Hewitt dream turns sour
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ByEurosport
Published 30/01/2005 at 14:55 GMT
When Lleyton Hewitt travelled to see Pat Cash lose in the 1988 Australian Open final, he began to dream of lifting the Norman Brooke Challenge Cup one day. Seventeen years later, Hewitt had his chance of becoming the first home champion since Mark Edmonds
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Beaten by the better player on the day, Marat Safin, the third seed was philosophical at his 1-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 loss.
"I'm sure in a couple of days I'll look back and think that it's been a great achievement. I'll have no regrets and I've put absolutely everything into this tournament," 23-year-old Hewitt explained.
"But right at the moment, I'm human and I'm disappointed.
"You know, to come that close, train so hard to put yourself in a position, it's hard to take at the moment," he added.
Indeed the Adelaide-born has added several pounds of muscle during the off-season, which has helped improve his service and forehand strokes.
The youngest qualifier to make the main draw aged just 15 in 1997, had never been beyond the fourth round in seven previous attempts despite a catalogue of major success abroad.
Willed on by almost 20,000 spectators on Rod Laver Arena, Hewitt said the weight of national expectations had not been a factor in losing the final.
"The whole tournament, there's obviously been high expectations and every match has been like a final, I guess," Hewitt explained.
"I think I've handled it bloody well. It hasn't worried me the whole time. I've gone out there, done my thing. It's an awesome feeling to have the whole country behind you."
But Hewitt couldn't hide his disappointment about losing three big finals.
"My game's definitely better than where it was 18 months ago. Making a U.S. Open final, a Masters Cup final, and now an Australian Open final, I'm obviously doing something right," Hewitt said.
"It would have been nice to get one of them," he said.
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