The 21st century
Australia · born Adelaide, 1981 · Wimbledon champion 2002 · four times Queen's Club champion
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2002
Wimbledon champion as world No. 1
4
Queen's Club titles, 2000 to 2006
8
Grass-court singles titles, 2000 to 2014
41-16
Wimbledon singles match record
6-1, 6-3, 6-2
The 2002 Wimbledon final
Lleyton Hewitt was born in Adelaide in 1981. He won the US Open doubles with Max Mirnyi in 2000, aged 19, and the US Open singles in 2001, beating Pete Sampras 7-6, 6-1, 6-1 in the final. In November 2001, aged 20 years and 268 days, he became the youngest man to reach world No. 1, a record that stood until Carlos Alcaraz in 2022. He finished 2001 and 2002 on top and held the ranking for 80 weeks. He won Wimbledon in 2002 and helped Australia to Davis Cup titles in 1999 and 2003, and he holds the Australian records for Davis Cup wins and ties played. He won his 30th singles title at Newport in 2014, played his last match at the 2016 Australian Open and became Davis Cup captain. He entered the Hall of Fame in 2021.
| Wimbledon singles | Champion 2002 as top seed, beat David Nalbandian 6-1, 6-3, 6-2. Semi-final 2005; quarter-finals 2004, 2006, 2009 |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon mixed | Final 2000 with Kim Clijsters, lost to Kimberly Po and Donald Johnson 6-4, 7-6 |
| Queen's Club | 2000: beat Pete Sampras 6-4, 6-4. 2001: beat Tim Henman 7-6, 7-6. 2002: beat Henman 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. 2006: beat James Blake 6-4, 6-4 |
| Other grass titles | 's-Hertogenbosch 2001, beat Guillermo Cañas 6-3, 6-4. Halle 2010, beat Roger Federer 3-6, 7-6, 6-4. Newport 2014, beat Ivo Karlović 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, and the doubles with Chris Guccione. Newport finals lost 2012 and 2013 |
| Davis Cup on grass | 2003 final, Rod Laver Arena: beat Juan Carlos Ferrero 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6, 6-2 as Australia beat Spain 3-1 |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Men's singles | |
| Queen's Club | ||
| 2000 | Men's singles | |
| 2001 | Men's singles | |
| 2002 | Men's singles | |
| 2006 | Men's singles | |
| Newport, Rhode Island | ||
| 2014 | Men's doubles Hall of Fame Open | with Chris Guccione |
| 2014 | Men's singles Hall of Fame Open | |
| 's-Hertogenbosch (Rosmalen) | ||
| 2001 | Men's singles Rosmalen Grass Court Championships | |
| Halle | ||
| 2010 | Men's singles | |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"I knew I was the best grass-court player in the world at that time."
The person behind the player.
Wimbledon 1999
Two teenagers entered the men's doubles together that year: Hewitt, 18, and the young Swiss Roger Federer. They reached the third round. Federer later beat Hewitt at Wimbledon in the quarter-finals of 2004, the semi-finals of 2005 and the fourth round of 2008.
Source: WikipediaWimbledon 2000
He entered the mixed doubles with his girlfriend at the time, the young Belgian Kim Clijsters. The pair reached the final, where they lost 6-4, 7-6 to Kimberly Po and Donald Johnson. Two years later he was back on Centre Court for the singles final.
Source: WikipediaWimbledon 2002
He described his semi-final against Tim Henman, with the home crowd behind his opponent, as "like an Ashes battle". In the final, rain stopped play during the second set, and he recalled being "only a set and a half away" from the trophy. As a boy he had watched Pat Cash beat Ivan Lendl in 1987 "so many times".
Source: Tennis AustraliaWimbledon 2003
A year after winning the title he returned as defending champion and lost in the first round to a qualifier, Ivo Karlović. Eleven years later he had his revenge on grass, beating Karlović 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 in the Newport final for his 30th career title.
Source: WikipediaHalle 2010
He had lost 15 matches in a row to Roger Federer, who had won 29 straight matches at Halle. Hewitt lost the first set of the final, won the second on a tiebreak and broke Federer early in the third to win 3-6, 7-6, 6-4. His verdict on Federer: "He still only has two arms and two legs."
Source: TennisheadWimbledon 2015
His last Wimbledon singles match, on a wildcard, went to a fifth set against Jarkko Nieminen. Hewitt saved three match points before losing it 11-9. He also played the doubles that year with the teenage Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis, and they reached the third round.
Source: WikipediaFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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