Lleyton Hewitt is an Australian Champion

[bennymacca]

lol pete killed the EPL argument, and i was having fun with that, so now i am getting my teeth stuck into this one.

LLEYTON HEWITT IS A GREAT AUSTRALIAN.

thats right, you heard me say it. i think he is an absolute champion


1.2003 davis cup semi final against switzerland.

Hewitt was playing against roger federer, who at that time was one of the up and coming stars of tennis, and had not reached the number 1 spot yet.

they were playing on hard court in melbourne, and they had split the first 2 singles, with the poo playing some horrible tennis against federer and hewitt beating Michel Kratochvil pretty easily.

australia won the doubles, and so were 2-1 up.

then hewitt had to play federer. fed came out and absolutely creamed hewitt in the first 2 sets, and it was looking like all was lost. but hewitt clawed his way back and eventually won in an absolute marathon.

2. then in the final against spain, he won another 5 setter against then number 1 in the world juan carlos ferrero, after being 2 sets to 1 down.


3. in 2001 he became the youngest ever player to get the number 1 ranking, and he held it for 75 weeks.


4. the reason for all of his success is not necessarily raw tennis ability, but his sheer mental toughness. even when he was number 1, there were many players that hand more natural talent than he did, but his ability to chase down shots that noone else would, and to never give up meant that he would wear his opponents down.

5. he shoves it up those Argentinean pricks when they try to spit on him

[Bacon]

He's a twat, pure and simple

[bennymacca]

he has the talent to be a middle ranked player, but beacuse he carries on and gets himself fired up, he is able to play at a higher level.

what is not good about that?

[Hans_Gruber]

Talented? Yes.
Champion? Yes.

Tool? Absolutely.

Does it matter? Nope, as long as you're not in the same room as him....

[bennymacca]

never said he wasn't a tool!

but he is a great australian and a champion.


ok, try this one on for size. who is the better sportsman, lleyton hewitt or steve waugh?

personally i think steve waugh was extremely selfish in the way he played, often chasing personal glory at the expense of the team. there are numerous times when he should have declared when he was on 50 or 60 off only to keep playing so he can make a ton. it was only the sheer brilliance of his bowlers that kept him from having egg on his face in this regard.

and what about near the end of his career when he had 90 odd wickets, and he would bowl himself all the time just so he can try to get to 100.

how selfish is that?

lleyton on the other hand is all about the team and the country, and his performances in davis cup show this. i would take lleyton any day.

[Bacon]

Being a great Australian means not being a tool.

If he is seen as a tool by other countries, they might think most Australians are tools like him.

He's a great competitor, but not a great Australian.

[bennymacca]

Being a great Australian means not being a tool.

If he is seen as a tool by other countries, they might think most Australians are tools like him.

He's a great competitor, but not a great Australian.

the courage he showed on the tennis court makes him a great Australian. most tennis fans will acknowledge this.

i think his attitude is reciprocated by a lot of other tennis players. david nalbandian for one, Guillermo coria for another. coria actually spat on hewitt at the change of ends once.

[Ondie J]

Now that's just warped.

Tennis? A team sport? Sure you can have team events but the primary focus of tennis as a sport is the individual. A tennis player doesn't have to make the choice as to whether or not they are going to be selfish or chase personal glory... they're in it for themselves from the get go. Trying to compare these two in their fields in this manner is ridiculous.

[bennymacca]

Now that's just warped.

Tennis? A team sport? Sure you can have team events but the primary focus of tennis as a sport is the individual. A tennis player doesn't have to make the choice as to whether or not they are going to be selfish or chase personal glory... they're in it for themselves from the get go. Trying to compare these two in their fields in this manner is ridiculous.

davis cup is most definitely a team environment. similar things could be said for the australian swim team.

even though the sport is essentially individual, there are definite team elements to them.

someone like mark phillippousis nearly always found some niggling injury at davis cup time, wheras hewitt would play while injured, as he has done numerous times recently.

[AceLosesKing]

Hewitt = great tennis player, although a tad past his prime. He's also a tool. But I love him.