THE STELLA ARTOIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Date: 2006-06-15

THE STELLA ARTOIS CHAMPIONSHIPS

June 15, 2006

Lleyton Hewitt
LONDON, ENGLAND

The Moderator Questions, please.

Question Seemed to take your chances today, with a breakpoint conversion.
Lleyton Hewitt Uhm, yeah. It was -- you know, it's always a tough match against Max. Every time I played him, we've had battles. And, you know, you don't get that many opportunities against a guy like him so if you get that second serve on breakpoint or that slight opening, you really have to take it.
You know, that said, I still was up a break twice in the final set and wasn't able to convert that break. You know, he played well, though, in those games.
But, you know, it's nice to come through a tight match against a good grass court player.

Question In terms of rankings and seedings formula for Wimbledon, do you have any idea of where you expect to be?
Lleyton Hewitt No, no idea. I wouldn't have a clue. I don't know how many points I'm behind. I think where I would be anyway would not be a huge, huge difference anyway if, you know, if you don't get in the top four anyway. Between 5 to 12 I think is very similar anyway.
So, yeah, it' just no big deal.

Question You could play Nadal in the last eight. Of course it's a completely different proposition on grass to how it was a few weeks ago in Paris for you.
Lleyton Hewitt Yeah, it is, but he's a class player. I've played a lot of -- we played Spain in the Davis Cup final, and I played against Ferrero and beat him in a five-set marathon. You know, even though grass isn't their favorite and best surface, these guys are class players and are able to play well. For him to beat Mardy Fish in straight sets yesterday, you know, I rate Mardy pretty highly on a grass court and, you know, he took care of it quite comfortably.
So, yeah, he's gonna be a tough match. You know, it would be a totally different match to Max Mirnyi today.

Question You said yesterday it was difficult being the first game on grass of the season. Did you feel more comfortable out there today?
Lleyton Hewitt Yeah, I felt a lot comfortable -- a lot more comfortable out there, even more and more as the match went on. You know, throughout the second and third sets, I felt like my ball striking was great out there. You know, it's a matter of keep that going.
Obviously, you know, Max is a different kind of opponent. He doesn't give you a lot of pace out there from the back of the court, but obviously when he's net rushing and that, you've got to hit pinpoint accuracy from the groundies to pass him. I was able to do that on some big points today.

Question Fantastic dropshots in there as well, your dropshots especially.
Lleyton Hewitt I don't know about a dropshot specialist, no. I throw them in now and then, but more as a mix-up.

Question How do you feel now compared to the same time last year?
Lleyton Hewitt Yeah, I feel pretty good. I lost in the quarters last year here to Karlovic which, you know, I didn't really do too much wrong that day. Just a bit of a shoot-out with him.
So, obviously, you know, that was a good win to have under my belt today. I felt like I'm getting better and better. But Wimbledon is a week and a half away, so it's a matter of trying to get as many matches here as possible and do the hard yards in practice next week.

Question Can you take anything away from the previous four matches against Nadal, bearing in mind that they're all on a different surface to what you're playing here.
Lleyton Hewitt Yeah, not really. If we play on grass, it's probably totally different, especially to two weeks ago. You know, it's probably more so closer to the hard court meetings I think that we've had in the past.

Question You've got family on tour with you. How important is that?
Lleyton Hewitt Yeah, it's great. Yeah, it's obviously just nice to be able to put your feet up and relax when you get back home after playing a tough match or whatever. And, you know, tennis isn't sort of the focus when you get home, I guess.

Question How is the routine when you are here then. Is there a set bed time in London?
Lleyton Hewitt Not really. No big deal.

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