Although he has been out of action since July, and has recently undergone hip surgery, Lleyton Hewitt remains upbeat and optimistic about his chances of making a dramatic comeback in 2009. He will play at the ATP Sydney tournament in January, a tournament he has won 4 times before, and then he will compete in the 2009 Australian Open. When he steps onto the court at Rod Laver Arena he will receive the loudest cheers for any player from the crowd, so loud that they will echo all over Melbourne Park. This former number 1 player in the world, and winner of both the US Open and Wimbledon, has always had a soft spot reserved for him in the hearts of the Australian tennis fans. As a brash young player with long blond hair and a captivating smile, Lleyton burst onto the tennis scene at a time when Australia’s long tennis traditions were rapidly going down hill. He was an outstanding Junior player, the son of an Aussie Rules football player, and someone everyone could identify with, and most did. He received star status, and the adulation of every Australian teenage girl and many of their mothers. His loss to Marat Safin in the final of the 2005 Australian Open could have been declared as a day of mourning for the fans. Lleyton was their final hope for an Aussie player to finally clinch the Open trophy, but it was not to be. Can he win in 2009? As Lleyton himself says, “I know I’m a tough player for the anyone to beat. If I’m feeling fit I know I can win. Don’t write me off yet!”

Never a popular player in the dressing room, he gets under the skin of many of his competitors. On court he barks comments across the net, occasionally fist pumps when his opponent serves a double fault, and is considered by many to be unsportsmanlike. He was once voted as the ‘Most hated Athlete in Sport’. Since his marriage to Bec Cartwright, a soap opera star of Aussie TV, and the birth of their daughter Mia in 2005, he has calmed down.

His playing style reflects his combative personality. A relentless ball retriever, a tireless rallier, and more recently a powerhouse on serve and from the baseline, Lleyton wears many players down over 5 sets. His aggressive style has resulted in 26 singles titles including two Majors. He beat defending champion Pete Sampras to win the US Open in 2001 in what was considered to a major upset at the time, then went on to win Wimbledon the following year. He is coached by Australian legend Tony Roche. He is friendly with Aussie golfers Greg Norman and Aaron Bradley, and plays a fair game himself. He is the supporter of numerous Children’s charities, and an ambassador for both the Starlight Foundation and the McGuinisses-McDermont Cancer Foundation. He is global ambassador for the Special Olympics, and in 2002 at the Masters Championship in Shanghai, he initiated the Special Olympics Tennis program. He’s not all bad!