31st December, 2000
Lleyton home and hosed
LLEYTON Hewitt deserves a lot of credit for his
decision to play the AAPT Championships in Adelaide.
He's had his troubles with his health lately and it
hasn't been easy for him. He wanted to play Adelaide because it's his home and
he's always had a lot of success there. .
But his health has complicated that.
Now it seems his health is on the improve and he's
been able to put up his hand for a wildcard.
He'll be vulnerable in the early stages but once he
gets going, he's the last player you want to run into.
Lleyton's now got two tournaments before the Aussie
Open and he can use them to run himself into top form. If he loses early, it
will only be because he hasn't had the practice going in.
He was made an offer to play at the Hopman Cup in
Perth and he's playing Adelaide for nothing. That says everything about the
guy.
Playing in Perth was something I didn't want to do at
this stage because I really need to get stuck into a solid practice week in
Sydney with "Rochey".
I've played the Hopman Cup previously as a lead-up to
the Australian Open and enjoyed the experience and I'll be back in WA for the
Davis Cup in February.
I've been happy with the way I've hit the ball so far
in practice and how I've been about to carry a bit of the tennis form from
Barcelona through to here.
After a couple of good weeks, and some good matches
at the Colonial Classic, I hope to ready for the Aussie Open.
Right now, I need to toughen up my hands and feet a
bit and I'm sure that will happen.
The circuit starts up again tomorrow and we were at
the Davis Cup final in Spain just on three weeks ago. It's a really short
break and hardly time to get ready again.
That’s what makes Lleyton’s commitment to
Adelaide so good.
I hope for his sake, and the organisers, that he can
have a good tournament and get us all off to a flying start.