The biggest thing to come out of it was 'we're still going to get a chance to play for Australia and wear the green and gold and push the culture that we want, the standards', these boys have taken it to another level now. There'll be times when we don't win, but I'll always be proud of these guys and the effort they give.

Lleyton Hewitt

Categorized in : Sports

That's when you've got to grit your teeth and hang in there and try and find a way to win when you're not playing your best tennis - that's what I can be proud of

Lleyton Hewitt

tennis winning trying

I am two different people. What you see on the court is just natural for me. I wear my heart on my sleeve. I have always said 'C'mon' purely to fire myself up. Off the court, I am a lot shyer. I stick to my team and my family and people I trust.

Lleyton Hewitt

team fire heart

Even when I was No. 1 in the world, I was taking it one match at a time. I never was a player to look too far ahead, the way draws can pan out.

Lleyton Hewitt

player looks way

I'm fortunate: I can play as long as I want to play. There's no coach or trainer who is going to say to me that I'm dropped or sacked, it's time to move on. I can play as long as I want to play.

Lleyton Hewitt

play long moving

Matches are won and lost so many times in the locker room.

Lleyton Hewitt

lockers lost rooms

When I go out to play, I still believe I'm as good as anyone out there. I don't have to prove anyone wrong. I know what I've done and how well I can play.

Lleyton Hewitt

done play believe

I was lucky enough to win the Davis Cup in my first year in 1999. I won my first slam at the U.S. Open in 2001 and became world No. 1 later that year. By the age of 20, I'd done it all.

Lleyton Hewitt

age winning years

When I was a kid in Adelaide, I dreamed of becoming No. 1 in the world, winning a grand slam and the Davis Cup for Australia.

Lleyton Hewitt

australia winning kids

Everyone has to call 'time' at some stage.

Lleyton Hewitt

stage

Oh, I get pretty fired up on the court. I try to play with a lot of emotion, especially when I'm playing in front of a large crowd. I want to go out and do my best, and to do that, I have to play with the most energy possible.

Lleyton Hewitt

energy play trying

I'm not a guy who needs to read motivation books.

Lleyton Hewitt

motivation guy book

That's what you do all the hard work for, to play in situations that put your body through gruelling times. If you're not up to it, pull out.

Lleyton Hewitt

tennis hard-work play

I'm one injury away from hanging up the racket at any time.

Lleyton Hewitt

racket injury

I don't know. Haven't I always been mature?

Lleyton Hewitt

mature havens knows

I was actually really happy with where my game was at. That's probably the most disappointing aspect.

Lleyton Hewitt

disappointing aspect games

I have sometimes played my best Davis Cup matches away from home when you stay in the moment a bit more. But it is tough when half the crowd are spitting on you.

Lleyton Hewitt

cups half home

I liked Pat Cash, and I loved Mats Wilander. I went to the Australian Open with my parents, and I used to watch Wilander being cheered on by the Swedish fans, and with his game style being like mine, I drew comparisons with him.

Lleyton Hewitt

style parent games

There are people who love you and people who hate you, but for me, more so, people only think they know me by how I act or perform on a tennis court.

Lleyton Hewitt

hate love-you thinking

I'm more in that Rafa Nadal high-energy high-octane mold out there. I wear that emotion on the court. That's how I play my best tennis. People either like that or not. And I can't change that: that's who I am on a tennis court.

Lleyton Hewitt

who-i-am play people

My video game character is a bit better looking than me, actually. I don't think he has to worry about his hair getting messed up.

Lleyton Hewitt

hair character thinking