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Hewitt fed up of clashing with Federer in slams
Lleyton Hewitt is getting fed up with meeting Roger Federer in the major events.For the third time in four grand slams this year, Hewitt was beaten by the Swiss. In the Australian Open it was the fourth round, at Wimbledon it was the quarter-final and here at the US Open it was in the final as he went down 6-0 7-6 6-0. "I've lost to Roger in three out of the four majors," said Hewitt, who was appearing in his first grand slam final since he won Wimbledon in 2002. "When he's playing like he did, especially in the first set there today, there's very little you can do out there. He returned extremely well and it was hard to get any cheap points off him," the Australian told reporters. "You know, who knows? If I could have met him a little bit later in the Aussie and at Wimbledon, then who knows, but he's the stand-out (player) this year." For the first time since 1884, the US Open final had two love sets, and Hewitt said he had simply been outplayed by the world number one. "He's playing incredible tennis, on all surfaces as well," the Australian said. "You know, he had an incredible run leading up to Wimbledon and then straight after Wimbledon through to Toronto (at the start of August)." Federer's victory made him the first man since Swede Mats Wilander in 1988 to win three grand slams in the same year, leading to much discussion about whether the Swiss can match or even beat Pete Sampras's record of 14 grand slam titles. EVERY SLAM "He's definitely got a chance, there's no doubt about it," Hewitt said. "Especially the year that he's had as well, and he's always going to have a chance going into every major, even the French Open. "You know, he lost in the third round (in Paris) this year to Guga (Gustavo Kuerten), but it's going to take a guy like Guga or someone like that to beat him at every slam. "You like your chances of him trying to pick up at least one out of the four every year for a few years." Hewitt came into the tournament after back-to-back victories in Washington and on Long Island, and made it 16 consecutive wins as he reached the final without losing a set, the first man to do so at the US Open since Jim Courier in 1991. Despite his defeat, Hewitt said he was delighted with his standard of tennis over the last few months. "It's obviously disappointing, you know," he said. "This is my first loss in a grand slam final and any final is hard to lose. "But I'm happy with the way I'm playing. When I look back on the last five weeks especially, it's been great tennis for me the whole time. When you put yourself in a position to play in grand slam finals, that's what you play tennis for. "So, you know, it's been a good two weeks." Such was Federer's dominance on Sunday that even Hewitt, renowned as the biggest battler in the game, was made to look helpless at times. "I don't think anyone in the actual tournament (could have beaten Federer on Sunday)," Hewitt said. "I don't know, maybe Pete Sampras, obviously with his serve, but it's very hard to say. "He's setting the standard." |
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