won his first tournament of 2006 (after a 17-month hiatus from winning a tournament), when he beat Blake in the final of the Queen's Club Championships. This was his fourth title there, equalling the records of
John McEnroe John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. He was known for his shot-making and volleying skills, his rivalries with Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors, and his confrontational on-court beh ...
and
Boris Becker Boris Franz Becker (, ; born 22 November 1967) is a German former world No. 1 tennis player. Becker was successful from the start of his career, winning the Wimbledon Championships at the age of 17. He ultimately won six Grand Slam singles tit ...
. During the
2006 Wimbledon Championships The 2006 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London in the United Kingdom. It was the 120th edition of the Wimbledon Championships and were held fro ...
, Hewitt survived a five-set match against South Korea's
Hyung-Taik Lee Lee Hyung-taik ( ko, 이형택, born 3 January 1976) is a former professional tennis player from South Korea. He won one singles title and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 36, in August 2007. Personal life Lee was born in a p ...
that was played over two days. He then defeated
Olivier Rochus Olivier Rochus (; born 18 January 1981) is a retired Belgian tennis player. He is the younger brother of Christophe Rochus, also a former top-40 tennis player. Rochus won two singles titles in his career and in 2004 won the French Open doubles ...
and
David Ferrer David Ferrer Ern (; ; born 2 April 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. A three-time Davis Cup champion with Spain, Ferrer has won tournaments at all levels on the ATP Tour (ATP 250, ATP 500, Masters 1000) except at a major, ...
, before losing to Marcos Baghdatis in the quarterfinals. At the 2006 Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C., Hewitt was defeated by Arnaud Clément in the quarterfinals, after defeating Vincent Spadea in the second round and
Denis Gremelmayr Denis Gremelmayr (born 16 August 1981) is an inactive German male tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is World No. 59, achieved in May 2008. Glemelmayr was born in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg. He reached the semifinals of Estoril ...
in the third round. Hewitt participated at the 2006 US Open, despite having an injured knee. Hewitt won his first three matches in straight sets against, respectively,
Albert Montañés Albert Montañés Roca (; born 26 November 1980) is a retired professional tennis player from Spain. He first entered the top 100 in 2001. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 22 in 2010 and has won six singles titles and two ...
,
Jan Hernych Jan Hernych (born 7 July 1979) is a retired professional male tennis player from Czech Republic. Born in Prague, he turned pro in 1998 and achieved his career-high singles ranking of World No. 59 in April 2009. He won one doubles title and w ...
, and
Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. ...
. He defeated
Richard Gasquet Richard Gabriel Cyr Gasquet (; born 18 June 1986) is a French professional tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. 7, attained on 9 July 2007. He has won a total of 15 singles titles on the ATP Tour. His best performances ...
in five sets to advance to the quarterfinals for the seventh consecutive year. He then lost to Roddick.


2007: 26th career title

At the
2007 Australian Open The 2007 Australian Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament held in Melbourne, Australia from 15 January until 28 January 2007. The total prize pool was set at exactly A$20 million, with the winners of both the men's and women's singles competi ...
, Hewitt lost in the third round to tenth-seeded Chilean and eventual runner-up Fernando González. With his win in
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...
in March, Hewitt had won at least one ATP title annually for ten consecutive years. This was a record among active players at the time. Hewitt reached the 2007 Hamburg Masters semi-finals, where he pushed eventual finalist
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
to three sets. At the
2007 French Open The 2007 French Open (Roland Garros) was held in Paris, France from 27 May through to 10 June 2007. Rafael Nadal became the first man to win the tournament 3 times consecutively since Björn Borg, 1978–81; and maintained his unbeaten run at Rol ...
, Hewitt, for the second straight time lost in the fourth round to Nadal. At the 2007 Wimbledon Championships, Hewitt won his first three matches, including a four-set third round victory over Guillermo Cañas. He then faced fourth seed
Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. ...
in the fourth round, which he lost. After Wimbledon, it was announced that he had hired former Australian tennis pro
Tony Roche Anthony Dalton Roche AO MBE (born 17 May 1945) is an Australian former professional tennis player. A native of Tarcutta, Roche played junior tennis in the New South Wales regional city of Wagga Wagga. He won one Grand Slam singles title, t ...
to coach him during Grand Slam and Masters tournaments in 2007 and 2008. At the Masters tournaments in
Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...
and
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...
Hewitt reached the quarterfinals and semi-finals, respectively. In both cases, he lost to
Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
. He was seeded 16th at the 2007 US Open, but for the first time in eight consecutive appearances at Flushing Meadows, he did not reach the quarterfinals or further. He lost in the second round to Argentine
Agustín Calleri Agustín Calleri (, ; born 14 September 1976) is a retired professional male tennis player from Argentina. His nickname is ''Gordo'' which means ''Fat'' in Spanish. He is known as a hard-hitter and he prefers playing on clay. Calleri served as ...
.


2008: Injuries and year without titles

At the
2008 Australian Open The 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 thr ...
, he advanced to the fourth round as the 19th seed, defeating 15th-seeded and 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis in a thrilling third-round match. The 282-minute match started at 11:52 pm and ended at 4:34 am the following morning. It was a characteristically "gutsy" performance and cemented Hewitt's reputation as a tough competitor. Hewitt lost his fourth-round match in straight sets to third-seeded and eventual champion
Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. ...
. A hip injury Hewitt acquired in March 2008 affected his preparation for the French Open and forced the loss of 300 rankings points as Hewitt was unable to defend his semi-final appearance at the Hamburg Masters, as well as compete in supplementary tournaments. However, Hewitt made the third round at Roland Garros, before losing a five-set thriller to fifth seed
David Ferrer David Ferrer Ern (; ; born 2 April 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. A three-time Davis Cup champion with Spain, Ferrer has won tournaments at all levels on the ATP Tour (ATP 250, ATP 500, Masters 1000) except at a major, ...
. Despite his ongoing hip problem, Hewitt was able to compete at the
Queens Club Championship The Queen's Club Championships is an annual tournament for male tennis players, held on grass courts at the Queen's Club in West Kensington, London. The event is part of the ATP Tour 500 series on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP ...
with moderate success, falling to second seed
Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. ...
in the quarterfinals. His good form continued into Wimbledon, Hewitt making the fourth round for the second successive year, before losing to No. 1 and top seed
Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
. After Wimbledon, Hewitt elected to miss the Montreal and Cincinnati Masters in an effort to give his hip sufficient rest to enable him to play at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he defeated Jonas Björkman in the first round before losing to second seed
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
. However, the more notable incident in the Olympics occurred in Hewitt's opening-round doubles match with Chris Guccione against Argentines Juan Mónaco and
Agustín Calleri Agustín Calleri (, ; born 14 September 1976) is a retired professional male tennis player from Argentina. His nickname is ''Gordo'' which means ''Fat'' in Spanish. He is known as a hard-hitter and he prefers playing on clay. Calleri served as ...
. The match went to an advantage third set with Hewitt and Guccione prevailing 18–16. After the Olympics, due to the further damage Hewitt's hip sustained at the Olympics, he was left with no option but to pull out of the US Open and skip the rest of the season to have hip surgery. 2008 was the first year since 1997 in which Hewitt did not win a title.


2009: 27th career title, 500 career match wins, Wimbledon quarterfinal and return to Top 20

After returning from hip surgery, Hewitt played his first match in 2009 at the Hopman Cup, where he defeated Nicolas Kiefer in three sets. Hewitt then participated in the
Medibank International Sydney The Sydney International (formerly known as the Championship of New South Wales and New South Wales Open, with various title sponsors), formerly sponsored as the Apia International Sydney from 2012 to 2017, is a professional tennis tournament i ...
, winning his first two matches, but losing in the quarterfinals to
David Nalbandian David Pablo Nalbandian (; born 1 January 1982) is an Argentine retired professional tennis player who played on the ATP Tour from 2000 until his retirement in 2013. He reached the highest ranking in singles of world No. 3 in March 2006. Nalban ...
. Hewitt then went on to play in the 2009 Australian Open, where he was unseeded in a Grand Slam for the first time since 2000. He faced Fernando González in the first round and lost in five sets. At the tournament in Memphis, he caused an upset in the first round by defeating James Blake in three sets. He then defeated fellow Australian Chris Guccione in the second round and
Christophe Rochus Christophe Rochus (born 15 December 1978) is a retired professional male tennis player from Belgium. Rochus is the older brother of Olivier Rochus. He reached the semi-finals of the Hamburg Masters in 2005 and was runner-up in two ATP tournam ...
in the quarterfinals. He faced
Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Ope ...
in the semi-finals, but lost in a close match. Hewitt then lost in the first round of
Delray Beach Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020 was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States Census. Located 52 miles (83 kilometers) north of Miami, Delray Beach is in th ...
to Yen-Hsun Lu, the eighth seed. Hewitt also competed in the
BNP Paribas Open The Indian Wells Masters, also known as the Indian Wells Open and BNP Paribas Open is an annual tennis tournament usually held in early- and mid-March at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, United States. The owner is La ...
in
Indian Wells, California Indian Wells is a city in Riverside County, California, in the Coachella Valley. Incorporated in 1967, it lies in between the cities of Palm Desert and La Quinta. As of the 2010 Census, the city population was 4,958. The city hosts the sixt ...
, and reached the second round, being defeated by Fernando González. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Hewitt played Israeli Dudi Sela in the first round. Hewitt lost the first set, before recovering to win the match. Hewitt was then defeated by seventh seed
Gilles Simon Gilles Simon (; born 27 December 1984) is a French former professional tennis player. He had a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 6 attained on 5 January 2009. He turned professional in 2002 and won 14 singles titles on the ATP Tour. ...
of France in straight sets. At the
2009 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships The 2009 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships is a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It is the 41st edition of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, and is an ATP World Tour 250 event. It takes place at River Oaks Country C ...
, Hewitt defeated seventh seed
Diego Junqueira Diego Junqueira (; born December 28, 1980) is a professional tennis player who plays left-handed (with a double-handed backhand) from Argentina. His highest rank was world no.68, achieved on March 9, 2009. Junior career Diego "Chuky" Junqueira d ...
. Hewitt advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating Sergio Roitman in just 57 minutes, and then Guillermo García-López to advance to the semi-finals, where he defeated
Evgeny Korolev Evgeny Evgenyevich Korolev ( rus, Евге́ний Евге́ньевич Королёв; born 14 February 1988) is a retired Russian tennis player and the cousin of former Russian player Anna Kournikova. He began playing tennis at age four w ...
. He defeated Wayne Odesnik in the final, for his first title since 2007 and his first clay-court title in a decade. Hewitt entered the
Monte Carlo Masters The Monte-Carlo Masters is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, a commune that borders on Monaco. The event is part of the ATP Tour Masters 1000 on the Association of Tennis Professio ...
as a wild card. He lost in the first round to
Marat Safin Marat Mubinovich Safin ( rus, Мара́т Муби́нович Са́фин, , mɐˈrat ˈsafʲɪn, Ru-Marat-Safin.ogg; tt-Cyrl, Марат Мөбин улы Сафин; born 27 January 1980) is a Russian retired world No. 1 tennis player an ...
. Hewitt admitted to running out of energy in the second set. At the 2009 BMW Open, Hewitt recorded his 500th career win after defeating Philipp Petzschner in the first round, becoming one of only four active players to achieve this milestone; the others being
Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
and
Carlos Moyá Carlos Moyá Llompart (; born 27 August 1976) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He was the French Open singles champion in 1998 and was the singles runner-up at the 1997 Australian Open. In 2004, he was part of his country's succ ...
.
Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Ope ...
would later achieve this feat at the 2009 Legg Mason Tennis Classic Tournament in Washington, D.C. In the 2009 French Open, he defeated 26th seed
Ivo Karlović Ivo Karlović (; born 28 February 1979) is a former Croatian professional tennis player. His height of 211 cm (6 ft 11 in) makes him the joint tallest ranked tennis player in history, along with Reilly Opelka. He has won eight ATP sin ...
in five sets in the first round, and then defeated Andrey Golubev in the second. He lost to No. 1
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
in the third round. His next tournament was the 2009 Aegon Championships in London. He was 15th seed and drew Eduardo Schwank in the first round, who he easily dispatched. In the second round, he went three sets against Portuguese Frederico Gil. Hewitt dropped the first set, but went on to win. Former rival
Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Ope ...
awaited Hewitt in the third round, and the match certainly did not disappoint. As they have many times in the past, the former No. 1 players battled through a tough and intense match, which Roddick won. In the 2009 Wimbledon Championships, Hewitt faced the prospect of
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
in the second round. However, Nadal withdrew due to injury, and his slot was replaced by No. 5
Juan Martín del Potro Juan Martín del Potro () (born 23 September 1988) is an Argentine inactive professional tennis player. Del Potro's biggest achievement is a major title: the 2009 US Open, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and the five-time defen ...
. Hewitt defeated American Robby Ginepri in the first round. Hewitt used his strong service game to advantage, losing only one service game the entire match. He upended del Potro in straight sets. The third round also produced a straight-set victory for Hewitt, as he defeated Philipp Petzschner. He reversed a two-set deficit to defeat
Radek Štěpánek Radek Štěpánek (; born 27 November 1978) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 8 and best doubles ranking was world No. 4. Štěpánek's biggest achievements are reaching two Masters 10 ...
in the fourth round. It was another classic Hewitt fightback to thrill the many Australians on hand to witness the match. His Cinderella run ended in the quarterfinals against sixth seed
Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Ope ...
. It was a five-set thriller which featured two tiebreaks. Hewitt lost a heartbreaking 3–6, 7–6 (10), 6–7 (1), 6–4, 4–6 match. It was the first time Hewitt had reached the quarterfinals of a Major since the 2006 U.S. Open. After an extended break, Hewitt began working his way into the U.S Open series by playing in Washington at the
Legg Mason Classic The Washington Open (known as the Citi Open for sponsorship reasons) is an annual hardcourt tennis tournament played at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. The Washington Open is part of the ATP Tour ...
. There Hewitt made it into the third round, before losing in a three-set battle with
Juan Martín del Potro Juan Martín del Potro () (born 23 September 1988) is an Argentine inactive professional tennis player. Del Potro's biggest achievement is a major title: the 2009 US Open, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and the five-time defen ...
. At the Montreal Masters, Hewitt lost in the first round to former No. 1
Juan Carlos Ferrero Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat (; born 12 February 1980) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year became the 21st player to hold the top ranking, which he ...
.
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...
saw Hewitt reach the quarterfinals for the sixth time, where he lost to
Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
in straight sets. During the first round of the tournament, Hewitt showed his trademark fighting abilities by saving two match points to win against an in-form Robin Söderling. At the U.S Open, Hewitt progressed into the third round, where he played Federer for the 23rd time of their decade-long rivalry. Hewitt managed to take the first set 6–4 from Federer, before the 15-time Grand Slam champion took control of the second. The third set was tight, and both players saved multiple break points. Federer eventually prevailed over the match in four sets. In late September, Hewitt travelled to Malaysia for his first time to take part in the inaugural Malaysian Open held in Kuala Lumpur. The new tournament was part of the ATP's new dedicated Asian swing. Hewitt lost in the first round to Swedish player Joachim Johansson. In Tokyo, Hewitt was drawn to once again meet del Potro in the quarterfinals, but was given a clear path when del Potro was knocked out by qualifier
Édouard Roger-Vasselin Édouard Roger-Vasselin (; born 28 November 1983) is a French professional tennis player who primarily specialises in doubles. He won his first Grand Slam title at the 2014 French Open, winning the men's doubles partnering Julien Benneteau, a ...
in the first round. After defeating
Fabrice Santoro Fabrice Vetea Santoro (born 9 December 1972) is a French retired tennis player. Successful in both singles and doubles, he had an unusually long professional career, with many of his accomplishments coming toward the end of his career, and he is ...
in the second round, Hewitt downed Roger-Vasselin, to reach his first semi-finals since winning the
US Men's Clay Court Championships The U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships is an annual ATP Tour tennis tournament that started in 1910. It is the last remaining ATP World Tour-level tournament in the United States to be played on clay courts. The tournament began in 1910 when the ...
in April, but lost to Mikhail Youzhny. He then competed in the
2009 Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 The 2009 Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 (also known as the 2009 Shanghai ATP Masters 1000–presented by Rolex) was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 1st edition of the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000, and was classified as an A ...
, where he won in the first round, defeating
John Isner John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Considered one of the best servers ...
, before losing to
Gaël Monfils Gaël Sébastien Monfils (; born 1 September 1986) is a French professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 6 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in November 2016. His career hig ...
.


2010: 28th career title and victory over Federer

Hewitt began his 2010 season partnering
Samantha Stosur Samantha Jane Stosur ( ; born 30 March 1984) is an Australian professional tennis player. She is a former world No. 1 in doubles, a ranking which she first achieved on 6 February 2006 and held for 61 consecutive weeks. Also a former top ten s ...
at the Hopman Cup. The Australians were the top seeds for the exhibition tournament. They, however, fared worse than expected, losing ties against Romania and Spain, and therefore failing to reach the final. He was seeded fourth in the
Medibank International The Sydney International (formerly known as the Championship of New South Wales and New South Wales Open, with various title sponsors), formerly sponsored as the Apia International Sydney from 2012 to 2017, is a professional tennis tournament i ...
and, like the previous year, reached the quarterfinals, losing to eventual champion Marcos Baghdatis. At the
2010 Australian Open The 2010 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place in Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 18 to 31 January. It was the 98th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. In the singles competi ...
, he lost to
Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
in the fourth round. A week after his exit from the Australian Open, Hewitt announced at a press conference at Melbourne Park that he underwent another hip operation similar to his left hip operation this time on his right hip on 28 January 2010 in Hobart. Hewitt returned to the tour at the
U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships The U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships is an annual ATP Tour tennis tournament that started in 1910. It is the last remaining ATP World Tour-level tournament in the United States to be played on clay courts. The tournament began in 1910 when t ...
as the singles defending champion. He won his first match since the Australian Open, partnering coach
Nathan Healey Nathan Healey (born 27 February 1980 in Gosford, New South Wales) is an Australian tennis player. Turning professional in 1998, Healey has won 3 doubles titles. In 2006, he earned a wildcard to the Australian Open, making the 3rd round, whe ...
in the doubles, defeating
James Cerretani Jamie Cerretani, (born October 2, 1981) is an American professional tennis player. A doubles specialist, he has won four ATP World Tour titles in his career. He reached his career-high doubles ranking of World No. 45 on July 21, 2008. Amateur car ...
and
Adil Shamasdin Adil Shamasdin ( ; born May 23, 1982) is a Canadian professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He reached his highest doubles ranking of world No. 41 on June 26, 2017. Tennis career Shamasdin's junior career saw him finish ranked No. ...
, but lost to top seeds the Bryan brothers in the semi-finals. Hewitt received a first-round bye, as he was seeded fourth in singles. In his first match, against lucky loser Somdev Devvarman, Hewitt dropped the first set, before battling to win in three sets. He then lost to Juan Ignacio Chela. Hewitt's next tournament was scheduled to be the
Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters The Monte-Carlo Masters is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, a commune that borders on Monaco. The event is part of the ATP Tour Masters 1000 on the Association of Tennis Profession ...
. However, he withdrew due to a recurring injury. Hewitt then reached the second round in Barcelona, before losing to Eduardo Schwank, and lost in the second round of the
Internazionali BNL d'Italia The Italian Open ( it, Internazionali d'Italia; literally: ''Italy's Internationals''), originally called the Italian International Championships, is a tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. It is one of the most important clay tennis tournament ...
to Guillermo García-López. Hewitt then travelled back to Australia to participate in a Davis Cup tie against Japan, winning his two singles matches. At the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
, Hewitt reached the third round, before losing to
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
, who went on to win the title without dropping a set and take the No. 1 ranking. On 13 June, Hewitt defeated
Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
in the final of the Gerry Weber Open in
Halle, Germany Halle, Germany may refer to: * Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, also called ''Halle an der Saale'', or Halle (Saale) * Halle, North Rhine-Westphalia, also called ''Halle in Westfalen'', or ''Halle (Westfalen)'' * Halle, Bentheim, in the district of Benthei ...
, a grass-court tuneup for
Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is pla ...
. The win was Hewitt's first over Federer since 2003 and snapped a 15-match losing streak against the Swiss. At Wimbledon, Hewitt was seeded 15th and lost to third seed,
Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. ...
in the fourth round. After dropping the first two sets, Hewitt took advantage of a stomach illness had by Djokovic to take the third set. However, Hewitt could not mount a comeback, and ended up losing in four sets. At the Atlanta Tennis Championship, Hewitt lost in the first round to Lukáš Lacko. After receiving a first-round bye at the
Legg Mason Classic The Washington Open (known as the Citi Open for sponsorship reasons) is an annual hardcourt tennis tournament played at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. The Washington Open is part of the ATP Tour ...
, Hewitt retired in the second round due to a leg injury. He pulled out of the
Rogers Cup The Canadian Open (french: Tournoi de tennis du Canada), also known as the Canada Masters, and currently branded as the National Bank Open presented by Rogers for sponsorship reasons, is an annual tennis tournament held in Ontario and Quebec. T ...
in Toronto to recover, and returned in Cincinnati. Hewitt defeated Yen-Hsun Lu in the opening round, before losing in three sets to fifth seed Robin Söderling. Hewitt was 32nd seed at the US Open and lost his first-round match to
Paul-Henri Mathieu Paul-Henri Mathieu (; born 12 January 1982) is a French former professional tennis player. He won four singles titles on the ATP Tour. His best singles performance in an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament was reaching the semifinals of the ...
in five sets. It was his earliest exit at the US Open. He withdrew from the Asian hard-court swing due to a wrist injury suffered during the Australian Davis Cup playoff loss to Belgium.


2011: Surgery and out of Top 100

Hewitt began his 15th season on the
ATP Tour The ATP Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals. The second-tier tour is the ATP Challenger Tour and the third-tier is the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour. The equivalent women's organ ...
at the Hopman Cup in Perth. He defeated his Belgian opponent Ruben Bemelmans and went on to win the tie for Australia with a three-set victory in the mixed doubles, partnering
Alicia Molik Alicia Molik (born 27 January 1981) is an Australian former professional tennis player. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8 and a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 6. Molik won a bronze medal in singles for Australi ...
. He next played No. 3
Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. ...
, but lost in straight sets. For his final singles match of the tournament, he played Kazakhstani Andrey Golubev, defeating him in straight sets. After the Hopman Cup, Hewitt competed in the AAMI Kooyong Classic, an exhibitional tournament in the build-up to the Australian Open. He started the tournament solidly, taking out third seed Mikhail Youzhny. In the second round, he defeated Russian
Nikolay Davydenko Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko ( rus, Никола́й Влади́мирович Давыде́нко ; born 2 June 1981) is a Ukrainian-born Russian former professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 3 i ...
. In the final, he defeated Frenchman
Gaël Monfils Gaël Sébastien Monfils (; born 1 September 1986) is a French professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 6 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in November 2016. His career hig ...
. It was the first time that Hewitt had played in the tournament. At the
2011 Australian Open The 2011 Australian Open was a tennis tournament featuring six different competitions, and part of the 2011 ATP World Tour, the 2011 WTA Tour, ITF Junior Tour and the NEC Tour, as tournaments for professional, junior and wheelchair players were ...
, Hewitt was defeated in the first round in five sets by Argentina's
David Nalbandian David Pablo Nalbandian (; born 1 January 1982) is an Argentine retired professional tennis player who played on the ATP Tour from 2000 until his retirement in 2013. He reached the highest ranking in singles of world No. 3 in March 2006. Nalban ...
. Hewitt was up two sets to one and during the fourth set had the chance to finish off the match, when the scores were 3–1 and 0–40 in Hewitt's favour, but failed to capitalise on the situation. Furthermore, Hewitt had two match point opportunities in the final set to close out victory. However, one of these was met with an excellent drop shot from Nalbandian, and he went on to save the other, securing victory. After the Australian Open, Hewitt participated in the SAP Open, an ATP World Tour 250 event. He defeated his first-round opponent
Björn Phau Björn Phau (born 4 October 1979) is a retired German tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 59 in June 2006. Career highlights include reaching five ATP tour semifinals ( Tokyo in 2005, Casablanca in 2006, Beiji ...
, and proceeded to the second round against
Brian Dabul Brian Dabul (; born 24 February 1984) is an Argentine retired tennis player. He was ranked the No. 1 junior in the world in January 2002. His highest ranking in men's singles was No. 82 (9 March 2009), and his highest ranking in doubles was No. ...
. Hewitt had some problems with Dabul, losing the first set, but managed to defeat him. In the quarterfinals, Hewitt played against former US Open champion
Juan Martín del Potro Juan Martín del Potro () (born 23 September 1988) is an Argentine inactive professional tennis player. Del Potro's biggest achievement is a major title: the 2009 US Open, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and the five-time defen ...
, who was on a comeback from a wrist injury. In a weak performance, Hewitt lost. The next tournament that Hewitt took part in was the
Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup The U.S. National Indoor Championships was a tennis tournament that was last held at the Racquet Club of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The event was played on indoor hard courts and usually took place in February. For much of ...
, an ATP World Tour 500 event in
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mo ...
. Hewitt played Lu Yen-Hsun in the opening round, which he won. He advanced to the second round against
Adrian Mannarino Adrian Mannarino (born 29 June 1988) is a French professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 22, attained on 19 March 2018. He won his first ATP Tour singles title at the 2019 Rosmalen Open on grass. He is ...
. Despite losing the first set, Hewitt defeated Mannarino. In the quarterfinals, Hewitt played top seed
Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Ope ...
. Despite being a set up, Hewitt lost the match. Hewitt then played in the 2011 BNP Paribas Open, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event. His first-round opponent was Chinese Taipei's Lu Yen-Hsun. This was the second time in a row the two had played each other in the first round, and he suffered a shock defeat. This was to be Hewitt's last event on the ATP Tour for over three months after he underwent surgery on his left foot. He made his comeback at the
2011 Gerry Weber Open The 2011 Gerry Weber Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 19th edition of the event known that year as the Gerry Weber Open and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2011 ATP World Tour. It took plac ...
in
Halle, Germany Halle, Germany may refer to: * Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, also called ''Halle an der Saale'', or Halle (Saale) * Halle, North Rhine-Westphalia, also called ''Halle in Westfalen'', or ''Halle (Westfalen)'' * Halle, Bentheim, in the district of Benthei ...
, where he returned as defending champion. He was originally scheduled to face top seed
Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
in the opening round. However, the Swiss withdrew after reaching the final of the French Open. Hewitt therefore took on an alternate from Argentina,
Leonardo Mayer Leonardo Martín Mayer (; ''Mayer'' locally or , ; born May 15, 1987) is a former professional tennis player from Argentina. Mayer achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 21 in June 2015 and world No. 48 in doubles in January 2019. ...
and came through the match comfortably. In the second round, he played Andreas Seppi and defeated him. However, Hewitt's reign as champion of Halle came to an end at the hands of home favourite Philipp Kohlschreiber, when the Australian went down in straight sets. During this match, Hewitt turned his ankle when he came in to the net to try to reach a net cord ball. The following week, Hewitt had to retire during a first round match at the
Aegon International The Eastbourne International is a tennis tournament on the WTA Tour and the ATP Tour held at the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club, Eastbourne, United Kingdom. Held since 1974, it is classified as a WTA 500 series on the WTA Tour and an ATP Tour ...
against
Olivier Rochus Olivier Rochus (; born 18 January 1981) is a retired Belgian tennis player. He is the younger brother of Christophe Rochus, also a former top-40 tennis player. Rochus won two singles titles in his career and in 2004 won the French Open doubles ...
. This was a result of the niggling ankle injury he had picked up at Halle the week before. Hewitt came into Wimbledon with doubts over his fitness and condition and was unseeded in the 2011 Wimbledon Championships draw. Hewitt faced Kei Nishikori of Japan in the first round and won in four close sets. In the second round, Hewitt faced fifth seed Robin Söderling. Hewitt won the first set in a tiebreak and the second set. Söderling fought back to take the match in five sets. Hewitt's next tournament was the 2011 Atlanta Tennis Championships, an ATP World Tour 250 event and first event on the US hard-court swing. Hewitt won his first-round match against the American qualifier Phillip Simmonds in straight sets to advance to the second round. He went on to lose his second round encounter against the American qualifier
Rajeev Ram Rajeev Ram ( ; born March 18, 1984) is an American professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. Ram is a five-time major champion, having won the 2020 Australian Open, the 2021 US Open, and the 2022 US Open in men's d ...
. After this defeat, Hewitt who had been scheduled to play in Los Angeles the following week, opted not to take up the offer of a wildcard and withdrew from the event to recover from his foot injury. He then was offered a wild card to play at the 2011 US Open, but was unable to play due to foot injury which ended his season.


2012: First ATP final in two years

Hewitt began his 2012 season at the Hopman Cup. In the opening singles tie against Spain, Hewitt lost in singles to
Fernando Verdasco Fernando Verdasco Carmona (; born 15 November 1983) is a Spanish professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 7, achieved in April 2009. His best performance in a Grand Slam was making the semifinals of the 2009 ...
. For the mixed doubles match, Hewitt partnered with Jarmila Gajdošová. They lost the match in three sets 6–3, 3–6, 9–11, despite being 5–1 up in the final set tie-breaker. In the second tie against France, Hewitt lost to
Richard Gasquet Richard Gabriel Cyr Gasquet (; born 18 June 1986) is a French professional tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. 7, attained on 9 July 2007. He has won a total of 15 singles titles on the ATP Tour. His best performances ...
in singles and in straight sets in mixed doubles. In the final tie against China, Hewitt defeated Wu Di in straight sets and won the mixed doubles match. His next tournament was the Apia International, where he lost in the first round against Serbian fifth seed
Viktor Troicki Viktor Troicki ( sr-Cyrl, Виктор Троицки, ; born 10 February 1986) is a Serbian former professional tennis player. He won his first ATP singles title at the 2010 Kremlin Cup, and his second and third ATP singles titles at the 2015 ...
. His next tournament was the
2012 Australian Open The 2012 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place in Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 16 to 29 January 2012. It was the 100th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. The tournamen ...
. In doubles, partnering countryman
Peter Luczak Peter Luczak ( pl, Łuczak, ; born 31 August 1979) is a retired professional tennis player for Australia. His career-high ATP singles ranking was World No. 64, achieved in October 2009. At the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in Delhi, Luczak won ...
, the Aussies went until the 2nd round where they lost in straight sets to the Bryan Twins. In singles, where he was awarded a wildcard, Hewitt won his first round match defeating unseeded Cedrik-Marcel Stebe in almost four hours. Long-time rival
Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Ope ...
, who was seeded 15th, awaited Hewitt in the second round. After dropping the first set, Hewitt won the next two. Roddick then retired due to a groin injury and Hewitt advanced. In the third round, he faced the 23rd seed
Milos Raonic Milos Raonic (; sr, Милош Раонић, Miloš Raonić, ; born December 27, 1990) is a Canadian inactive professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
of Canada. Playing at night in front of a boisterous Aussie crowd, Hewitt dispatched Raonic in 3 hours 6 minutes. In the 4th round, Hewitt faced returning champ and No. 1-ranked
Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. ...
. Djokovic won the 1st two sets fairly easily, and was leading 3–0 in the 3rd set when Hewitt launched a spirited comeback, taking the set 6–4. Djokovic eventually prevailed however, winning the match in four sets, ending Hewitt's run. Hewitt's two next matches were in February at the Davis Cup, where he won one singles and one doubles match partnering Chris Guccione, what awarded Australia to go to the playoffs once more. After this Hewitt needed an operation to have a plate inserted in his toe. Hewitt returned with a wildcard at the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
where he lost in the first round to
Blaž Kavčič Blaž Kavčič (born 5 March 1987) is a Slovenian former professional tennis player. He was the highest ranked Slovenian male player ever, achieving a career-high of World No. 68 in August 2012, until Aljaž Bedene began to play for Slovenia a ...
. After this, Hewitt began his grass season at Queen's Club Championships. He lost in the 1st round to Croatian
Ivo Karlović Ivo Karlović (; born 28 February 1979) is a former Croatian professional tennis player. His height of 211 cm (6 ft 11 in) makes him the joint tallest ranked tennis player in history, along with Reilly Opelka. He has won eight ATP sin ...
. Hewitt's next tournament was Wimbledon, where he was defeated in the first round by 5th seed
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (; born 17 April 1985) is a French former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 5 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in February 2012. Tsonga won 18 singles titles on th ...
. During this match, ITF released wild cards for the
2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, and Hewitt's name was in the singles list, marking his third appearance at the Olympic Games (2000, 2008 and now). After his loss against Tsonga, Hewitt played doubles at Wimbledon partnering countryman Chris Guccione, where they made the 3rd round before losing in 4 sets. After Wimbledon, viewing to prepare for the Olympics, Hewitt was granted a wild card at Newport. In the opening round, he defeated Canadian
Vasek Pospisil Vasek Pospisil ( ; cs, Vašek Pospíšil, ; known in born June 23, 1990) is a Canadian professional tennis player. Pospisil has a career-high world singles ranking of No. 25, and No. 4 in doubles. Along with partner Jack Sock, he won the 2014 ...
. In the 2nd round, he won in three sets, ousting American
Tim Smyczek Timothy Smyczek ( ; ; born December 30, 1987) is an American former professional tennis player. He made three quarterfinals on the main tour as well as the semi-finals of Newport in 2018. Additionally he won seven Challenger titles. He achieved ...
. In his next match, the Aussie won against Israeli Dudi Sela. With this win, Hewitt went on to the semi-final (his first since Halle 2010), where he was victorious over American
Rajeev Ram Rajeev Ram ( ; born March 18, 1984) is an American professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. Ram is a five-time major champion, having won the 2020 Australian Open, the 2021 US Open, and the 2022 US Open in men's d ...
. He lost to top seeded
John Isner John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Considered one of the best servers ...
in the final. Playing in the
Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...
, Hewitt was drawn against
Sergiy Stakhovsky Sergiy Eduardovych Stakhovsky ( uk, Сергій Едуардович Стаховський, ; born January 6, 1986) is a Ukrainian former professional tennis player. Stakhovsky turned professional in 2003 and played mostly at the Challenger le ...
and won. Marin Čilić, seeded 13th, awaited in the second round and Hewitt dispatched the Croat in two sets to advance to the third round. There, he met 2nd seed
Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. ...
. After losing the first set, Djokovic overpowered Hewitt to take the final two sets and eliminate Hewitt from the tournament. In the mixed doubles, he and Sam Stosur reached the quarterfinals, where they lost two sets to one to Britain's Andy Murray and Laura Robson. Beginning the American hard court season, Hewitt received a WC to the Cincinnati Masters, where he won against Mikhail Youzhny in the 1st round before losing to
Viktor Troicki Viktor Troicki ( sr-Cyrl, Виктор Троицки, ; born 10 February 1986) is a Serbian former professional tennis player. He won his first ATP singles title at the 2010 Kremlin Cup, and his second and third ATP singles titles at the 2015 ...
in the 2nd round. The Aussie's next tournament was the US Open, where he received a WC, completing the "Wild Card Slam" (received wild cards in all of the four Grand Slams in 2012). In the 1st round, Hewitt met Tobias Kamke, winning his first match at Flushing Meadows since 2009. In the 2nd round, Hewitt won a marathon five sets match against
Gilles Müller Gilles Müller (; born 9 May 1983) is a former professional tennis player from Luxembourg. He is a two-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist and the most successful male tennis player in the history of his country. Müller won two titles on the ATP W ...
. In the 3rd round, Hewitt lost to 4th seed and No. 5-ranked
David Ferrer David Ferrer Ern (; ; born 2 April 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. A three-time Davis Cup champion with Spain, Ferrer has won tournaments at all levels on the ATP Tour (ATP 250, ATP 500, Masters 1000) except at a major, ...
, despite having set points in the 1st set.


2013: Five top ten wins and hope for resurgence

Hewitt started off 2013 in Brisbane, where he lost in second round against
Denis Istomin Denis Olegovich Istomin (born 7 September 1986) is an Uzbek professional tennis player. He has won two singles titles (at the 2015 Aegon Open Nottingham and 2017 Chengdu Open) and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 33 in A ...
in straight sets. Prior to the Australian Open, Hewitt took part in the exhibition tournament AAMI Kooyong Classic, in which he defeated
Milos Raonic Milos Raonic (; sr, Милош Раонић, Miloš Raonić, ; born December 27, 1990) is a Canadian inactive professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
,
Tomáš Berdych Tomáš Berdych (; born 17 September 1985) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His most notable achievement was reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, causing consecutive upsets by defeating top seed and six-time champi ...
, and
Juan Martín del Potro Juan Martín del Potro () (born 23 September 1988) is an Argentine inactive professional tennis player. Del Potro's biggest achievement is a major title: the 2009 US Open, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and the five-time defen ...
en route to claim his second title. Due to his excellent result in the preparation event before the
2013 Australian Open The 2013 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place in Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 to 27 January 2013. It was the 101st edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. The tournament co ...
, people had high expectations of Hewitt. However, he suffered his sixth first-round exit in his home slam to No. 9
Janko Tipsarević Janko Tipsarević ( sr-cyr, Јанко Типсаревић, ; born 22 June 1984) is a Serbian former tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 8, achieved on 2 April 2012. In his career, he won 4 ATP World Tour titles, one ...
in straight sets. Hewitt then played in the Davis Cup against
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...
and won in both singles and doubles. He played the SAP Open next in San Jose, losing his second-round match to third-seeded American
Sam Querrey Samuel Austin Querrey (; born October 7, 1987) is an American former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 achieved on February 26, 2018, and won ten ATP singles titles. Known for his powerful serve ...
in a three-set thriller. He also claimed a wild card to play in doubles with fellow Aussie
Marinko Matosevic Marinko Matosevic ( hr, Marinko Matošević, ; born 8 August 1985) is a retired Australian professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is World No. 39, which he achieved in February 2013. Matosevic defeated top players including ...
, beating the No. 1 American duo
Mike Bryan Michael Carl Bryan (born April 29, 1978) is an American former doubles world No. 1 tennis player. With his twin brother Bob, he was the world's top doubles player for more than nine years, first achieving the top ranking in Septem ...
and
Bob Bryan Robert Charles Bryan (born April 29, 1978) is an American former doubles world No. 1 tennis player. He has won twenty-three Grand Slam titles: 16 in men's doubles and 7 in mixed doubles. He turned professional in 1998. With his twi ...
in the quarterfinals, before losing to
Xavier Malisse Xavier Malisse (born 19 July 1980) is a former Belgian professional tennis player. Born in the north-western Flemish city of Kortrijk and nicknamed ''X-Man'', he is one of only two Belgian men (the other being David Goffin) to have been ranked ...
and Frank Moser in the final. With Hewitt's doubles run in the tournament, he surpassed the 100-wins mark in doubles. He next participated in the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships in Memphis. He faced Yen-Hsun Lu in the opening round, saving two match points to edge Lu in three sets. He lost to
Denis Istomin Denis Olegovich Istomin (born 7 September 1986) is an Uzbek professional tennis player. He has won two singles titles (at the 2015 Aegon Open Nottingham and 2017 Chengdu Open) and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 33 in A ...
, again in the second round. Hewitt moved on to play the
BNP Paribas Open The Indian Wells Masters, also known as the Indian Wells Open and BNP Paribas Open is an annual tennis tournament usually held in early- and mid-March at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, United States. The owner is La ...
in Indian Wells, ousting
Lukáš Rosol Lukáš Rosol (; born 24 July 1985) is a Czech professional tennis player. He competes on the ATP Challenger Tour and the ATP Tour, both in singles and doubles. Rosol was coached by former Czech player, 1999 US Open quarterfinalist Ctislav Dosed ...
and 15th seed
John Isner John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Considered one of the best servers ...
, before losing to No. 18
Stanislas Wawrinka Stanislas "Stan" Wawrinka (; born 28 March 1985) is a Swiss professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking of world No. 3 for the first time on 27 January 2014. His career highlight ...
. Hewitt lost to
Gilles Simon Gilles Simon (; born 27 December 1984) is a French former professional tennis player. He had a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 6 attained on 5 January 2009. He turned professional in 2002 and won 14 singles titles on the ATP Tour. ...
in the opening round at Roland Garros. After winning the first two sets, he succumbed in five. In his first match at the Aegon Championships Queen's Club, he beat Mike Russell in three sets. He followed this with victory over
Grigor Dimitrov Grigor Dimitrov ( bg, Григор Димитров, ; born 16 May 1991) is a Bulgarian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he first achieved o ...
in straight sets. He then defeated
Sam Querrey Samuel Austin Querrey (; born October 7, 1987) is an American former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 achieved on February 26, 2018, and won ten ATP singles titles. Known for his powerful serve ...
to book a place in the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, he defeated No. 8
Juan Martín del Potro Juan Martín del Potro () (born 23 September 1988) is an Argentine inactive professional tennis player. Del Potro's biggest achievement is a major title: the 2009 US Open, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and the five-time defen ...
in three sets, to progress to the semi-finals. Hewitt played Marin Čilić in the semi-finals, but was beaten in three sets. At Wimbledon, Hewitt beat top ten player
Stanislas Wawrinka Stanislas "Stan" Wawrinka (; born 28 March 1985) is a Swiss professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking of world No. 3 for the first time on 27 January 2014. His career highlight ...
in the first round in straight sets. He was then defeated by German qualifier Dustin Brown in the second round in four sets. In July 2013, he made it to his first final of the year at the Hall-of-Fame Championships, defeating
Matthew Ebden Matthew Ebden (born 26 November 1987) is an Australian professional tennis player. He is a two-time Grand Slam champion, having won the 2022 Wimbledon Championships in men's doubles alongside Max Purcell, and the 2013 Australian Open in mix ...
, Prakash Amritraj,
Jan Hernych Jan Hernych (born 7 July 1979) is a retired professional male tennis player from Czech Republic. Born in Prague, he turned pro in 1998 and achieved his career-high singles ranking of World No. 59 in April 2009. He won one doubles title and w ...
, and
John Isner John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Considered one of the best servers ...
on the way. He was beaten by
Nicolas Mahut Nicolas Pierre Armand Mahut (; born 21 January 1982) is a French professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. He is a five-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, having completed the career Grand Slam with victories at t ...
having served for the championship at 5–4 in the second set. His form continued at the Atlanta Open, defeating
Édouard Roger-Vasselin Édouard Roger-Vasselin (; born 28 November 1983) is a French professional tennis player who primarily specialises in doubles. He won his first Grand Slam title at the 2014 French Open, winning the men's doubles partnering Julien Benneteau, a ...
6–4, 6–4, Rhyne Williams 7–6, 6–4 and Ivan Dodig 1–6, 6–3, 6–0 in the quarterfinals. Hewitt played
John Isner John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Considered one of the best servers ...
in the semi-finals, but lost in three tough sets. His US Open run started well, beating Brian Baker in four sets and following up with a five-set epic upset against fellow former US Open champion
Juan Martín del Potro Juan Martín del Potro () (born 23 September 1988) is an Argentine inactive professional tennis player. Del Potro's biggest achievement is a major title: the 2009 US Open, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and the five-time defen ...
, where Hewitt came back from two sets to one down against the No. 6, winning a fourth set tiebreak and sealing the match 6–1 in the fifth. He beat Evgeny Donskoy in the third round to set up a fourth round match with Mikhail Youzhny. Hewitt then lost to Youzhny 3–6, 6–3, 7–6, 4–6, 7–5, despite leading 4–1 in the fourth set and serving for the match at 5–3 in the fifth set. A measure of the success of Hewitt's 2013 season is the fact that he won the Newcombe medal as the most outstanding Australian tennis player in 2013, a year in which he returned to the world's top 100.


2014: 30th career title, 600 wins and return to top 40

Hewitt kicked off the 2014 season as an unseeded entrant into the 2014 Brisbane International. He won his first round match against Thanasi Kokkinakis in straight sets. His second round match was against sixth seed
Feliciano López Feliciano López Díaz-Guerra (; born 20 September 1981) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high singles ranking of world No. 12 in March 2015 and doubles ranking of world No. 9 in November 2016.In 2005, López was t ...
, whom he defeated. His quarterfinal encounter against qualifier Marius Copil resulted in a straight-set victory. In the semi-finals Hewitt faced second seed Kei Nishikori. Hewitt prevailed, thus setting the final match against seventeen–time Grand Slam winner
Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
. Federer held an 18–8 record head–to–head against Hewitt. Hewitt managed to turn the tide on Federer, winning 6–1, 4–6, 6–3 and capturing the title, which was his 29th and first since 2010. As a result, his rank increased from 60th to 43rd, becoming Australian number one again. At AAMI Classic, he defeated Andy Murray in two tiebreaks. In the
2014 Australian Open The 2014 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park between 13 and 26 January 2014. It was the 102nd edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. The tournament consisted of even ...
, Hewitt played both singles and doubles as an unseeded player. In his first round singles match, he lost in five sets to No. 24 seed Andreas Seppi. In doubles action, Hewitt partnered with retired and former Australian number one Patrick Rafter. However, the duo did not manage to win their first round match against
Eric Butorac Eric Butorac (born May 22, 1981), nicknamed Booty, is an American retired professional tennis player. He was a doubles specialist, and for a period of approximately six years was the No. 3 ranked American doubles player. His best result was reac ...
and
Raven Klaasen Raven Klaasen ( ; born 16 October 1982) is a South African professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He achieved his career-high doubles ranking of world No. 7 in August 2019, and has won 19 doubles titles on the ATP Tour, includi ...
, losing 4–6, 5–7. After the tournament, Hewitt's singles rank rose to No. 38, his highest position since late 2010. Hewitt battled for his 600th ATP win, becoming only the third active player to reach that milestone by beating Robin Haase in the 1st Round of the 2014 Sony Open Tennis. After the Australian Open, Hewitt played as part of the Australian representative team for the Davis Cup. He lost his match against
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (; born 17 April 1985) is a French former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 5 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in February 2012. Tsonga won 18 singles titles on th ...
3–6, 2–6, 6–7 (2–7). He then competed in the 2014 U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships in Memphis in the United States of America. With a bye in the Round of 32, he went on to defeat Marcos Baghdatis in three sets 1–6, 6–2, 6–0 before losing to Michael Russell 3–6, 6–7 (6–8). His next tournament was the Delray Beach Tournament where he beat
Bradley Klahn Bradley Klahn (born August 20, 1990) is an American professional tennis player from Poway, California. Klahn played collegiate tennis at Stanford University, where he won the 2010 NCAA Singles Championships as a sophomore. His next year as ...
in straight sets 6–3, 6–1. He then versed his compatriot
Marinko Matosevic Marinko Matosevic ( hr, Marinko Matošević, ; born 8 August 1985) is a retired Australian professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is World No. 39, which he achieved in February 2013. Matosevic defeated top players including ...
but was forced to retire after injuring his shoulder. The score was 6–7 (2–7). Hewitt played at the
BNP Paribas Open The Indian Wells Masters, also known as the Indian Wells Open and BNP Paribas Open is an annual tennis tournament usually held in early- and mid-March at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, United States. The owner is La ...
where he defeated
Matthew Ebden Matthew Ebden (born 26 November 1987) is an Australian professional tennis player. He is a two-time Grand Slam champion, having won the 2022 Wimbledon Championships in men's doubles alongside Max Purcell, and the 2013 Australian Open in mix ...
7–6(7–2), 3–6, 6–3. He then lost to Kevin Anderson 6–7(5–7), 4–6. Hewitt then played at the Sony Open Tennis where he defeated Robin Haase in the Round of 128, 3–6, 6–3, 6–3. He then subsequently lost to No. 1
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
. Hewitt then played at the
U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships The U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships is an annual ATP Tour tennis tournament that started in 1910. It is the last remaining ATP World Tour-level tournament in the United States to be played on clay courts. The tournament began in 1910 when t ...
where he lost in Round of 16 to
Sam Querrey Samuel Austin Querrey (; born October 7, 1987) is an American former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 achieved on February 26, 2018, and won ten ATP singles titles. Known for his powerful serve ...
. Hewitt suffered three consecutive first round losses at the BMW Open by FWU AG to
Albert Ramos-Vinolas Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert C ...
7–6(6), 1–6, 0–6,
Mutua Madrid Open The Madrid Open ( es, Masters de Madrid, link=no), currently sponsored by Mutua Madrileña and known as the Mutua Madrid Open, is a joint men's and women's professional tennis tournament, held in Madrid, during early May. The clay-court event is ...
to Santiago Giraldo 5–7, 6–4, 2–6 and at the French Open Roland Garros to
Carlos Berlocq Carlos Alberto Berlocq (; born February 3, 1983) is an Argentines, Argentine retired professional List of male tennis players, tennis player nicknamed ''Charly'', ''Panther'' and ''Warlocq''. His favourite surface was clay and he was last coach ...
6–3, 2–6, 1–6, 4–6. This ended Hewitt's clay court season. At the
Aegon Championships The Queen's Club Championships is an annual tournament for male tennis players, held on grass courts at the Queen's Club in West Kensington, London. The event is part of the ATP Tour 500 series on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP ...
, Hewitt won in the first round against
Daniel Gimeno-Traver Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...
in straight sets before losing to
Feliciano Lopez Feliciano may refer to: People * Feliciano (name), including a list of people with the name Places * San José de Feliciano, Argentine city * Feliciano River, river in Argentina * Estadio Feliciano Gambarte, stadium in Argentina * Dom Feliciano
in straight sets 3–6, 4–6. Following this tournament, Hewitt played at Wimbledon where he won in the first round against Michal Przysiezny, 6–2, 6–7 (14–16), 6–1, 6–4 before losing in the second round in five sets to
Jerzy Janowicz Jerzy Filip Janowicz Jr. (; born 13 November 1990) is a Polish professional tennis player. Janowicz is best known for becoming the first Polish man to reach a major semifinal at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships. Noted for his very powerful serv ...
, 5–7, 4–6, 7–6(7), 6–4, 3–6. He next competed at the Newport Hall of Fame Tennis Championships where he was seeded third. Hewitt advanced to the final for the third consecutive year where he would face Ivo Karlovic. Hewitt slayed his Newport demons and defeated the big serving Croat in three sets: 6–3, 6–7(4), 7–6(3). It was his 30th career singles title. Hewitt went on to win the doubles title with countryman Chris Guccione later that same day. On 10 August 2014, Hewitt defeated Austria's
Jürgen Melzer Jürgen Melzer (born 22 May 1981) is an Austrian former professional tennis player. Melzer reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8 in April 2011, and a doubles ranking of world No. 6 in September 2010. He has a younger brother, Gera ...
in three sets (3–6, 6–4, 6–4) at the
Cincinnati Masters The Cincinnati Masters or Cincinnati Open (branded as the Western & Southern Open for sponsorship reasons) is an annual outdoor hardcourt tennis event held in Mason, Ohio near Cincinnati. The event started on September 18, 1899, and is the ol ...
to reach 610 wins on the ATP Tour. That enabled him to rise to number 19 on the all-time wins list, topping
Björn Borg Björn Rune Borg (; born 6 June 1956) is a Swedish former world No. 1 tennis player. Between 1974 and 1981, he became the first man in the Open Era to win 11 Grand Slam singles titles with six at the French Open and five consecutively at ...
and
Yevgeny Kafelnikov Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Kafelnikov ( rus, Евгений Александрович Кафельников, , jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ˈkafʲɪlʲnʲɪkəf, a=Ru-Yevgeny-Kafelnikov.ogg; born 18 February 1974) is a Russian former world No. 1 tennis p ...
in the process.


2015: Farewell year

Hewitt began his 2015 season as the defending champion of the Brisbane International. In the first round he was defeated in straight sets (3–6, 2–6) by fellow Australian Sam Groth in 58 minutes. As a result, he dropped from rank No. 50 to No. 84 and lost his position of No. 1 Australian which he had held for many consecutive months. Hewitt played the first Fast4 short-form tennis exhibition match against Roger Federer but lost in five sets. Hewitt then played his 19th consecutive
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...
appearance which is the fourth longest streak at any Grand Slam. In the first round he beat wild card Zhang Ze in 4 sets. He then lost in five sets to his second round opponent Benjamin Becker despite winning the first two sets. At a media conference, Hewitt mentioned plans to retire after the 2016 Australian Open to become the captain of the Australian Davis Cup team after Pat Rafter moved on from the position, becoming the seventh man to captain the team. "I had thought long and hard and I plan to play the Australian Open next year and then finish," he said. "At the moment,
he Davis Cup He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
is the main focus for us and then I will be looking towards the grass court season and finishing here in Melbourne, which would be special to play 20 Australian Opens". It will be Australia's first time in the world group of the Davis Cup in six years. Rafter and John Newcombe are the only other two Australian men to have been ranked No. 1 since ranks were established in 1973. Hewitt then played the Miami Open and lost in the first round to Thomaz Bellucci in three sets. He was then awarded a wildcard to the 2015 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships where he also lost in the first round to
Go Soeda is a former professional Japanese tennis player. He started playing tennis at the age of four and turned professional in April 2003. He has won 18 singles titles on the ATP Challenger Tour, and achieved a career-high singles ranking of ...
. Hewitt skipped the remainder of the clay court season including the
2015 French Open The 2015 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 119th edition of the French Open and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros from 24 May to 7 June and consisted of ...
, instead opting to focus on the grass season and Wimbledon. He began his grass court season at the
2015 Topshelf Open The 2015 Topshelf Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 26th edition of the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships, and was part of the 250 Series of the 2015 ATP World Tour, and of the WTA International tournaments ...
where he lost to
Nicolas Mahut Nicolas Pierre Armand Mahut (; born 21 January 1982) is a French professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. He is a five-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, having completed the career Grand Slam with victories at t ...
in the first round. He also was awarded a wildcard into the men's doubles where he partnered compatriot Matt Reid. They upset the fourth seeds Draganja/ Kontinen in the first round. At Wimbledon, Hewitt was awarded a wildcard and was defeated by
Jarkko Nieminen Jarkko Kalervo Nieminen (born 23 July 1981) is a Finnish former professional tennis player. His highest ranking of world No. 13, achieved in July 2006, is a Finnish record. He has won two ATP singles titles and five doubles titles in his care ...
6–3, 3–6, 6–4, 0–6, 9–11 in the first round of his eighteenth and final appearance at the tournament. It became his 44th five-set match of his grand slam career. Despite three straight breaks in the fifth set, Hewitt on serve faced and saved three match points at 4–5, and held serve each time until the 20th game of the fifth set. Afterwards both the crowd and Nieminen himself gave Hewitt a standing ovation. Partnering compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis, the wild card duo reached the third round of the Wimbledon men's doubles with two five-set matches, including defeating the 15th seed, but they lost to the 4th seed. Hewitt played in the mixed doubles with compatriot Casey Dellacqua on a wild card and lost in the second round, seemingly ending his Wimbledon career. Hewitt partnered Sam Groth to win Australia's Davis Cup quarterfinals doubles rubber against Kazakhstan in Darwin on 18 July. With their spectacular performance, Groth and Hewitt were selected to play the last two reverse-singles rubbers, replacing Kyrgios and Kokkinakis respectively. After Groth's win, Hewitt won the deciding fifth rubber against Nedovyesov to put Australia at 3–2 to reach the semi-finals. It was Australia's first win from 0–2 down since 1939. Hewitt, on a wild card, defeated compatriot John-Patrick Smith 6–3 6–4 at the Citi Open in Washington D.C. in August. He lost in the second round of the US Open to Tomic in five sets despite having two match points. Hewitt partnered with Sam Groth lost a tough Davis Cup semi-finals doubles tie against the British Murray brothers in 5 sets. Todd Woodbridge hailed it as the "Best oublesI've watched for years."


2016: Retirement

Having previously announced his intentions to retire after the 2016 Australian Open, Hewitt confirmed that his final season would consist of that, the Hopman Cup and the exhibition
World Tennis Challenge The World Tennis Challenge was a three night professional exhibition tennis tournament held in the week before the Australian Open in Adelaide, South Australia as part of the Australian Open Series. The tournament was created by a consortium o ...
. In his 20th appearance at the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...
, he won his first round match against fellow Australian James Duckworth in straight sets. He then lost in the second round in 3 straight competitive sets to 8th seed
David Ferrer David Ferrer Ern (; ; born 2 April 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. A three-time Davis Cup champion with Spain, Ferrer has won tournaments at all levels on the ATP Tour (ATP 250, ATP 500, Masters 1000) except at a major, ...
, 2–6, 4–6, 4–6. Post-match he was remembered by players including
Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
,
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
,
Andy Murray Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British professional tennis player from Scotland. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 41 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. Murray ...
and
Nick Kyrgios Nicholas Hilmy Kyrgios ( ; born 27 April 1995) is an Australian professional tennis player. In singles, Kyrgios' career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles ranking of world No. 13 was achieved on 24 October 2016. He has won sev ...
as a man who was at the top of the game for years, and continually displayed the fighting spirit that he became synonymous with. He was made a Member of the
Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...
in the awards announced on Australia Day. In March Hewitt came out of retirement to replace the injured
Nick Kyrgios Nicholas Hilmy Kyrgios ( ; born 27 April 1995) is an Australian professional tennis player. In singles, Kyrgios' career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles ranking of world No. 13 was achieved on 24 October 2016. He has won sev ...
in the first round Davis Cup against the US at the
Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club Kooyong Stadium, at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, is an Australian tennis venue, located in the Melbourne suburb of Kooyong. The stadium, was built in 1927, and has undergone several renovations. It has a seating capacity of slightly more t ...
. He played doubles with
John Peers John William Peers (born 25 July 1988) is an Australian professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He won his first Grand Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open, where he and Henri Kontinen won the men's doubles event. Peers als ...
against the
Bryan brothers The Bryan brothers, identical twin brothers Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, are retired American professional doubles tennis players and the most successful duo of all time. They were born on April 29, 1978, with Mike being the elder by two minutes. ...
. The Australian duo came back from two sets to love but lost the fifth set. Hewitt was the subject of a book titled "Facing Hewitt" which features fifty interviews with professional tennis players who competed against him. In June it was announced that Hewitt would be taking a wildcard into the Wimbledon doubles competition, playing alongside young compatriot Jordan Thompson. In the first round, the pair saved eight match points to defeat
Nicolás Almagro Nicolás Almagro Sánchez (; born 21 August 1985 in Murcia, Spain) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2008, 2010 and 2012 (losing each time to Rafael Nadal, the eventual ...
and David Marrero 19–17 in the deciding set. However, they lost to the eighth seeds in the second round.


2018: Comeback in doubles

In December 2017, it was announced that Hewitt would come out of retirement and accept a doubles wildcard with compatriot Sam Groth at the 2018 Australian Open. Hewitt and Jordan Thompson accepted a wildcard to play 2018 Brisbane International – Men's doubles, Doubles at the 2018 Brisbane International. They lost in the first round to
Grigor Dimitrov Grigor Dimitrov ( bg, Григор Димитров, ; born 16 May 1991) is a Bulgarian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he first achieved o ...
and Ryan Harrison (tennis), Ryan Harrison 3–6, 6–1, [5–10]. Hewitt then played in the fast4 exhibition in Sydney where he lost to Grigor Dimitrov. Hewitt and Nick Kyrgios, Kyrgios then went on to win the doubles beating Alexander Zverev and
Grigor Dimitrov Grigor Dimitrov ( bg, Григор Димитров, ; born 16 May 1991) is a Bulgarian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he first achieved o ...
. After that, he played the Tie Break Tens in Melbourne where he won his opening match against
Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. ...
, before losing to world No. 1
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
. In the 2018 Australian Open – Men's doubles, Australian Open doubles, Hewitt and Groth made a run to the quarterfinals, including a win over third seeds Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecău. This was his best doubles result at the Australian Open in his career. Hewitt's doubles comeback continued with Lleyton playing doubles at the 2018 Estoril Open – Doubles, 2018 Estoril Open with Alex de Minaur where they defeated second seeds Michael Venus (tennis), Michael Venus and
Raven Klaasen Raven Klaasen ( ; born 16 October 1982) is a South African professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He achieved his career-high doubles ranking of world No. 7 in August 2019, and has won 19 doubles titles on the ATP Tour, includi ...
before losing in the quarterfinals. He then reached the semi-finals of the 2018 Fuzion 100 Surbiton Trophy – Men's doubles with Alex Bolt before Venus and Klaasen gained revenge on Hewitt (this time with Alex Bolt) at the 2018 Rosmalen Grass Court Championships – Men's doubles. Hewitt then teamed up with another Aussie,
Nick Kyrgios Nicholas Hilmy Kyrgios ( ; born 27 April 1995) is an Australian professional tennis player. In singles, Kyrgios' career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles ranking of world No. 13 was achieved on 24 October 2016. He has won sev ...
at the 2018 Queen's Club Championships – Doubles tournament where they defeated number 3 seeds
Nicolas Mahut Nicolas Pierre Armand Mahut (; born 21 January 1982) is a French professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. He is a five-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, having completed the career Grand Slam with victories at t ...
and Pierre-Hugues Herbert before losing in the quarterfinals. At the 2018 Wimbledon Championships – Men's doubles, Hewitt was again wildcard with Alex Bolt however the pair again lost in the first round to Venus and Klaasen. After this loss, Hewitt teamed up with Jordan Thompson and lost in the first round of the 2018 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport. Hewitt's last professional match of 2018 was in the 2018 Davis Cup World Group Play-offs against Austria Davis Cup team, Austria where Hewitt paired up with experienced doubles specialist
John Peers John William Peers (born 25 July 1988) is an Australian professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He won his first Grand Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open, where he and Henri Kontinen won the men's doubles event. Peers als ...
to defeat the Austrian team of doubles specialist Oliver Marach and experienced clay-courier Juergen Melzer.


2019: Continuing to play doubles

In 2019, Hewitt played doubles at a number of tournaments. In a pairing with Jordan Thompson, they lost in the first round of the Sydney International. A week later he teamed up with John-Patrick Smith at the Australian Open, yet again losing in the first round. Hewitt and countryman Jordan Thompson received a wildcard to play at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships – Men's doubles, Wimbledon Championships. They reached the second round before losing to R. Klaasen and M. Venus in straight sets. Also that year, he played doubles in New York, Houston, Surbiton, and 's-Hertogenbosch, playing with the likes of Alexei Popyrin and Thompson yet again.


2020: Back in hometown of Adelaide

Hewitt once again featured in the Australian summer of tennis, this time choosing to participate in the new 2020 Adelaide International, Adelaide International, the first time he had played tour-tennis in his home town for over a decade. He partnered Jordan Thompson but lost in the first round to Cristian Garin and Juan Ignacio Londero. The two chose to compete at the 2020 Australian Open – Men's doubles, Australian Open a week later, but lost in the first round in straight sets, to Korean duo Song Min-kyu (tennis), Min-Kyu Song and Nam Ji-sung. Hewitt continues to commentate matches at the Australian Open.


National representation


Davis Cup

Hewitt made his
Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organi ...
debut for Australia Davis Cup team, Australia in the 1999 Davis Cup quarterfinals at age 18 against the United States Davis Cup team, United States in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. In the first rubber of the tie Hewitt faced No. 8 and Wimbledon quarter finalist Todd Martin. Hewitt caused a major upset over Martin and would go on to win his second singles rubber against Alex O'Brien as well. The great start to his Davis Cup career would continue in the 1999 semi-finals against Russia Davis Cup team, Russia where he would record another two wins against
Marat Safin Marat Mubinovich Safin ( rus, Мара́т Муби́нович Са́фин, , mɐˈrat ˈsafʲɪn, Ru-Marat-Safin.ogg; tt-Cyrl, Марат Мөбин улы Сафин; born 27 January 1980) is a Russian retired world No. 1 tennis player an ...
and
Yevgeny Kafelnikov Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Kafelnikov ( rus, Евгений Александрович Кафельников, , jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ˈkafʲɪlʲnʲɪkəf, a=Ru-Yevgeny-Kafelnikov.ogg; born 18 February 1974) is a Russian former world No. 1 tennis p ...
. He would taste his first defeat in Davis Cup in the 1999 final against France Davis Cup team, France but would become a Davis Cup champion anyway. In 2000 Davis Cup, 2000 Hewitt and Australia would again make the Davis Cup final but fell to Spain Davis Cup team, Spain in Barcelona. In 2001 Davis Cup, 2001 Hewitt would again be a part of the Australian team that would make the Davis Cup final but the Australians would lose the fifth rubber and hand France a 3–2 win. Determined to make amends for his last few finals, Hewitt led the Australian team to the 2003 Davis Cup final against Spain where he defeated
Juan Carlos Ferrero Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat (; born 12 February 1980) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year became the 21st player to hold the top ranking, which he ...
in five sets. The team came away victorious 3–1 overall and Hewitt claimed his second Davis Cup title. By the age of 22, he had recorded more wins in Davis Cup singles than any other Australian player. Following the retirement of Pat Rafter and the semi-retirement of Mark Philippoussis, Hewitt would be forced to lead the Australian Davis Cup team with little success from his peers. In the 2006 quarterfinals in Melbourne, Hewitt defeated Belarusian Vladimir Voltchkov in just 91 minutes. Voltchkov said before the match that "Hewitt has no weapons to hurt me." Hewitt responded, "Voltchkov doesn't have a ranking [of 457] to hurt me." In the semi-finals in Buenos Aires on clay, Hewitt lost to Argentine José Acasuso in five sets. Despite a world group semi-final appearance in 2006, Hewitt and Australia would be relegated to the Asia/Oceania region in 2008. Hewitt continued showed his commitment to the team by competing in the regional ties but the team fell in the playoff stages every year between 2008 and 2011. In the 2011 playoffs, he played against
Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
and
Stanislas Wawrinka Stanislas "Stan" Wawrinka (; born 28 March 1985) is a Swiss professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking of world No. 3 for the first time on 27 January 2014. His career highlight ...
on a grass court in Sydney, losing both matches. In doubles, together with Chris Guccione, he was able to defeat Federer and Wawrinka, but this was not enough to take Australia to the World Group. In 2012, Hewitt won his single and doubles match against China in February, which allowed Australia to return to the playoffs where they lost to Germany. After defeating Chinese Taipei and Uzbekistan, Australia earned the right to get to the playoffs again in 2013. They ended up routing Poland 4–1 on their soil including a convincing 6–1 6–3 6–2 win for Hewitt over recent Wimbledon quarterfinalist Łukasz Kubot. In 2014, Australia crashed out 5–0 in the World Group first round on the French clay of La Roche sur Yon.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (; born 17 April 1985) is a French former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 5 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in February 2012. Tsonga won 18 singles titles on th ...
beat Hewitt both in singles and doubles. Perth's grass courts would then be hosting yet another playoff tie for Australia in September 2014. Hewitt won both his singles match (against Farrukh Dustov) and the subsequent doubles rubber (partnering Chris Guccione v. Dustov and Istomin) in straight sets while up and coming
Nick Kyrgios Nicholas Hilmy Kyrgios ( ; born 27 April 1995) is an Australian professional tennis player. In singles, Kyrgios' career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles ranking of world No. 13 was achieved on 24 October 2016. He has won sev ...
won his encounter with
Denis Istomin Denis Olegovich Istomin (born 7 September 1986) is an Uzbek professional tennis player. He has won two singles titles (at the 2015 Aegon Open Nottingham and 2017 Chengdu Open) and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 33 in A ...
to give Australia an unassailable 3–0 lead over Uzbekistan, thus enabling their country to return to the World Group in 2015. Sam Groth and Nick Kyrgios wrapped up a 5–0 victory a day later. Australia will open their 2015 campaign in Czech Republic for a 6–8 March tie that is one of two worst-case scenarios for Australia. Hewitt played the Davis Cup match against Great Britain in the semi-finals of the 2015 Davis Cup. He played doubles with Sam Groth losing in five sets to brothers Andy Murray, Andy and Jamie Murray. He came out of retirement to play the first round match against the United States at the 2016 Davis Cup as a player-captain, where he and partner
John Peers John William Peers (born 25 July 1988) is an Australian professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He won his first Grand Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open, where he and Henri Kontinen won the men's doubles event. Peers als ...
lost to the
Bryan brothers The Bryan brothers, identical twin brothers Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, are retired American professional doubles tennis players and the most successful duo of all time. They were born on April 29, 1978, with Mike being the elder by two minutes. ...
in a five-setter. He competed in the 2018 Davis Cup World Group Play-offs, again as a player-captain in doubles with Peers. They won the rubber against the Austrian duo Oliver Marach and
Jürgen Melzer Jürgen Melzer (born 22 May 1981) is an Austrian former professional tennis player. Melzer reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8 in April 2011, and a doubles ranking of world No. 6 in September 2010. He has a younger brother, Gera ...
in four sets. Hewitt is the sole holder of several Australian Davis Cup records, which include most wins, most singles wins, most ties played and most years played. His Davis Cup career has included wins over players who were top ten at the time, which include Todd Martin,
Marat Safin Marat Mubinovich Safin ( rus, Мара́т Муби́нович Са́фин, , mɐˈrat ˈsafʲɪn, Ru-Marat-Safin.ogg; tt-Cyrl, Марат Мөбин улы Сафин; born 27 January 1980) is a Russian retired world No. 1 tennis player an ...
,
Yevgeny Kafelnikov Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Kafelnikov ( rus, Евгений Александрович Кафельников, , jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ˈkafʲɪlʲnʲɪkəf, a=Ru-Yevgeny-Kafelnikov.ogg; born 18 February 1974) is a Russian former world No. 1 tennis p ...
,
Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
,
Gustavo Kuerten Gustavo "Guga" Kuerten (; born 10 September 1976) is a Brazilian former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the French Open singles title three times (1997, 2000, and 2001), and was the Tennis Masters Cup champion in 2000. During his career he ...
, Sébastien Grosjean and
Juan Carlos Ferrero Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat (; born 12 February 1980) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year became the 21st player to hold the top ranking, which he ...
.


World Team Cup

Hewitt made his World Team Cup debut for Australia in 2000 at the age of 19. He recorded two singles victories over Albert Costa and Marcelo Ríos but fell to
Yevgeny Kafelnikov Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Kafelnikov ( rus, Евгений Александрович Кафельников, , jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ˈkafʲɪlʲnʲɪkəf, a=Ru-Yevgeny-Kafelnikov.ogg; born 18 February 1974) is a Russian former world No. 1 tennis p ...
in his last group stage match. Hewitt returned to the World Team Cup in 2001 and led Australia to the title by recording singles wins over Àlex Corretja, Magnus Norman, Tommy Haas in the group stages. In the final Hewitt defeated No. 2
Marat Safin Marat Mubinovich Safin ( rus, Мара́т Муби́нович Са́фин, , mɐˈrat ˈsafʲɪn, Ru-Marat-Safin.ogg; tt-Cyrl, Марат Мөбин улы Сафин; born 27 January 1980) is a Russian retired world No. 1 tennis player an ...
. Hewitt made his third appearance at the tournament in 2003 where he entered as the No. 1 singles player and went undefeated in his singles matches by recording wins over Jiří Novák, James Blake and
Carlos Moyá Carlos Moyá Llompart (; born 27 August 1976) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He was the French Open singles champion in 1998 and was the singles runner-up at the 1997 Australian Open. In 2004, he was part of his country's succ ...
but it was not enough to send Australia through to the final. Fresh from their 2003 Davis Cup victory, Hewitt and Mark Philippoussis entered the 2004 World Team Cup with high hopes. In the group stages Hewitt recorded victories over Robby Ginepri and Martin Verkerk but fell to Gastón Gaudio in his last group singles match. Despite the loss, Australia still advanced to the final where Hewitt would lose to Fernando González and Australia would lose the final 2–1. After a six-year hiatus Hewitt returned to compete in the 2010 ARAG World Team Cup, 2010 World Team Cup and won his first match against
John Isner John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Considered one of the best servers ...
but fell to
Nicolás Almagro Nicolás Almagro Sánchez (; born 21 August 1985 in Murcia, Spain) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2008, 2010 and 2012 (losing each time to Rafael Nadal, the eventual ...
in his last match.


Olympics

A 19-year-old Hewitt entered his first Olympics in Tennis at the 2000 Summer Olympics, 2000 and was given the fourth seeding in the draw. Hewitt was considered a strong favorite for a medal given his victory at the Sydney International earlier in the year but despite competing in his home nation Hewitt went out in the first round to
Max Mirnyi Maksim "Max" Mikalaevich Mirnyi ( be, Максім Мікалаевіч Мірны, ; russian: Максим Николаевич Мирный, ; born 6 July 1977) is a Belarusian former professional tennis player. Mirnyi became a doubles spec ...
6–3 6–3. Hewitt elected not to compete in the Tennis at the 2004 Summer Olympics, 2004 Athens Olympic Games, deciding instead to focus on the 2004 US Open (tennis), 2004 US Open which would result in a runner-up showing. He would return for his second Olympic Games in Tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing for both the singles and doubles competitions. A first round 7–5 7–6 victory over Jonas Björkman would set up a second round clash with the number 2 seed
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
. Nadal eliminated Hewitt in the second round 6–1 6–2 and would go on to win the singles gold medal. Pairing up with Chris Guccione in the doubles, the team would record victories over
Agustín Calleri Agustín Calleri (, ; born 14 September 1976) is a retired professional male tennis player from Argentina. His nickname is ''Gordo'' which means ''Fat'' in Spanish. He is known as a hard-hitter and he prefers playing on clay. Calleri served as ...
/ Juan Mónaco and
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
/Tommy Robredo before falling to the
Bryan brothers The Bryan brothers, identical twin brothers Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, are retired American professional doubles tennis players and the most successful duo of all time. They were born on April 29, 1978, with Mike being the elder by two minutes. ...
in the quarterfinals. Hewitt competed in his third olympics in Tennis at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London 2012 where he entered the Tennis at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's singles, men's singles event and defeated Ukrainian
Sergiy Stakhovsky Sergiy Eduardovych Stakhovsky ( uk, Сергій Едуардович Стаховський, ; born January 6, 1986) is a Ukrainian former professional tennis player. Stakhovsky turned professional in 2003 and played mostly at the Challenger le ...
in the first round. He was the only Australian in any tennis event to progress past the first round. In the second round Hewitt took out 13th seeded Croatian Marin Čilić. In the third round Hewitt stunned the tennis world when he won the first set against the number 2 ranked
Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. ...
, he would end up falling in three sets. He also sent an application to the International Olympic Committee to enter the men's doubles competition with Chris Guccione but the application was rejected. Following his men's doubles rejection, Hewitt decided to apply for a spot in the Tennis at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Mixed doubles, mixed doubles competition with Sam Stosur. The pair were granted entry and defeated Polish pair Marcin Matkowski and Agnieszka Radwańska in the first round. In the quarterfinals, Hewitt/Stosur faced British pair
Andy Murray Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British professional tennis player from Scotland. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 41 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. Murray ...
and Laura Robson, they would lose the encounter.


Coaches

Peter Smith, Darren Cahill,
Jason Stoltenberg Jason Stoltenberg (born 4 April 1970) is an Australian former professional tennis player. Tennis career Stoltenberg began playing tennis at age ten on an antbed (crushed termite mound) court where his father owned a cotton farm in the Far Wes ...
,
Roger Rasheed Roger Rasheed (born 10 March 1969) is a former Australian rules football player, tennis player, tennis coach and tennis commentator with the Seven Network for 12 years. Rasheed is best known as Grand Slam coach of Australian former World No. ...
, Scott Draper,
Tony Roche Anthony Dalton Roche AO MBE (born 17 May 1945) is an Australian former professional tennis player. A native of Tarcutta, Roche played junior tennis in the New South Wales regional city of Wagga Wagga. He won one Grand Slam singles title, t ...
,
Nathan Healey Nathan Healey (born 27 February 1980 in Gosford, New South Wales) is an Australian tennis player. Turning professional in 1998, Healey has won 3 doubles titles. In 2006, he earned a wildcard to the Australian Open, making the 3rd round, whe ...
and Brett Smith (tennis coach), Brett Smith,
Tony Roche Anthony Dalton Roche AO MBE (born 17 May 1945) is an Australian former professional tennis player. A native of Tarcutta, Roche played junior tennis in the New South Wales regional city of Wagga Wagga. He won one Grand Slam singles title, t ...
and
Peter Luczak Peter Luczak ( pl, Łuczak, ; born 31 August 1979) is a retired professional tennis player for Australia. His career-high ATP singles ranking was World No. 64, achieved in October 2009. At the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in Delhi, Luczak won ...
are all former coaches of Hewitt. Hewitt's coaches in his time on the ATP Tour: * Peter Smith (tennis coach), Peter Smith (January 1997 – December 1998) * Darren Cahill (December 1998 – December 2001) *
Jason Stoltenberg Jason Stoltenberg (born 4 April 1970) is an Australian former professional tennis player. Tennis career Stoltenberg began playing tennis at age ten on an antbed (crushed termite mound) court where his father owned a cotton farm in the Far Wes ...
(December 2001 – June 2003) *
Roger Rasheed Roger Rasheed (born 10 March 1969) is a former Australian rules football player, tennis player, tennis coach and tennis commentator with the Seven Network for 12 years. Rasheed is best known as Grand Slam coach of Australian former World No. ...
(June 2003 – January 2007) * Scott Draper (January 2007) *
Tony Roche Anthony Dalton Roche AO MBE (born 17 May 1945) is an Australian former professional tennis player. A native of Tarcutta, Roche played junior tennis in the New South Wales regional city of Wagga Wagga. He won one Grand Slam singles title, t ...
(July 2007 – August 2009) *
Nathan Healey Nathan Healey (born 27 February 1980 in Gosford, New South Wales) is an Australian tennis player. Turning professional in 1998, Healey has won 3 doubles titles. In 2006, he earned a wildcard to the Australian Open, making the 3rd round, whe ...
(August 2009 – August 2010) * Brett Smith (tennis coach), Brett Smith (August 2010 – November 2010) *
Tony Roche Anthony Dalton Roche AO MBE (born 17 May 1945) is an Australian former professional tennis player. A native of Tarcutta, Roche played junior tennis in the New South Wales regional city of Wagga Wagga. He won one Grand Slam singles title, t ...
(November 2010 – January 2016) *
Peter Luczak Peter Luczak ( pl, Łuczak, ; born 31 August 1979) is a retired professional tennis player for Australia. His career-high ATP singles ranking was World No. 64, achieved in October 2009. At the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in Delhi, Luczak won ...
(January 2013 – January 2016)


Rivalries


Hewitt vs Federer

Hewitt and
Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
played each other on 27 occasions. Early in their careers, Hewitt dominated Federer, winning seven of their first nine meetings, including a victory from two sets down in the 2003 Davis Cup semi-final, which allowed Australia to defeat Switzerland. However, from 2004 onward, Federer dominated the rivalry, winning 16 of the last 18 meetings to finish with an 18–9 overall head-to-head record. This is Hewitt's longest rivalry as these two first played each other as juniors in 1996. They met in one Grand Slam final, the 2004 US Open final, where Federer won his first US Open title in a lopsided encounter in which Federer won the first and third sets 6–0 and the second set on a tiebreak. Federer met Hewitt at six of the Grand Slam tournaments in which he lifted the trophy, including all five of his triumphs between 2004 and 2005. Their last meeting was at the 2014 Brisbane International, where Hewitt triumphed over Federer in three sets, for his first title since 2010, when he also beat Federer to the 2010 Gerry Weber Open, Halle title. Hewitt and Federer teamed up in the men's doubles at Wimbledon in 1999 Wimbledon Championships – Men's doubles, 1999. They got to the third round before losing to Jonas Björkman and Pat Rafter.


Hewitt vs Roddick

Hewitt's second longest rivalry was against American
Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Ope ...
, in which the two played on 14 occasions. Early on, Hewitt dominated the rivalry, with six wins from their first seven meetings. One of those wins included a five-set victory at the 2001 US Open (tennis), 2001 US Open, the tournament in which Hewitt captured his first Singles Grand Slam title. In later years, Roddick began to dominate Hewitt, with the rivalry finishing at 7 wins each.


Hewitt vs Argentinian players

A rivalry and feud between Hewitt and Argentinian tennis players began at the 2002 Wimbledon final where Hewitt defeated Argentina's
David Nalbandian David Pablo Nalbandian (; born 1 January 1982) is an Argentine retired professional tennis player who played on the ATP Tour from 2000 until his retirement in 2013. He reached the highest ranking in singles of world No. 3 in March 2006. Nalban ...
in straight sets.Lleyton Hewitt gone in five-set heart-breaker
''The Australian''. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
The rivalry would hit boiling point in 2005 over a series of matches spread between the 2005 Australian Open and the 2005 Davis Cup Quarterfinals between Australia Davis Cup team, Australia and Argentina Davis Cup team, Argentina. In the third round of 2005 Australian Open Hewitt faced Argentinian Juan Ignacio Chela in which Hewitt fired up Chela with his over-zealous celebrations for Chela's unforced errors, causing the Argentinian to spit at Hewitt during a change of ends.Lleyton Hewitt talks footy dreams and on-court rivalries ahead of the Brisbane International
News.com.au. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
Hewitt would then face
David Nalbandian David Pablo Nalbandian (; born 1 January 1982) is an Argentine retired professional tennis player who played on the ATP Tour from 2000 until his retirement in 2013. He reached the highest ranking in singles of world No. 3 in March 2006. Nalban ...
in the quarterfinals on Australia Day with Hewitt coming out victorious 10–8 in the fifth set. Later in 2005 Hewitt would face Guillermo Coria in the Davis Cup quarterfinals, where their rivalry would flare up, however, die down the following year in the 2006 Davis Cup semi-finals, where Argentina came out victorious 5–0 over Hewitt and the Australians.


Playing style

Hewitt is a defensive counterpuncher. He typically likes to stay back towards the tennis court, baseline during a rally (tennis), rally and will usually approach the net only to catch a short reply or drop shot from his opponent. Hewitt's lack of penetration in his groundstrokes, most notably in his forehand, a typically dominant shot in most male players, forces him to rely on placement rather than simply "dominating" the point. At the 2004 Cincinnati Masters Final, commentator MaliVai Washington said that Hewitt was even more difficult to "ace" than Agassi because he gets more returns in play. Hewitt's tactics typically involve putting difficult service returns in play, consistently chasing down attempted winning shots from his opponent, and keeping the ball deep until he feels he can hit a winner. Although he is known primarily as a baseliner, Hewitt is a skilled volley (tennis), volleyer and is known for having one of the best smash (tennis), overhead smashes in the game. His signature shot, however, is the offensive topspin lob (tennis), lob, a shot that he executes efficiently off both wings when his opponent approaches the net. US Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe, Jim Courier and Tim Henman have all described Hewitt's lob as being the best in the world (although Henman has since declared
Andy Murray Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British professional tennis player from Scotland. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 41 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. Murray ...
to have succeeded him). In Andre Agassi's book "Open", Hewitt is described as one of the best shot selectors in the history of Men's Tennis.


Awards

* 2001 – ATP Player of the Year * 2001 – Most Popular South Australian * 2002 – ATP Player of the Year * 2002 – Australia's Male Athlete * 2002 – ESPY Best Male Tennis Player * 2003 – Young Australian of the Year * 2003 – Vogue Australia Sportsman of the Year * 2003 – Most Popular South Australian * 2011 – Newcombe Medal. Spirit of Tennis Award * 2013 – Newcombe Medal. Most outstanding Australian player in 2013 *
Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organi ...
Commitment Award * 2016 – Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to tennis as a player at the national and international level, and to the community.


Equipment

In July 2000, Hewitt signed a multiyear endorsement deal with Nike Inc., Nike. He is currently sponsored by American athletic apparel company Athletic DNA and the Japanese sports manufacturer Yonex, with whom he signed a "Head to Toe" deal in late 2005. Hewitt has used Yonex racquets as early as 2000, having used the Yonex Super RD Tour 95. Yonex provides Hewitt's racquets, shoes and accessories. Hewitt's Yonex shoes (SHT-306) are inscribed with his nickname "Rusty" along with an image of an Australian flag. As of 7 August 2007, his first appearance with a new racquet at the Montreal Masters, Hewitt used to use the Yonex RQiS 1 Tour. He used to use the Yonex RDS tour 90 Model, but switched to the Yonex RDiS 100 mid in 2009. In 2011, he switched to Yonex VCORE 95 D, using a grip size of 4 3/8 (L3). Since mid-2011, he began alternating between Yonex, Nike, Adidas, Asics and Fila shoes.


Personal life

Hewitt is a keen supporter of Australian rules football, having played the game earlier in his career, and is currently the joint Number-one ticket holder, No. 1 ticket holder for the Adelaide Football Club, Adelaide Crows, alongside Australian Parliament, MP Kate Ellis (politician), Kate Ellis. He had once had a close friendship with Crows star Andrew McLeod, but this broke down amid much public controversy in 2005. Hewitt had produced a DVD titled ''Lleyton Hewitt: The Other Side'' which precipitated the falling out between him and McLeod over filming of certain Aboriginal sites. Hewitt and Belgian tennis player
Kim Clijsters Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters (; born 8 June 1983) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. Clijsters reached the world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles, having held both rankings simultaneously in 2003. She won six major titles, ...
started a relationship in January 2000, during the Australian Open. The two announced their engagement just before Christmas 2003, but separated in October 2004, cancelling a planned February 2005 wedding. On 30 January 2005, shortly after losing the 2005 Australian Open final to Marat Safin, Hewitt proposed to Australian actress Bec Hewitt, Bec Cartwright after they had been dating for six weeks. They married on 21 July 2005 at the Sydney Opera House and they have three children together. In late 2008, to extend his tennis career and reduce the amount of tax he would otherwise have had to pay, Hewitt relocated his family for the European and North American season to their home in the Old Fort Bay estate, in Nassau, Bahamas. Hewitt has a nickname, "Rusty", which was given to him by Darren Cahill who at the time thought Hewitt resembled the character Rusty, from the National Lampoon's Vacation (film series), National Lampoon film series. Hewitt has also been given the nickname 'Rocky' by fans, which originated from his shouts of "C'mon Balboa", in reference to the character Rocky Balboa from the Sylvester Stallone film ''Rocky''. Hewitt has also been compared to the character. In April 2021, his twelve year old son, Cruz Hewitt, won the Australian junior tennis clay-court title in Canberra. In December 2021, Hewitt sold their family home in Toorak, Victoria, Toorak (Victoria), and purchased a new house in Burleigh Heads, Queensland, Burleigh Heads (Queensland) where he and his family now live.


Controversies

Hewitt has been involved in several public controversies. He was involved in a racism dispute while playing James Blake at the 2001 US Open (tennis), 2001 US Open. After being foot-faulted twice by a black linesman on crucial points in the third set, Hewitt was accused of dragging race into the situation by suggesting the similarity in skin colour of Blake and the official was playing a part in the decision to penalise him. At the 2001 French Open Hewitt twice called the Chair Umpire and net judge "spastics" and was subsequently forced to apologise following a public backlash. Hewitt's constant "c'mons" when he won a point or his opponents made an error have been remarked upon as poor sportsmanship by opponents and media commentators. Notably this behaviour particularly riled his 2005 Australian Open second-round opponent James Blake.


Career statistics


Singles performance timeline


Grand Slam finals


Singles: 4 (2–2)


Doubles: 1 (1–0)


Mixed doubles: 1 (0–1)


Year-end championships finals


Singles: 3 (2–1)


Masters Series finals


Singles: 7 (2–5)


Records


See also

* Lleyton Hewitt career statistics * List of Wimbledon gentlemen's singles champions, Wimbledon gentleman's singles champions * List of US Open men's singles champions, US Open men's singles champions * List of Grand Slam men's singles champions


References


External links

* * * *
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hewitt, Lleyton Australian expatriates in the Bahamas Australian male tennis players Olympic tennis players of Australia Tennis players from Adelaide Tennis players from Sydney Tennis players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 2012 Summer Olympics US Open (tennis) champions Wimbledon champions 1981 births Living people Hopman Cup competitors Australian Institute of Sport tennis players Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Members of the Order of Australia People educated at Immanuel College, Adelaide ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players ITF World Champions