[情報] Lay off Lleyton, says Clijsters
Monday August 25, 02:52 PM
Lay off Lleyton, says Clijsters
Women's world No.1 Kim Clijsters, the girlfriend of Lleyton Hewitt, jumped to her man's defence on the eve of the US Open.
Her message was polite but simple: lay off Lleyton.
Clijsters claimed Hewitt had received unfair scrutiny from the media during his slide from the top of the rankings to world No.6 over the past two months.
She said Hewitt, the 2001 US Open champion, 2002 Wimbledon winner and long-time world No.1, boasted a record for all to envy.
"He's had two incredible years," Clijsters said.
"I mean, I think anyone out there would love to change their career with his.
"The media, they're always going to try ... when it's going well, they're always going to try to break the player down as soon as it's not going well.
"I think that's definitely what's been going on with him at the moment."
Until Clijsters' comments, Hewitt's entourage had closed ranks in the lead-up to the Open, guarding their 22-year-old from the spotlight to allow him to focus solely on the last grand slam of the year.
But clearly some of the conjecture about the reasons for his slide struck a nerve, perhaps not surprisingly as it included the suggestion from former Wimbledon champion Ashley Cooper that he should drop his parents from his entourage.
In a rare interview afforded to US television last week, Hewitt said he was confident he could "beat anyone" and claim his second title in New York.
According to Clijsters, he's right.
The sixth-seeded Hewitt will open his campaign on Tuesday night against Romanian Victor Hanescu in the marquee match on Arthur Stadium, starting about 9pm USEST (11am AEST Tuesday) and Clijsters fancies his chances of silencing his critics this coming fortnight.
"He's definitely very hungry, I think, to play," the women's top seed said.
"He's been working really hard. He's been training really hard. Definitely if he plays well (he can win the tournament)."
Australian Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald also believed Hewitt was capable of capturing a grand slam for the third straight year and beginning his rise back to the top of the world standings.
He felt Hewitt's dip in form had been inevitable but would spur him on to greater things.
"Look, he's been No.1 for 18 months and that's not an easy thing to do and there's only one way to go from there," Fitzgerald said.
"He wouldn't be totally content about dropping back from No.1 but, at some stage, it's inevitable that it's going to happen and it gives him a chance to actually work on his game a bit more and try some things and launch another attack on No.1.
"It's given him a chance to become even a better player. So it's not all negatives.
"It's the first time he's been faced with taking a step backwards. But that can be a good thing because I reckon he can take two more steps forward. I really do.
"I think he can be a better player than what he's been."
Fitzgerald said it was too easy for Joe Public to expect Hewitt to dominate men's tennis continually and cited all-time great Andre Agassi, with two US Open triumphs from a 17 starts, as living proof that winning any grand slam was a huge career achievement.
"It's not easy to step in and 'bang' win another one," he said.
"But we sort of expect him to a bit. Even (Davis Cup coach) Wally (Masur) and I, we think 'why can't he win another one?' But it's not easy to do.
"But he (Hewitt) is one of the players that can give it a shake."
Alicia Molik is the only other Australian in action on day one of the Open.
Molik will meet Croatian Jelena Kostanic in her first-round match at 11am USEST (1am AEST).
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