Hewitt lays it on line
Hewitt lays it on line
By Margie McDonald (馬基˙麥當勞先生?!)
March 3, 2003
LLEYTON HEWITT is feeling old age creeping up
on him - so he has taken a wildcard into the $US380,000
($625,000) Scottsdale tournament this week to try to stave
it off.
Hewitt is just 135 points ahead of Andre Agassi in the
rankings and needs to win a few tournaments to keep the
32-year-old from taking his world No.1 ranking.
Hewitt, who turned 22 last week, has not played an ATP
event since losing in the fourth round at the Australian Open.
After helping Australia demolish Britain 4-1 in the Davis Cup,
Hewitt said he did not plan to be back on the circuit until the
Tennis Masters Series event at Indian Wells, starting next Monday.
But Agassi's win at San Jose three weeks ago, on top of his
fourth Australian Open a month earlier, has seen him close in
on Hewitt.
Fellow Australian Mark Philippoussis also has accepted a
wild-card as he tries to recapture form after second- and
first-round losses in San Jose and Memphis. Philippoussis
won in Scottsdale in 1997 before three operations on his left
knee.
Today marks Hewitt's 68th consecutive week as No.1, the
seventh-longest streak in the top spot in the history of the ATP
rankings, since August 1973.
When Hewitt, then aged 20, finished 2001 at No.1 he was the
youngest player to do so. Holding on to No.1 at the end of 2002
meant he was the youngest to claim back-to-back seasons.
Meanwhile, Pete Sampras said he was not ready to return to
tournament play, which he left after his 14th grand slam win in
the 2002 US Open.
Sampras was to play at Scottsdale, where his brother Gus is
tournament director.
"I'm disappointed that Pete isn't quite ready, but I understand
his decision. Pete wants to give 100 per cent, and he feels he's
not yet there," Gus said.
With the addition of Hewitt and Philippoussis, there are
four former tournament champions in the field, including
Agassi and Wayne Ferreira. Hewitt has a 12-2 career record
in Scottsdale.
If he survives his first-round clash with world No.48
Fernando Vicente of Spain, he is likely to meet Davis Cup
team-mate Wayne Arthurs in the second round.
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