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2008-01-04 11:46:00
The tennis season is finally under way again. Lleyton Hewitt is back in Adelaide where it all started. The Australian fighter is 26 years old but it feels like he’s been around for ever. Which he has. It’s been ten years since Hewitt shocked the tennis world by winning in Adelaide as a 16-year old. I remember that week very clearly. Being in Doha at the time, I was checking the daily results from Adelaide and couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I had heard about Hewitt the year before when he was performing well on the junior tour, reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, the final at Roehampton and winning a Grade 2 event on the Philippines. But the only thing of substance he had done on the men’s tour was reaching the final of the second leg of an Australian Satellite.
The 16-year old home-town prodigy got a Wild Card to the main draw in Adelaide and in what a way he took advantage of it. It was clearly one of the most fascinating breakthroughs ever, as Hewitt beat Draper, Woodforde, Spadea, Agassi (!) and Stoltenberg to win an ATP Tour title at 16 years 10 months and a ranking of 722. Future greats usually have fast breakthroughs, but Hewitt’s title was something from a different world. Just imagine a guy who was born in 1991, who is ranked somewhere in the 700’s, suddenly winning an ATP title. That is exactly what Hewitt did.
This week, Hewitt has the chance to win his third and probably last title in Adelaide. Next year, the event is moving to Brisbane where a combined ATP/WTA event will be held. I’m sure Hewitt is very keen on finishing on a high note in Adelaide under the close eye of his new coach Tony Roche.
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