“I came out, I gave everything I had like always. I left nothing in the locker room and that’s something I can always be proud of.”
“I’ve been very fortunate that I’ve had such a great career and that I had the opportunity to go out on my terms. A lot of great sporting athletes don’t have that opportunity.”
"I've given 100%" Lleyton Hewitt gives his last on-court interview #ausopen https://t.co/dGWr0cTFwR
— Australian Open (@AustralianOpen) January 21, 2016
Lleyton Hewitt played his final singles match on Thursday, a straight sets loss to David Ferrer. The youngest ever world number one, the Australian won 2 Grand Slam titles (US Open 2001 and Wimbledon 2002), 2 ATP Tour Finals (2001 and 2002) and 2 Davis Cup (1999 and 2003). A skilled volleyer, he also captured the 2000 US Open doubles title with Max Mirnyi.
He inspired loads of today’ players (Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer among others), and his never-die-attitude and counterpuncher skills changed tennis forever.
David Ferrer had some really nice words for him during the on-court ceremony:
“He’s one of the best players in history and I have to tell you that … I don’t have idols, but Lleyton is my idol, I have a shirt signed by him seven years ago … it’s the only t-shirt of a tennis player I have. He’s an amazing player. He deserves everything. Tonight is the day for him, not for me.”
Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic joined the tribute with video messages broadcast during the ceremony:
FAREWELL @rogerfederer, @RafaelNadal, @andy_murray and @NickKyrgios pay tribute to @lleytonhewitt… #HewBeauty https://t.co/btHVD73MEu
— Australian Open (@AustralianOpen) January 21, 2016
After the match, past and present champions took on Twitter and Instagram to pay tribute to the legend.
Thanks for the memories champ #lleytonhewitt
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) January 21, 2016
Leyton Hewitt– you gave it your "all" every match– and always showed the "grind"- the "grit"- and the "passion"… Congratulations!!!!!
— Jimmy Connors (@JimmyConnors) January 21, 2016
Tomas Berdych switched from H&M to adidas at the start of the year, and is now adidas‘ top male tennis player.
What do you think? Do you pefer Tomas’ H&M or adidas outfits?
Stay tuned for more Australian Open coverage on Tennis Buzz, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
A relatively calm day at the Australian Open, after yesterday’s upsets of Rafael Nadal and Simona Halep. All the favorites playing today cruised into the third round except 2-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, beaten by rising Aussie player Daria Gavrilova.
Relive day 3 through Brian’s tweets:
New day has dawned. Which can mean one thing… #Tennis! #AusOpen let's go! ????? pic.twitter.com/nfnKo4mNBQ
— Brian Peel (@Brian_Peel) January 19, 2016
Straight sets win for Kei Nishikori over Austin Krajicek:
Roof closed here at #MCA – it's @keinishikori up against USA's #Krajicek! #AusOpen #Tennis ? pic.twitter.com/wgK6ydGPu3
— Brian Peel (@Brian_Peel) January 20, 2016
Serena Williams dispatched world number 82 Su-Wei Hsieh in two sets 6-1 6-2. Her opponent in the third round is world number 61 Daria Kasatkina.
Semifinalist in Melbourne in 2011 and 2013, David Ferrer started his 2016 campaign with a straight sets win over qualifier Gojowczyk. He’ll next face local hero Lleyton Hewitt who’s playing the last tournament of his career.
How far do you think Ferrer can go?
