NO-ONE could accuse Lleyton Hewitt of being a quitter but when he steps on to the grass at Wimbledon later this month, it will be for the 17th and final time.
It is 13 years since the Australian won SW19, beating David Nalbandian in a one-sided final to win his second grand slam title. A gifted mover and a man who never knew when he was beaten, five surgeries in six years have taken their toll and he will sign off for good after next year's Australian Open, his 20th in a row.
He won the US Open in 2001 and Wimbledon in 2002, finishing each year as the world No.1. He helped Australia to two Davis Cup victories and 30 career titles and though there might have been more, he is happy with his lot.
"It's easy to sit back and say [I could have won more] but Roger went out there," said Hewitt, who will warm up for Wimbledon in next week's Aegon Championships, where he has won the title four times.
"I'm sure Andy Roddick thinks he could have won some more, too. Even [Andy] Murray. There are a lot of guys who can say that. Obviously, Roger was so dominant for so many years there. It was pretty hard for anyone to win any other slams."
Hewitt singled out the 2001 US Open, when he crushed Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the semi-finals before ripping apart Pete Sampras in the final, as his best performances.
But winning Wimbledon the following year, he said, was the highlight of his career.
"Wimbledon [was] the one I always wanted to win. Beating Nalbandian didn't have the same [kudos as beating Sampras] but it doesn't get any better than winning Wimbledon."
Now ranked 112, Hewitt will need a wildcard this time round but though he won't win it, he thinks Murray has a great chance to do it again.
"Andy's playing really well at the moment," he said. "Best I've seen him play in a couple of years. He's moving [well] and I think the surface suits his game.
"Novak [Djokovic] is obviously great on everything, but I think in terms of versatility, changing pace, looking to come forward, I think Andy and Roger [Federer] are the two that stand out with the surface. Andy will be tough to beat. I think he'll be up there."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article