Hewitt talks of abandoning his sport
Hewitt talks of abandoning his sport
By Paul Malone and Tim Morrissey
23aug03
JUST days before the start of the US Open, Lleyton Hewitt says he is toying
with the idea of quitting tennis to play AFL. (XD)
The deposed Aussie Wimbledon champion told US Davis Cup captain Patrick
McEnroe during a television interview that he did not care if abandoning his
tennis career cost him millions of dollars a year.
The 22-year-old Australian, a fervent AFL follower and No.1 ticket-holder of
the Adelaide Crows, has slipped to No.6 in the rankings and has not won a
tournament in five months.
Hewitt, the son of former Richmond and SANFL star Glynn Hewitt, impressed many
with his football skills when he turned out for a charity football match in
Adelaide last September, but the last time Hewitt played Aussie rules was when
he attended Adelaide private school Immanuel College.
Hewitt played football at primary school but dropped out before secondary
school to focus on tennis.
Rob Keil, Immanuel College sportsmaster during Hewitt's school years in the
1990s, said the young Hewitt had some football talent.
"He was by far the best player in the side," Keil said.
"His actual skills were very, very good and his mental approach and attitude
were important. He would never ever be beaten."
Hewitt's beloved Crows certainly don't see any merit in their No.1
ticket-holder swapping his sneakers and racquet and a career that has earned
him $22million in prize money.
"At the moment we consider Lleyton excellent at tennis," said Crows spokesman
Phil Harper. "He played for us last year in a game between [former] Crows and
Port players and did all right. "I'm sure with his competitive nature he'd be
good at any sport. But it's a long way off from playing under-11s to playing
AFL football."
Hewitt's ramblings about walking away from tennis caught McEnroe off guard.
"He really surprised me by saying he would love to play Australian rules
football and not necessarily love to be a tennis player for the next eight
years," said McEnroe. "He said it like: 'No one has ever won two slams and
played Australian rules football' ... I sensed it was something that
intrigued him.
"I asked him if he wanted to be the Bo Jackson of Australia, Bo played baseball
and American football [at the highest level], and he said: 'I wouldn't go
that far'."
Hewitt yesterday ended his self-imposed silence since his early eliminations
from the Tennis Masters Series events in Montreal and Cincinnati.
"I feel like I'm practising well and I'm used to playing on these sort of
courts," said Hewitt, who will meet Romanian Victor Hanescu in the first
round.
"If I can get through to the second week, I have as good a chance as anyone.
It's a shame I couldn't have lasted longer [in the lead-up tournaments], but
I believe I can beat anyone."
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