Lleyton Glynn Hewitt AM (born 24 February 1981) is an Australian professional tennis player and former world No. 1. He is the last Australian male to win a men's singles Grand Slam title.
You always love playing in finals at any tournament. The grand slams and stuff like that are obviously the priorities but any titles go on your record.
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.
Why'd you leave the match, huh?
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.
I was actually really happy with where my game was at. That's probably the most disappointing aspect.
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.
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
I'd much rather win in three or four sets than go the distance all the time. I seem to put everyone through the wringer quite a bit.
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.
Tennis players go into a press conference, and almost every one of them is the same. We do very little differently on a day-to-day basis.
Ten minutes? That's the women. It's not for the men; not for the real game, mate.
I wanted to work towards the four majors and the Davis Cup. I know to a lot of people it may not mean too much, but to me (Davis Cup) means an awful lot.
I'm not a guy who needs to read motivation books.
I feel like when I'm match tough and match hard and played a lot of matches I got that competitive winning spirit going and I can get on some rolls like I did last year. I won San Jose, Indian Wells and made the semifinals in Miami so it can happen for me.
I think I was as mentally tough as I've ever been. I felt like I handled the situation both on and off the court extremely well. I felt like I needed to.
I'm one injury away from hanging up the racket at any time.
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.
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.
Maybe if you're playing in London or America, you don't feel that pressure quite as much.
I've probably put up with more criticism than a lot of people out there. At the end of the day, you block out everything, especially with your personal life.